Manatee commissioners to meet with final four administrator candidates

Manatee County commissioners will interview the four finalists for the county administrator position Aug. 18, a day after those finalists have a meet-and-greet with the public and two days after they tour the community.

The Aug. 18 meeting will be open to the public beginning at 1:30 p.m. at the Manatee County Commissioner Chambers, 1112 Manatee Ave. W., Bradenton.

A Manatee County press release said a new administrator could be chosen during the Aug. 18 meeting or at the commission meeting on Aug. 22.

The Aug. 17 meet-and-greet will be held from 5-8 p.m. at the Manatee Performing Arts Center, 502 Third Ave., W., Bradenton.

A national search for a new administrator was pared down to five candidates Aug. 8 at the commission meeting. Each commissioner was asked to name four to five top choices to submit. One candidate was named by all seven commissioners: Andrew Butterfield.

Butterfield is serving as the operations manager for the city of St. Pete Beach’s Public Works department, and he has an extensive military background.

He served as a multi-service military base deputy commander, naval base commander, deputy chief of staff, squadron commander and department head.

The other four candidates commissioners want to interview are William Smith, Don Rosenthal, Dale Dougherty and James Doar.

Doar, who was placed in the top five by all the commissioners except District 1 Commissioner James Satcher, has since dropped out of the running. He has been the county administrator in Gallatin County, Montana since 2014. Manatee County is a long way from Montana, so Doar noted in his cover letter that he and his wife are both University of Florida alumni and have family living in Bradenton. 

Smith received five votes from the seven commissioners. He’s been a county manager since 1993 serving Washington and Wayne counties in North Carolina, and most recently, Chatham County in Georgia.

Rosenthal and Dougherty each were supported by four commissioners.

Rosenthal served as the assistant county administrator for Pasco County from 2014-2019 and is currently Pasco’s commercial and redevelopment project liaison.

Dougherty also gained experience in Pasco County. From 2015 to 2018, he served as the director of parks and recreation. Since 2018, he’s been the city manager in Garden City, Michigan.

This article has been updated.