Bowie interviews five finalists for city manager, hosts public meet-and-greet

Bowie put its next top administrator in front of residents at City Hall, as five finalists for city manager moved through a public meet-and-greet and an intensive onsite interview process that will help decide who oversees the city’s budget, services and day-to-day operations.

The April 16 gathering ran from 6 to 7:30 p.m. in the City Hall lobby at 15901 Fred Robinson Way, giving residents a chance to meet the candidates before the city makes its choice. Bowie said the finalists were being evaluated through an extensive two-day onsite interview process after a search that drew applicants from 21 states.

The hiring carries unusually direct consequences for a city of 58,421 people. Bowie operates under a council-manager form of government, which means the City Council sets policy and appoints and directs the city manager. The position is not ceremonial: the manager oversees the administration that touches taxes, public works, development, and the daily complaints and requests that shape how a city feels to live in.

The timing adds another layer of pressure. Under Bowie’s budget rules, the city manager’s proposed budget must be submitted to the council between April 10 and 15 each year, putting the search squarely alongside one of the city’s most important annual decisions. Whoever gets the job will be stepping into the middle of that cycle, with decisions on spending and priorities already close at hand.

The city said it worked with Strategic Government Resources, a Texas-based executive recruitment firm, to conduct the search. From the larger pool, the City Manager Search Committee identified semifinalists, who completed detailed questionnaires and pre-recorded video interviews before five finalists were advanced for the in-person interviews and public event.

The search also comes during a period of political transition in Bowie. On April 7, Michael Estève won the city’s special mayoral election after Tim Adams left the mayor’s office to take a seat on the Prince George’s County Council representing District 4. That change puts a new mayor and a coming city manager selection at the center of Bowie’s governing structure at the same time.

City officials highlighted the meet-and-greet in the April 13 weekly update and in online news postings, underscoring that the choice of city manager is being treated as a public decision with long-term impact. For Bowie, the hire will shape how the city handles growth, keeps services moving, and manages the budget that guides the work of every department behind the scenes.