Search for Yazici replacement to remain internal

Published 5:42 pm Wednesday, April 22, 2015

Sammamish City Council unanimously voted on April 21 to pursue an internal search to replace current City Manager Ben Yazici when he retires in February 2016. The council could approve an internal candidate as soon as mid-May, according to Yazici’s timeline.

Yazici, who announced his retirement earlier this month, recommended Deputy City Manager Lyman Howard for the job. This recommendation will carry a fair amount of weight, Mayor Tom Vance said.

Yazici recommended Howard because of his strong finance background. Howard, who joined the city about a decade ago as its finance director, was named deputy city manager in 2011.

Yazici pointed out the importance of having a city manager who has a firm grasp on the city’s contracts. Sammamish partners with various groups to provide residents with services; for example, the city contracts with the King County Sheriff’s Office to provide Sammamish with its police force.

“We are a unique city for how we deal with services,” Yazici said. “(Howard) understands the contract model of management.”

The council took note of Yazici’s recommendation, but decided to open the search to all city staff.

“All of our directors are extremely capable individuals with several having additional assignments beyond normal departmental responsibilities,” Yazici wrote in a memorandum to council outlining his suggestion.

Yazici said that recently two of his department heads have gone on to become city managers in Burien and Medina.

The council formed a committee of three members to oversee the internal search.

The search committee will include Vance and Deputy Mayor Kathy Huckabay; the third member was not named, although council urged councilmember Nancy Whitten to volunteer, citing her legal expertise.

Councilmembers Don Gerend and Huckabay were involved in the internal search that led to Yazici’s 14-year career. He is the city’s second city manager.