City Council Looks To End Search, Hire CIO Luke Stowe As City Manager

EVANSTON, IL — The City Council is hoping the fourth time is a charm when it comes to the search for a new city manager.

Luke Stowe, the city's chief information officer and interim city manager, is the pick of the mayor and councilmembers to take the job on a permanent basis, city staff announced Friday.

Mayor Daniel Biss has convened a special City Council meeting Tuesday to vote on Stowe's appointment.

“Luke earned this appointment through his distinguished service to the City, demonstrating during a uniquely contentious era an extraordinary ability to build bridges and work constructively with just about everyone,” Biss said in a statement.

Stowe has worked for the city of Evanston for more than a decade, the last month of which he has spent as interim city manager and the five months prior as deputy city manager.

The city has been without a permanent chief executive for two of the three years since the September 2019 departure of former City Manager Wally Bobkiewicz after a decade in Evanston.

Erika Storlie, Bobkiewicz's deputy, was first appointed to the position on an interim basis. In October 2020, councilmembers voted 7-3 to hire the longtime city staffer permanently.

But amid a scandal involving the handling of reports of sexual abuse and harassment among lakefront staff, Storlie negotiated a severance package and resigned in October 2021.

Then-Deputy City Manager Kelly Gandurski took over, and city officials conducted multiple nationwide searches with two different search firms.

During the most recent nationwide search, two of the three finalists removed their names from considerations for personal and professional reasons before a single candidate was introduced to the public, according to the statement announcing Stowe's pending appointment.

Earlier: Carol Mitten 'Not The Right Fit' For Evanston, City Council Determines

"Simultaneously, the City experienced significant challenges that come during a time of interim leadership, including staff departures, service cutbacks, and more," the statement said. "These experiences led the City Council to determine that Evanston would be best served at this time by an internal candidate with vast institutional knowledge and broad respect from community members, City staff, and elected officials."

Prior to becoming the city's chief information officer, Stowe has worked as director of administrative services and digital services manager. He was also involved in the city's COVID-19 emergency operations center.

Previous finalists have been presented to the public prior to their appointment.

In the case of Storlie's 2020 appointment, two other finalists appeared alongside her at a town hall meeting. And this year, two pairs of finalists were separately presented to the public before last month, when a lone finalist lost the support of the City Council after facing public scrutiny.

In Stowe's case, it appears the public input is planned to take place in mid-2023.

Alderpeople intend to "conduct a performance review" of Stowe after nine months, which 'will include opportunities for public input," according to the announcement of his pending appointment.

Evanston Patch requested comment from Stowe about his appointment. Biss, who last month discussed the challenges the city has faced on its city manager search, said Stowe was the perfect person to get city government back on track.

“It is time for our organization to get moving again, and to do so in a way that includes and respects all stakeholders," Biss said. "Luke is exactly the right person to make that happen. Let’s get to work.”

Earlier: Luke Stowe Becomes Interim Evanston City Manager As Search Continues