Durham picks new city manager. Why 3 council members didn’t vote.
Durham leaders voted Monday night to forgo a national search and hire a new city manager from within, a vote that divided the City Council.
City Manager Wanda Page announced in July she would be retiring at the end of the year. Bo Ferguson, a deputy city manager since 2013, will be her successor.
“This job is not easy at all,” Mayor Leonardo Williams said Monday night, issuing a statement that called Ferguson “the right leader to guide Durham’s future.”
“With more than a decade of dedicated service to our city and nearly three decades of experience in local government, he has the expertise, vision, and a deep commitment to our organization’s values and our community’s values,” Williams said.
The City Council voted to appoint Ferguson after a closed session at the end of Monday night’s meeting. The vote was not part of the agenda for the council’s regularly scheduled meeting.
The county also just promoted one of its own to manager, with Claudia Hager taking over as county manager after the still unexplained resignation of her predecessor, Kimberly Sowell.
Ferguson will be paid $297,000.
Decision was not unanimous
Three City Council members — DeDreanna Freeman, Chelsea Cook and Nate Baker — said they were hoping for a more open search process, and sat through the vote without choosing sides Monday night. Technically, Ferguson was hired by unanimous 7-0 vote, since abstentions count as affirmative votes.
Freeman said the closed session vote picking Ferguson was similarly split.
The process was “scurried along,” she said, adding she would have liked a more thorough, nationwide search, an opinion Baker said he shared. Council member Chelsea Cook said she too “felt like it happened really quickly” and wanted to spend more time debating, so she could have voted yes.
In several recent closed sessions, council members debated making a new hire, but it was unclear if they’d choose someone before Page left.
Mayor Pro Tem Mark-Anthony Middleton said the debate was never about Ferguson’s qualifications, just the process.
About Bo Ferguson
As deputy city manager, Ferguson has overseen the creation of the HEART Program and led the police, fire, emergency communications and community safety departments.
He called the promotion a “dream come true.”
“I’ve been a witness and a participant in Durham’s transformation over the past decade, and I’m excited to see us continue to build on our progress and ensure all our residents can benefit from and participate fully in Durham’s successes,” he said in a written statement.
Council member Javiera Caballero praised Ferguson’s leadership during the deadly downtown gas explosion in 2019.
“I saw somebody who knows exactly what to do on a very scary day when your community is reeling, when you have chaos,” Caballero said. “When you have internal talent, that means you’ve treated your people right.”
Before moving to Durham, Ferguson spent five years as city manager in Hendersonville and three years as town manager in Black Mountain.
In Durham, the city manager leads around 3,000 employees and oversees a budget that is approaching $700 million.
‘I don’t know what to say except thank you’
Page was honored with a key to the city at the start of her final meeting Monday.
But after 37 years in government, she playfully pointed out the obvious.
“I have a key to the city,” she said, prompting laughs. “It started out as a real key, and now it’s a magnet.”
Page served as manager for nearly four years.
“I don’t know what to say except thank you,” she said.
Page thanked her family, elected leaders, and “all you residents that have helped us as an organization continue to build this community into a community that we all love and that we take care of.”
Ferguson will start Jan. 1.
Editor’s Note: An earlier version of this story said the vote to hire Ferguson was 4-0. It was 7-0, because abstentions are counted as positive votes, the city clarified.
This story was originally published December 17, 2024 at 8:35 AM.
