A public reception with five finalists for Mountlake Terrace City Manager is set for 6:30-8 p.m. Friday, March 3, at city hall. Here is a summary of the background of all five candidates, as prepared by the City of Mountlake Terrace:

Mike Gent has served as the deputy city manager for Surprise, Ariz., since May 2020. He previously served asthe same city’s director of public works from 2014-2022 and was the assistant director of public works there from 2013-2014. He holds a master’s degree and a doctorate of social work.

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Carolyn Hope has served as the parks, recreation and cultural services director for Burien since 2020. She also served as the interim city manager there from January-August 2022 and as park planning and cultural arts division manager in Redmond from 2012-2020. She holds a master’s degree and resides in Edmonds.

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Justin Martin has served as the deputy city manager for Laguna Niguel, California, since November 2019. He previously served as the acting assistant city manager for Costa Mesa, California, from 2018-2019 and the parks and community services director for that city from 2017-2019. He holds a bachelor’s degree.

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Jeffrey Niten has served as the city manager for Shelton since January 2019. He previously served as the community development director for Ridgefield from 2015-2019 and as planner II and planner III project manager in Clark County from 2006-2016. He holds a master’s in public administration.

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Tyler Running Deer has served as the executive director for the eCityGov Alliance, a nonprofit in Bellevue, since 2019. He previously served as the temporary client services director with the City of Seattle’s Information TechnologyDepartment from 2018-2019 and as the organizational performance director in the Seattle Mayor’s Office from 2016-2017. He holds a bachelor’s degree.

The community is encouraged to attend the reception, meet the candidates and share thoughts and insights with the Mountlake Terrace City Council. Light refreshments will be served.

The council then will hold formal interviews on Saturday and may come to a conclusion with a preferred candidate. Pending the next steps, the appointment will be announced as soon as possible.

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.