Search for Lakewood City Manager Down To Six Candidates

The search for Lakewood's next city manager is down to six candidates.

Prothman - the city's consultant for the search - says it has whittled down the field of more than 30 candidates based on feedback from the Lakewood City Council. An open house and interviews with the finalists are scheduled June 17-18.

The Lakewood City Council is scheduled to discuss the list of candidates Monday.

Here is the list:

• James Bourney: Director of Corporate Development for Elliott Davis, LLC, a regional accounting and financial services firm in Greenville, SC. He was also the Greenville city manager from 2004-2010 and has served as chief administrative officer for El Dorado County, CA.
• John Caufield: City Manager for Mountlake Terrace since 2006. Before that, he was deputy city manager for University Place, where he was community and economic development and finance director over nine years. He has also worked for Federal Way. 
• Matthew Fulton: Organizational consultant for Daly City, CA. Before that, he was city manager for Coon Rapids, MN for six years. His public service career began in 1979, and his positions have included city manager for New Brighton, MN, and Hartford, WI. 
• W. Scott Larese: Chief Operating Officer/Senior Vice President for privately held company since 2009. He retired in 2008 after 25 years of active military served in the U.S. Army, and his last assignment was garrison commander/city manager for Fort Rucker, AL.
• Michael Martin: City Manager for Burien since 2006. Before that, he was chief administrative officer for the City of Kent for five years. He also served several positions with the City/County of San Francisco, including emergency communication project director and budget manager. He was also a newspaper reporter for several years in Washington and California. 
• Kevin Phelps: Deputy Executive Director for Pierce County since 2009. Before that, he was deputy state auditor for the Washington State Auditor’s Office, and he served as a Tacoma City Councilman from 1998-2005. His private sector experience includes manager general partner at Landmark Convention Center, Tacoma, and president of Prestige Northwest.