Holley chosen for City Council

School district official picked from field of 6

Richard Holley

Holley, 59, is the personnel director for Del Norte Unified School District and has lived in the town for 32 years. The council appointed him to replace Charles Slert, who resigned earlier in the month.

“I understand how meetings run and how decisions are reached,” Holley said during the 10-minute interview process used to field six applicants at a special council meeting.

The other applicants were Joseph Aliotti, Ronald Gastineau, Roger Gitlin, Blake Inscore and Michael Young.

 After marking scorecards during the interviews and choosing two top finishers, the council went with Holley over former interim city manager Michael Young, a retired civil engineer who frequently travels to Haiti to do missionary work.

Councilwoman Kelly Schellong prefaced her motion to appoint Holley over Young by saying:

“I had to consider if the person wanting to serve the city wanted to do it temporarily or wanted to run.”

Holley’s appointment expires when the seat comes up for election this November.

During the interviews each applicant had a couple of minutes to answer the same questions — one from each council member.

“What ideas do you have for increasing city revenues in a time of fiscal difficulties?” Schellong asked.

“Clearly I think we need to capitalize on the environment that we are in,” Holley responded. “Tourism is the key to some stabilization and some growth in our economy.”

Mayor Kathryn Murray wanted to know each applicant’s top five strategic goals for the city.

Holley listed the need for economic growth, environmental safeguards and improving transportation processes from bike paths to the airport tarmac.

He wasn’t the only candidate unable to form a fully five-pronged answer to Murray’s request in the roughly two minutes allotted.

When Councilman Rich Enea asked Holley about his style in building consensus, Holley said  he “focuses on the issues and the solutions to the issues rather than the personalities and the different kinds of competing solutions to the problem.”

Consensus is rare among the current council members and Holley’s appointment was no exception — it passed 3-1, with Councilwoman Donna Westfall casting the no vote.

Westfall asked the applicants: “Will you always act in the best interest of Crescent City without any personal agenda or conflict of interest whether real or apparent?”

To which all responded with “yes,” “absolutely,” “of course,” “always have,” or other affirmatives to that effect.

Holley’s first meeting as a City Council member will be Monday, Feb. 6.

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