Carol Mitten Picked As Next Evanston City Manager Pending Final Deal

EVANSTON, IL — The Evanston City Council has selected Urbana City Administrator Carol Mitten to be its next permanent city manager, pending approval of a final negotiated contract.

Mitten is due to appear at a July 28 town hall meeting at the Civic Center moderated by Mayor Daniel Biss. The town hall will include questions submitted in advance or live at the event, city staff announced.

Mitten has worked in Urbana for the past four years. Before that, she was deputy county manager of Arlington County, Virginia, with a portfolio that included public works and economic development, according to city staff.

From 2011 to 2015, Mitten was the executive director for urban affairs and HQ consolidation for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Prior to entering the public sector 2003, Mitten owned and operated an appraisal practice in Washington, D.C., according to an online resume.

After that, she spent two to three years each at Office of Property Management in D.C.'s municipal government, project manager for Amtrak's Moynihan Station project in New York City and chief of land resources program center for the National Park Service's national capital region.

The selection of Mitten as the lone finalist to become permanent Evanston city manager position comes more than 10 months after the negotiated resignation of former City Manager Erika Storlie.

Former city attorney and deputy city manager Kelley Gandurski stepped in to lead the city manager's office on an interim basis until her departure last week for a position with a private law firm. Chief Information Officer Luke Stowe was named interim city manager.

Read more: Luke Stowe Becomes Interim Evanston City Manager As Search Continues

In January, the City Council appeared to near agreement on offering the job to Daniel Ramos, a former deputy city administrator in Baltimore, but he took a job in Houston instead. Councilmembers then voted to hire another search firm, which identified a new pair of finalists.

Although the mayor and alderpeople voted to a contract with one of them — Ann Arbor City Administrator John Fournier — but were unwilling to restructure the contract to provide additional upfront compensation to cover relocation costs.

Next week's town hall meeting with Mitten will be broadcast live on City Channel 16 and the city's YouTube channel. Community members may submit questions ahead of the town hall meeting by 5 p.m. July 27. Questions can also be submitted in person or through Zoom videoconferencing software.