Austin City Council announces finalist for city manager position

AUSTIN, Texas - After more than 16 months of searching, Austin City Council has voted on a finalist for city manager.

In a unanimous decision, Council members chose Spencer Cronk, who currently serves as Minneapolis' city coordinator.

“Spencer Cronk is a great choice to be Austin’s CEO. He has a proven track record of bringing people together on difficult community decisions,” said Austin Mayor Steve Adler.   

Council voted to authorize staff to negotiate Cronk’s contract. That will include decisions on his salary and start date. 
                
Mayor Adler said he would expect Cronk’s salary to be in the same ballpark as former City Manager Marc Ott who made more than $300,000 a year. 

“We did our very deep due diligence with each of our finalists and I think we had an excellent, larger group of finalists and then came to an excellent decision today,” Adler said.  
                
Council announced Cronk as one of their finalists earlier this month. Their reasons for choosing him range from actions he's taken in Minneapolis to actions they believe he can take in Austin. 

“The recommendations that we got from people that worked with him for years were just full of superlatives and his interest and desire to be part of this city was also great,” said Adler.  

“Mr. Cronk, in Minneapolis, led the effort to make sure that racial equity was at the center of their comprehensive planning exercise in Minneapolis. He also was a key leader in raising the minimum wage in Minneapolis which was a critical issue for communities of color,” said Councilman Greg Casar, District 4.  

For some minority groups, Cronks actions in Minneapolis aren't good enough. Instead, Gus Pena wishes Council had looked for minority candidates from the Lone Star State. 

“The process was flawed, obscured; it was not a good process. They should've had a Hispanic candidate in the finalists,” Pena said. 

“We have had minority representation among our city managers here, representation of women among our city managers,” Adler responded. 

Cronk's contract will have to be approved by Council before it is finalized. That could happen during Council's February 1 meeting or in a specially called meeting.