Four candidates will interview for Chandler’s city manager position July 14-15 following a national recruitment that resulted in 34 applications.
The four who will go through a series of interviews and forums are Milton Dohoney, Jr., former assistant city manager and chief operating officer for Phoenix; Sara Hensley, Denton, Texas, interim city manager;  Tom Hutka,  public works director for Broward County, Fla., and Josh Wright, Chandler’s acting city manager since March.
The public is invited to listen to candidate presentations on Wednesday, July 14, 1:30 p.m.-3 p.m., in Council Chambers, 88 E. Chicago St., and attend a reception with the candidates 5:15 p.m.-6 p.m. at Vision Gallery, 10 E. Chicago St.
The city manager oversees day-to-day operation of Chandler and implements policies adopted by the City Council. It is among four positions appointed by the council, the others being city attorney, city clerk and presiding city magistrate.
Dohoney served seven years as assistant city manager and chief operating officer of Phoenix. Prior to that, he was city manager of Cincinnati for eight years and chief administrative officer for three and a half years at the Lexington, Ky., Fayette Urban County Government. He also had a 16-year career at Louisville, including four years as deputy mayor/chief administrator officer.
Hensley joined Denton in May 2019 as assistant city manager, was promoted to deputy city manager in July 2020 and then appointed interim city manager in February 2021. Prior to that, her 10-year career at Austin included interim assistant city manager for two years and parks and recreation director for nearly nine years. She has served 14 years in department leadership roles for Phoenix, San Jose, Calif., and Virginia Beach, Va., primarily overseeing parks and recreation.
Tom Hutka was public works director for Broward County, Fla., for 11 years and director of municipal program management for HNTB Corporation in Indianapolis three years. Prior to that, he served five years as city manager at Port Huron, Mich.; four years as deputy county manager at Osceola, Fla.; two years as associate county administrator for Hennepin County, Minn., and two years as commissioner of engineering and construction at Cleveland.
Wright was appointed Chandler acting city manager in March 2021 to oversee day-to-day operation of the city. He joined Chandler in 2017 as assistant city manager to provide administrative oversight of various city departments and divisions. Prior to that, was town manager at Wickenburg for five years and assistant to the town manager and director of strategic initiatives at Marana for five years.
