Haines manager applicants include man fired from position three months ago

Borough Manager Bill Seward and Mayor Jan Hill. In December, Haines Borough Assembly fired Seward in a 4-2 vote during his six-month evaluation by the Assembly. (Photo Emily Files/KHNS)
Borough Manager Bill Seward and Mayor Jan Hill. In December, Haines Borough Assembly fired Seward in a 4-2 vote during his six-month evaluation by the Assembly. (Photo Emily Files/KHNS)

The person who was fired from the Haines borough manager position about three months ago has applied for the job again.

The Assembly fired Bill Seward for cause in a 4-2 vote in December.

Assembly members raised concerns about Seward’s competence and behavior during his six months as manager.

Seward had a long career in the Coast Guard, but no municipal experience when he was hired in 2016.

He has remained in Haines since he was terminated and has stated that he is exploring a wrongful termination lawsuit against the borough.

He has also demanded severance pay.

There are two other local applicants: Brad Ryan and Debra Schnabel.

Ryan is the borough public facilities director. He is currently serving as interim borough manager for the second time in two years. Prior to working for the borough, Ryan was executive director of the Southeast Alaska Watershed Coalition.

Debra Schnabel is a former borough Assembly member with a master’s degree in public administration. She is currently the executive director of the Haines Chamber of Commerce.

There are 10 applicants total, and a number of the non-local candidates have municipal experience, including in Alaska. The other seven include:

  • Patrick Jordan was assistant city manager in Unalaska from 2013 to 2015, and Bristol Bay borough manager before that. He is now a county administrator in Michigan.
  • Gene Green was assistant city manager in Unalaska in the 1990s. More recently he served as a city manager in Oregon.
  • Bill Mathews has had a few city manager and town administrator stints in his career so far, including seven months in St. Paul Island.
  • Harry Staven was city administrator in Hoonah. He served as finance director in multiple municipalities.
  • John Li is finance director in Whittier and has also served as finance director in Homer.
  • Jim McDermott is a business instructor at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. He ran as a Libertarian candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives in 2016.
  • Finally, Truitt Rounsavall is an MBA candidate at Rice University, who also works as a consultant for the U.S. Navy.

Borough administrative staff will narrow down the candidate pool based on qualifications this week.

The assembly will pare down the list at a committee of the whole meeting 5 p.m. Thursday.

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