A familiar face is back in charge of Bethel’s city administration. At the Sept. 22 meeting, the Bethel City Council announced that Pete Williams will serve as interim city manager. Council members chose Williams from three final candidates. The other two were Marybeth Whalen and another former city manager, Lee Foley.
Williams previously served as Bethel’s port director, and then moved to the city manager position in 2016. On April 23 of 2019, the council fired him during a performance evaluation. At the time, former City Attorney Patty Burley questioned whether the city council was following due process. Mayor Perry Barr was one of three council members who opposed the termination.
Council member Mark Springer had only good things to say about Williams’ previous performance as city manager.
“I was always very satisfied with the job that he did, the way he communicated with the council, and the way he worked with the public,” Springer said.
The city council is working with its executive search firm, GovHR, to hire a permanent city manager.
