Candidate for city admin job withdraws

A city administrator final applicant withdrew from the selection process Wednesday.

Van James withdrew because he was hired for another position, according to a letter he provided to the city.

Though he was one of the three selected by a seven-person search committee, James' alternate was not selected through the same process.

Mayor, John Turner, advised the city's human resource department that Greg Buckley of Muskogee, Okla., would be placed for consideration, city clerk Renea Ellis wrote in an email. The search committee was advised as well, she said.

Leroy Alsup and Phillip Patterson's interviews are Monday, Dec. 15, at 3 p.m. and 5:45 p.m. Buckley's interview has not been scheduled yet, according to the city.

Buckley has worked in city government since 1996. He began his career as public works director and assistant city manager of Claremore, Okla., and in 2001 he took over as assistant manager of the municipality of Penn Hill, Penn., where he remained for three years.

In 2003, Buckley accepted an assistant city manager role in Lawton, Okla., where he worked until 2008. For nearly a year, he was an adjunct professor at Webster University at the Fort Sill, Okla., campus.

In 2008, he took over as city manager of Muskogee, Okla., where he remained until 2013, when he began providing consulting services for Shawnee and Guthrie, Okla. The following year, he went back in to city administration as the assistant city manager/acting city manager for Altus, Okla., where he is currently employed.

Buckley has a master degree in public administration. His bachelor degree is also in public administration.

General News on 12/14/2014