Five finalists for county administrator
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By MARK GUNDERMAN mark.gunderman@lee.net
Friday, June 8, 2007 11:26 PM CDT
Members of the Chippewa County Board on Thursday met the first county administrator n they just don’t know yet which of the five finalists will get the job.
The board held an informal meet-and-greet at Lake Wissota Golf Course for the five finalists selected by the Administrative Committee.
The committee will recommend one of the five to be hired at the Tuesday, June 19 board meeting.
The administrator position has been controversial among board supervisors for a number of years. Last year, the board voted to create the position, but supporters lacked to the votes for a budget amendment to start the hiring process immediately. The position funding survived a challenge in the county’s 2007 budget.
That was the final hurdle, leading to the selection of five finalists. One of them will likely start as the first Chippewa County administrator this summer.
The finalists all made reference to the position being a new one when asked Thursday night about what attracted them to it and the challenges they would face.
Jason Dzwinel is the current assistant county administrator in Ozaukee County. He has held the job since 2002. Previously he was a community development intern in Menomonee Falls and an administrative intern in Mequon.
He received both his undergraduate degree and his Master of Public Administration degree from UW-Milwaukee.
“I think it’s a beautiful area of the state of Wisconsin, and it’s a new position, a challenge I’m familiar with in my current position,” he said about his interest in the job. The Ozaukee County administrator position was new when he joined the office as the assistant.
“We had a pretty divided board on that. We made it this far successfully,” he said.
David Johnson is the current city administrator in Valley City, N.D., since 2005. Previously, he was the preventive maintenance manager for the Metropolitan Sewer District of Louisville and Jefferson County, Ky. for two years and was the maintenance director there for 10 years previously. He held a number of positions with the city of Indianapolis, Ind. from 1997-1993.
A graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, Johnson received his MA and MPA from Purdue University.
His roots in the area is part of what attracted him to the position, as he wants to come back “and be close to family.”
“The position itself is a challenge being the first county administrator,” he said. Johnson pointed out he was the first city administrator at Valley City.
Frank Prascarella is the current administrative coordinator in Shawano County, since 2005. Previously, he held that position as well as finance director for Polk County for six years and was business manager for Valiant International in Troy, Mich. for two years. He has held municipal administrative positions in Greendale and Caledonia, Wis. And in Milan, Belleville and Lake Odessa, Mich.
Pascarella received his Bachelor’s degree from Eastern Michigan University and has done graduate course work.
“I’m interested in it being the first position,” he said about what attracted him to the job. “I think I have the experience and ability to build a team environment.”
Pascarella said he looks forward to working on strategic planning issues, from both policy and operational perspectives.
William Reynolds comes from a legal and political background. From 2005-06 he was chief of staff and communications director for the office of U.S. Senator Arlen Specter (R-Penn.), serving for four years before that as the senator’s director of communications and legal counsel. Reynolds was also executive director of the National Defense Political Action Committee.
With the U.S. Marine Corps, Reynolds served as senior legal advisor, a deputy camp commander, and a prosecutor and investigations attorney.
A graduate of Greenville College in Illinois, Reynolds received his J.D. (law degree) from DePaul University and his MPA from Harvard.
“I’m a professional challenge type of guy,” Reynolds said. “Because this is a new position, the necessity of building trust with county board members and departments is absolutely essential.”
Reynolds is excited about the chance to come to the Chippewa Valley.
“This area has so much potential,” he said. “If you look at it on a personal level, this is a great community and I would be proud to be a part of it.”
Michael Zurn is the current county administrator for Whitehead County, Ill., since 2001. He also served as that county’s public health administrator and was director of environmental health for Jo Daviess County, Ill. He obtained his Bachelor’s degree from Illinois State University.
“Being a new position, there are some unspoken expectations, and that’s really the challenge, to meet those expectations,” he said of the position here. He said the geography and size of Chippewa County attracted him to the position.
County board members and a screening committee interviewed the candidates on Friday, and may have made a decision by the end of the day.
The full county board is expected to act on making a formal offer to a candidate at the June 19 meeting.
Reach Mark Gunderman at mark.gunderman@lee.net
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