Five County Administrator Candidates Recommended for Consideration

County Administrator Selection Committee Unanimously Recommends Five Candidates for Consideration by the Board of County Commissioners

On Oct. 9, the St. Johns County Administrator Selection Committee unanimously recommended all five top-tier candidates for consideration by the Board of County Commissioners (BOCC). The Selection Committee interviewed the five candidates via Zoom in a public meeting in the County Auditorium that began at 9 a.m. A recording of the Zoom interviews will be available on the County’s GTV web page under Other Videos Archive, once rendering is complete. The BOCC will discuss the Selection Committee’s recommendation at the Oct. 17 BOCC regular meeting. Pending BOCC approval, the five candidates will advance to in-person interviews with the BOCC at a public meeting on Oct. 31.

Due to the Selection Committee unanimously recommending all five top-tier candidates for consideration by the BOCC, the previously announced County Administrator recruitment meetings scheduled for Oct. 10 and Oct. 16 are no longer necessary and have been canceled.

The five top-tier candidates are as follows:

  • Joy Andrews, Interim County Administrator for St. Johns County, Florida
  • Scott Andrews, Assistant City Manager for City of Bakersfield, California
  • Sarah Campbell, Town Manager for Orange Park, Florida
  • James Doar, County Administrator for Gallatin County, Montana
  • James Harriott, Director of Engineering – Transportation for Causseaux, Hewitt, and Walpole, Inc. Professional Consultants

The BOCC contracted with GovHR USA, a government recruitment and management consultant, to ensure a thorough, strategic national search for the next County Administrator was completed, which provided a pool of 105 applicants. GovHR USA narrowed the pool down to 12 potential candidates for the Selection Committee to review. In a public meeting on Oct. 6, the Selection Committee designated five applicants as top-tier candidates and scheduled Zoom interviews with each of them for Oct. 9. After the interviews, the Selection Committee unanimously voted to recommend all five candidates for consideration by the BOCC.

In the interest of maintaining a transparent and open hiring process that seeks community input and involvement at each step, the public is invited to attend the remaining County Administrator recruitment events, which currently include:

Monday, Oct. 30, 2023 – 4 to 6 p.m. – Open to Public

St. Johns County Administration Rotunda, 500 San Sebastian View

  • The public and St. Johns County department directors will be invited to meet the final candidates selected for in-person interviews at a “Meet the Next County Administrator” ice cream social event. GovHR consultants will be present to help facilitate.

Tuesday, Oct. 31, 2023 – 9 a.m. – Open to Public – Watch Livestream or Recording

St. Johns County Auditorium, 500 San Sebastian View

  • The Board of County Commissioners will interview the candidates recommended for the County Administrator position. GovHR consultants will be available in person to facilitate the interview process and respond to questions by either the Commissioners or candidates.

The County Administrator Selection Committee is comprised of the following individuals:

  • Henry Dean, St. Johns County District 5 Commissioner
  • Brandon Patty, St. John County Clerk of the Circuit Court and Comptroller
  • Lilian Hutchinson, St. Johns County Director of Human Resources
  • Jerry Wilson, Community/Business Representative

The Board of County Commissioners encourages residents to provide their feedback on the skills and attributes they would like to see in the next County Administrator. Feedback can be submitted by emailing executiverecruitment@sjcfl.us. Watch the County Administrator recruitment video on the St. Johns County YouTube channel.

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