Contributed article
SAFFORD — The City of Safford narrowed the search for the next assistant city manager to four highly qualified candidates.
The city selected SGR to assist in conducting the extensive search that resulted in an impressive candidate pool. SGR is an executive recruitment firm based in Texas, specializing in recruiting, assessing, and developing innovative, collaborative, and authentic leaders for local governments. SGR’s proprietary recruitment and vetting process produced an incredibly strong field of candidates. The city received 38 applications from candidates in 16 states and two countries.
Eric Bejarano
Eric Bejarano is currently serving as the director for the Small Business Development Center at Eastern Arizona College since August 2022. Prior to that, he was the business/area manager for Air Methods in Southern and Central Arizona and Western New Mexico for eight years.
He has served as an associate faculty for the University of Phoenix in Tucson, and as an independent instructor for Tucson Medical Center/GEICO in Tucson. Bejarano is an independent instructor for the Arizona Governor’s Office of Highway Safety, teaching child passenger safety courses in the Gila Valley. He retired as a motorcycle police officer from the Tucson Police Department in 2014.
Prior to his law enforcement career, Bejarano served in the United States Marine Corps for six years as a Telecommunications Center watch supervisor (Sgt/E-5). He holds a master’s degree in counseling/human relations and a bachelor’s degree in justice systems policy and planning from the Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff. He is also a Safford Lion and a member of the Safford Rotary Club. Additionally, Bejarano serves on the boards for the Graham County Chamber of Commerce and the United Way of Graham and Greenlee Counties.
Dennis Durham
Dennis Durham has served in local government for nearly 30 years and most recently served for one year as the city manager for the City of Grandville, Mich. Previously he served as the city administrator for Windsor Heights, Iowa; the city manager for Carlton, Ore.; the city manager for Parchment, Mich.; the deputy city manager for Kalamazoo, Mich.; and the assistant city manager and assistant to the city manager for Portage, Mich.
Durham has a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Michigan State University in East Lansing, Mich. He’s an active member in the International City/County Management Association (ICMA) and he participated in ICMA’s International Resource Cities Program partnering with cities in Bulgaria to advise local government representatives on democratic processes, economic development, and citizen participation.
Jaime Embick
Jaime Embick has over a decade of experience in Council/Manager municipal government and she’s currently serving as the Planning and Community Development director for the City of Safford. Prior to this, she served in several positions with the Town of Silver City, N.M., as the Community Development director, planner/zoning administrator, and the Code Enforcement officer.
Embick has a master’s degree in criminal justice/policing, chemical dependency and history and a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from the Western New Mexico University in Silver City, N.M. She earned an AZED Pro certification from the Arizona Association for Economic Development, and she also recently completed the Certified Public Manager certification.
Pat Oman
Pat Oman has more than 22 years in local government and is most recently serving as the county administrator for Becker County in Detroit Lakes, Minn., since 2021. Prior to this he was the county administrator for Mille Lacs County in Milaca, Minn.; and the city administrator for the City of Moose Lake, Minn.
Oman also served as the director of Economic Development for Carlton County, Minn.; the Economic Development director for East Central Regional Development Commission in Mora, Minn.; and the executive director for Chippewa County Economic Development Corporation. He began his career as a corporate manager/product development engineer for Honeywell International in Minnetonka, Minn.
Oman holds a master’s degree in both business administration and manufacturing systems from the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minn.; and bachelor’s degrees in biology and history from the University of Minnesota in Duluth, Minn.
The finalists will participate in an interview process in Safford on June 19.
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