Mountlake Terrace residents, city employees and elected officials gathered at Mountlake Terrace City Hall Friday night to hear from the five candidates vying for the job of city manager.

The event came at the end of a whirlwind day for the candidates, who spent Friday touring city facilities and meeting with two panels of employees, one panel of community members and councilmembers. On Saturday, the city council will meet in executive session to hold formal interviews with each candidate, followed by discussion and a possible public announcement of the person selected for the job.

Each candidate also had an opportunity Friday night to give brief remarks to those gathered, and here’s a summary, in alphabetical order:

Mike Gent has served as the deputy city manager for Surprise, Ariz., since May 2020. He previously worked as the City of Surprise’s director of public works from 2014-2022 and was the assistant director of public works there from 2013-2014. Gent said he grew up in Bremerton and graduated from Western Washington University, where he met his wife, adding that the couple lived in Bellingham for 15 years. “So exploring this opportunity in Mountlake Terrace is a little bit like exploring the change to come home,” he said. During his tour of Mountlake Terrace Friday, Gent said he learned that “you have a special place here.” Both existing and planned parks and recreation amenities “really help drive the quality of life in the community, and the character and passion of your leaders is just tremendous,” Gent said.

Carolyn Hope introduced herself as “your neighbor,” noting she has lived across Lake Ballinger in Edmonds for  two years and in Shoreline for 18 years, giving her familiarity with Mountlake Terrace. “I’m super excited about the opportunities and challenges that Mountlake Terrace has in front of them — everything from planning for light rail, growing 12,000 new residents, the capital infrastructure projects,” Hope said. She also said she was committed to ensuring that the city can continue to serve existing community members during this period of change. She noted that she worked for 11 years at the City of Redmond, where she was involved in the redevelopment of two urban centers near light rail. She has served as the parks, recreation and cultural services director for Burien since 2020, and worked for a time as the interim city manager there .

Justin Martin has been the deputy city manager for Laguna Niguel, California, since November 2019, previously working as the acting assistant city manager for Costa Mesa, California. As the dad of twins, he added he was particularly impressed with Mountlake Terrace’s park and recreation amenities during his visit. A former Division I NCAA gymnast, Martin said his leadership style “is based upon what I learned as an athlete,” adding he would bring “a very team and collaborative approach to how I lead the organization on day-to-day operations. It’s important for me to value others’ input, so we can make decisions based on facts that are best in line with the council’s directions and goals.” As projects like light rail and the Town Center move forward, “the diversity in that is something that is appealing to me and I believe that I can make a strong impact on this community,” he said.

Jeff Niten has been the city manager for Shelton since January 2019. He started as a land use and development planner in Nevada and moved back to the Pacific Northwest, where he served as a planner project manager in Clark County from 2006-2016 and community development director for the City of Ridgefield before becoming Shelton’s city manager. As for what attracted him to Mountlake Terrace, “the parks amenities are incredible,” Nitzen said, along with the plans for Town Center development and light rail. “Something that is important for the future is making sure those are developed and built in collaboration with the people in the community,” he said.

Tyler Running Deer has been the executive director for the eCityGov Alliance, a nonprofit in Bellevue, since 2019. Describing himself as an enrolled member of the Cherokee Nation, he said he has been in government for more than 20 years. “I am a public servant and I really do believe that government serves the public and the public helps make the government,” he said. A former deputy director in the City of Seattle budget office, Running Deer now works with a consortium of cities that share IT resources. He stated there is “an incredible amount of synergy” happening in Mountlake Terrace. “This council is very collaborative, very respectful and has a great vision” that comes from the community,  he added. “This is a really a fantastic opportunity, whoever you select,” Running Deer said.

Mountlake Terrace has a council-manager form of government, meaning the seven elected councilmembers hire and oversee a city manager. That person acts as chief executive for the city, which has nearly 200 employees and a $43.3 million general fund budget in 2023.

— Story and photos by Teresa Wippel