Government

Public can meet city administrator finalists Thursday

The search for Gig Harbor’s new City Administrator is reaching the final stages as two final candidates for the position tour the city, complete final interviews with City staff and attend a meet-and-greet session open to the public next week.

Hosted in-person on Thursday, March 3 from 5:30-7:00pm, Jeff Niten and Linda Kelly will be introduced to the public at a meet-and-greet at the Gig Harbor Civic Center at 3510 Grandview Street. Refreshments will be served.

Jeff Niten has served as City Manager for Shelton, WA since January 2019. Prior to his appointment as City Manager, Jeff served in various leadership and professional roles for municipal governments in Nevada, Oregon and Washington focused on land use planning, economic development and project management. Jeff has earned a Bachelor’s degree focused on public policy from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas and an Executive Master of Public Administration degree from the University of South Dakota.

Jeff Niten

Linda Kelly, a resident of Seabeck, Washington, has served in local government for over 27 years, most recently as the Town Manager of Windsor, California, leading a staff of 100 serving a population of 27,000. Linda holds a Master of Arts in Political Science from U.C. Riverside and a Certificate in Human Resources Management from U.C. Santa Cruz Extension. She is a former Credentialed Manager through the International City-County Management Association (ICMA), a Certified Municipal Clerk (CMC), a former Certified Tourism Ambassador through Sonoma County Tourism, and received the 2011 ICMA Community Partnership Award for smaller jurisdictions. During her career, Linda has managed agencies during various economic cycles, natural disasters, regionalization of services, and recently managed a Habitat for Humanity affiliate in Central Washington.

Linda Kelly

After a rigorous selection process, Mayor Tracie Markley says, “We are confident we have two amazing candidates that would serve Gig Harbor well, and we look forward to welcoming the public to meet both Jeff and Linda. Choosing the right City Administrator is a crucial role for the City of Gig Harbor, with an impact for years, perhaps even decades, to come. We welcome our citizens to share their opinions and insight on who they feel will best suit the City, which we’ll collect through a written comment box at Thursday evening’s event.”

The candidates will both complete final interviews with department heads and city staff on Thursday, March 4.