The City announced earlier today the four finalists for the city manager position. Two are from El Paso and two are from Fort Worth. The two from El Paso are both current city employees. David Almonte is the current Deputy City Manager. The city’s Chief Financial Officer, Carmen Arietta-Candelaria is also a finalist for the position. The Assistant City Manager for the City of Fort Worth, Fernando Acosta is also a finalist. The list is rounded out by Tommy Gonzalez, the General Manager of North Texas Division and Vice President of Sterling Construction Company in Fort Worth Texas.
The city announced that it will hold a “meet and greet” with the finalists on Wednesday, May 7 at the Plaza Theater starting at 5:30 and ending at 8 in the evening. The citizen advisory group, the employee panel and the Mayor and City Council will begin interviewing the candidates on May 8, 2014.
The city provided the following candidate biographies to the news media.
David Almonte currently serves as a Deputy City Manager for the City of El Paso. In addition, David has worked for the City of El Paso in a variety of roles since 1991 to include the Director, Office of Management & Budget; the Assistant Director, Office of Management & Budget; a Budget Management Analyst III; a Budget Management Analyst II; and as a Budget Management Analyst I.
Prior to joining the City of El Paso, David worked for MeraBank in El Paso from 1980 to 1989 as an Assistant Bank Manager, a Mortgage Loan Administrator, and as a Loan Collector/Servicing Clerk. In addition, David served as Sergeant in the United States Air Force from 1973 to 1977.
David holds a Master of Business Administration degree and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Business Administration from the University of Texas at El Paso.
Carmen Arietta-Candelaria currently serves as the Chief Financial Officer (Comptroller) for the City of El Paso. During her time with the City of El Paso, Carmen has also served as the County of El Paso Chief of Staff for the El Paso County Judge from 2011 to 2012.
Prior to joining the City of El Paso, Carmen worked as the Associate Superintendent of Finance for the Gadsden Independent School District (GISD) in Anthony, New Mexico from 1999 to 2004 and from 1994 to 1997. In addition, she worked for the EI Paso Independent School, District from1997 to 1999 as the Executive Director of Finance, Budget and Accounting and as the Budget Director. She has also worked for the New Mexico State University in Las Cruces, New Mexico as an Accountant II, Budget Office from 1992 to 1994 and as a Staff Accountant for KPMG Peat Marwick in El Paso, Texas from1989-1991.
Carmen holds a Master of Business Administration degree and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Accounting from New Mexico State University. In addition to her degrees, Carmen is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) in the State of Texas, and a Certified Government Finance Manager (CGFM).
Fernando Costa currently serves as an Assistant City Manager for the City of Fort Worth, TX. Fernando has worked for the City of Fort Worth in a variety of roles since 1998 to include the Director of Planning and Development and the Director of Planning. In addition to his roles with the City of Fort Worth, Fernando works part time as a Professor of Practice, Division of Regional and City Planning for the University of Oklahoma in Norman (2009 to present).
Prior to joining the City of Fort Worth, Fernando worked as the Director of Planning
for the City of Atlanta, GA from 1987 to 1998 and in a variety of roles with the Middle Georgia Area Planning and Development Commission in Macon, GA to include the Director of Planning from1985 to 1987, a Senior Planner from 1979 to 1984 and a Planner from 1976 to1979. In addition, Fernando served as a Captain in the US Army Corps of Engineers from 1974 to 1982.
Fernando holds a Master of City Planning degree, a Master of Science in Civil Engineering degree and a Bachelor of Civil Engineering degree from the Georgia Institute of Technology. In addition to his degrees, Fernando is a Fellow of the American Institute of Certified Planners.
Tommy Gonzalez is currently the General Manager of North Texas Division &Vice President for the Sterling Construction Company Inc. in Fort Worth, Texas.
Prior to his role with the Sterling Construction Company, Tommy served as the City Manager for the City of Irving, Texas from 2006 to 2013, as well as an Assistant City Manager for the City of Dallas, Texas from 2005 to 2006 and as the City Manager for the City of Harlingen, Texas from 2004 to 2005. In addition, Tommy served the City of Lubbock, TX from 1991 to 2004 in a variety of roles to include Interim City Manager, Deputy & Assistant City Manager, Assistant City Manager/Ports-to-Plains President, Managing Director of Civic Services, Assistant to the City Manager, City Council Chief of Staff, Budget Analyst, Assistant Director of Communication Services, Management Assistant in City Manager’s Office, and as a Graffiti Removal Coordinator. Tommy served in the U.S. Army for 22 years and achieved the rank of Lieutenant Colonel.
Tommy holds a Masters of Public Administration degree from Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Texas and a Bachelor of Science degree from Eastern New Mexico University in Portales, New Mexico. In addition, Tommy is a certified Lean Six Sigma Black Belt from the University of Texas at Austin.
Save money and time by asking the FBI for their current list of their most wanted and pick the top three. If we are going to continue to be accepting of questionable candidates and managers, might as well have the best crooks on board.