By Sentinel Staff
The resumes of the seven candidates for city administrator show a breadth of professional experience in Alaska and elsewhere in the U.S.
Assembly members will begin Thursday with long distance Skype interviews of the candidates. In the absence of a human resources director on the city staff, the selection process is being guided by Human Resources Assistant Sharon Joseph and City Attorney Brian Hanson.
The Assembly will conduct the interviews at Harrigan Centennial Hall, and the sessions will be open to the public.
The applicants:
John “Jack” Ardaugh for the last eight years has been an attorney with the Chicago law firm of Fahey and Associates. He has a bachelor’s in business administration and marketing from Illinois State University, and a law degree from The John Marshall Law School in Chicago.
Craig Cugini works for the U.S. Army and manages and directs “installation and tenant activity operations for a medium-sized multi-mission garrison Installation Management Command,” which he says is analogous to a public sector mayor or city manager “in terms of running garrison operations and infrastructure.” His position with the Department of the Army from 2011 to 2016 included being director of plans, training, mobilization and security in Picatinny, New Jersey. He has a degree in ecology and biology from Northern Michigan University. He also studied biology and ecology at Northland College in Wisconsin.
Marko Dapcevich, who was born and raised in Sitka, is a construction manager for Commercial Restoration, a company in Olathe, Kansas. For a decade before that, he was a construction manager at Interstate Restoration, based in Fort Worth, Texas. His work has taken him to Chicago, Houston, San Francisco, Las Vegas, Phoenix, Portland (Oregon), Seattle and Los Angeles, among other places. Between 2000 and 2008 he was on the Assembly and served as mayor of Sitka. He attended the University of Oregon for a year (general study) before going to Lane Community College, where he studied automotive tech, speech communication and general study. At the University of Alaska Southeast he focused on general study, computers and business administration.
Franklin Etheridge was county administrator for Long County, Georgia, 2017-18. He has also been county administrator or manager for Twiggs County, Randolph County, Marion County, LaFayette County and Pembroke, Georgia. In 1995 he was planning director in Bethel, Alaska. He has a master’s of public administration degree from Troy University in Alabama, and a bachelor’s degree in geography from the University of Georgia.
Alan Lanning has been city manager of Cordova, Alaska, since 2016. He also has been city administrator or manager for Lake City, Minnesota; Steamboat Springs, Colorado; Brookings, South Dakota; and Minturn, Minnesota. He has a master’s of public administration from the University of South Dakota, with a specialization in public management. His bachelor’s degree is in political science, with a minor in economics from South Dakota State University.
John Leach is the senior aeronautical engineering systems manager for U.S. Coast Guard headquarters in Washington, D.C. He was aeronautical engineering department manager for Air Station Sitka from 2015 to 2017, and engineering support branch manager in Elizabeth City, North Carolina. He has a master’s in industrial administration from Purdue University, and an undergraduate degree in operations research from the U.S. Coast Guard Academy.
Sheldon Schmitt was with the Sitka Police Department from 2002 through 2017, serving as lieutenant and chief. He also worked for the North Slope Borough Police Department, and is currently in communication and housing manager at SEARHC in Sitka. He has a master’s degree in justice administration from the University of Alaska Fairbanks. His undergraduate degree is from Minnesota State University, where he majored in criminal justice.
The interview schedule:
Thursday, Aug. 29
5 p.m. Franklin Etheridge
5:45 p.m. Marko Dapcevich
6:30 p.m. Craig Cugini
Tuesday, Sept. 3
5 p.m. John Leach
5:45 p.m. John (Jack) Ardaugh
6:30 p.m. Alan Lanning
7:15 p.m. Sheldon Schmitt.
