BREAKING NEWS: SWH hires new town manager; current employer fires him immediately
SOUTHWEST HARBOR, Sept. 2, 2021 – After completion of a nationwide search, the Southwest Harbor Select Board announced Michael Patterson as its unanimous choice for the town’s next town manager after approving a three-year agreement with Mr. Patterson at a meeting today, Interim Town Manager Dana Reed announced.
His current employer, the city of Florence, Colo., fired him as city manager on Tuesday in a unanimous vote of the city council, as reported by the Florence Citizen. It was not clear whether that was related to his new position in SWH.
The Canon City Daily Record had a fuller report Wednesday.
Reed said Patterson is very familiar with Southwest Harbor as his daughter and family were stationed at the Coast Guard base here and has visited the town on many occasions.
The Bend Bulletin in Oregon reported in 2011 that Patterson was charged with assaulting his wife in 2008 when he was city manager in Redmond, Ore.
“Patterson was originally facing felony charges that he assaulted his wife in front of minors. The courts later dropped the charge to a misdemeanor count and Patterson completed court-mandated treatment. Last December, he was granted early release from probation,” the Oregon newspaper reported.
Mr. Patterson will start work on October 4, 2021. The Select Board was assisted in its search by Don Gerrish of Eaton Peabody Consulting Group.
Patterson has a Master of Public Administration degree from Eastern Washington University and a Bachelor of Arts from Gonzaga University.
SWH hasn’t had a full-time town manager since February when the select board fired Justin VanDongen two-and-a-half years into his three-year contract.