Pierce County deputy executive named city manager for Glendale, Arizona
Deputy Pierce County Executive Kevin Phelps is leaving to become city manager of Glendale, Arizona.
Phelps will begin the new job Feb. 1, he told The News Tribune on Friday. Glendale’s City Council and mayor are set to finalize his employment contract Tuesday, he added.
Phelps said he has mixed emotions.
“Pierce County has been a fantastic organization to work for,” Phelps said. “It’s going to be sad to part some of these relationships.”
Pierce County has been a fantastic organization to work for. It’s going to be sad to part some of these relationships.
Deputy Executive Kevin Phelps
who will become Glendale, Arizona’s city manager Feb. 1.The 60-year-old said he’s proud to leave the county in good financial shape and ready to tackle financial challenges awaiting him in the suburban city north of Phoenix.
“It felt like a really good fit for me,” he said.
His departure precedes that of County Executive Pat McCarthy, who is term-limited and will leave her post at the end of 2016.
McCarthy said the move is a great opportunity for Phelps and his family.
“I’m just ecstatic for him,” she said. “He sure worked hard for Pierce County.”
McCarthy said details of replacing Phelps have yet to be sorted out.
I’m just ecstatic for him. He sure worked hard for Pierce County.
County Executive Pat McCarthy
Phelps said he has many family members in Glendale, and the city has felt like a home away from home for the 30 years that he’s visited there.
Phelps says his experience in private-sector trade shows and involvement in the U.S. Open at Chambers Bay will help him lead the city of 227,000 people, which he says is a great sports and special events town. Glendale hosted Super Bowl 49, where the Seattle Seahawks lost to the New England Patriots.
The former Tacoma City Council member has worked as the county’s deputy executive since January 2009.
He first made contact with a recruiter for the Glendale job in April.
“I wasn’t just out job searching,” he said Friday.
After a four-month selection process, Phelps was chosen as one of five candidates before the field was narrowed to two. He completed a final round of interviews earlier this month.
Phelps will replace former Glendale City Manager Brenda Fischer, who resigned in February after 19 months on the job.
Kari Plog: 253-597-8682, @KariPlog
This story was originally published November 20, 2015 at 6:31 AM with the headline "Pierce County deputy executive named city manager for Glendale, Arizona."