Rachel DePompa – Mayor Dwight Jones is close to naming a new Chief Administrative Officer. Multiple sources tell me his top pick on a very short list is Byron C. Marshall. Sources say Jones even introduced Marshall to the City Council on Monday.
Byron Marshall
Marshall (pictured on the left) has 25 years experience in public administration. He’s currently the CEO and President of the Austin Revitalization Authority in Texas. From 1994 to 1997 he was the Chief Operating Officer in Atlanta, Georgia. He’s also worked in Washington, D.C., Houston and Michigan.
The official word out of City Hall tonight is that the Mayor is close to making a decision, but no one has been hired. Sources tell me Jones wants City Council to be on board before a person is officially employed. You may remember, Sheila Hill Christian held the job for less than a year under Mayor Doug Wilder before abruptly leaving with no explanation. Chris Beschler has been filling in for several months. This is the first word we’ve had of Dwight Jones being close to a hire since he took office.
More About Marshall: Byron Marshall has been with the Austin Revitalization Authority since 1999. The ARA is a private, non-profit community development organization. Its mission is to restore cultural and economic viability to East Austin Neighborhoods. Marshall’s job is not without controversy. This Article in the Austin Chronicle reports on alleged troubles in the ARA agency.
Again, No one is officially hired, but we hear he’s the top pick!
3 Comments
June 2, 2009 at 9:42 pm
It always makes me wonder why the city never promotes from within? Hasn’t Mr. Belcher been doing a great job? Then why not let him continue in the position? Why do we have to hire someone from Texas who has no idea about Richmond, to run the city finances? Also it seems he has had some problems in Texas, do we need these issues here?
Just a thought, but what do I know, I have lived in Richmond for 30 years and it seems things never really get better.
June 18, 2009 at 7:32 pm
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June 18, 2009 at 7:33 pm
[...] about his first visit to the River City and about his controversial job history in my prior blog about Marshall here. Marshall is the only candidate that we know of , to be introduced to the City’s top [...]