The Ketchikan City Council has selected the new general manager for the city. In a special meeting Saturday, the council selected Glen Adams to oversee municipal government operations and Ketchikan Public Utilities.
Adams has nearly 27 years of Army experience. During that time, he managed facilities for U.S. Forces Japan and oversaw large infrastructure and negotiation projects in both Japan and Iraq. He started his work as a city manager in Texas in 2023, followed by roles as an interim city manager in Virginia and Alabama.
During his interview, Adams expressed his appreciation for how friendly the community was during his visit to Ketchikan, and he highlighted how his extensive leadership experience would translate to the city manager position.
“I’m a leader, and I am capable of finding things that your team, your staff, who already have ideas, and get them refined and give you new insights into your own organization that probably wouldn’t be found by anybody else,” Adams said. “But and it’s not that I’m amazing or brilliant on that, it’s just the environment that I create that is a positive, empowering environment that makes people do better.”
Adams was selected out of four finalists. Three of them were flown out to Ketchikan last week for the final interviews and facility tours. The only other out-of-state finalist, Michael Kovacs, was from Texas. The other candidates, Bil Homka and Abner Hoage, are from Unalaska. Homka was the city’s most recent manager until he resigned late last year following a lawsuit against him and the city. Hoage now serves as Unalaska’s interim manager. He has also previously served as Ketchikan’s fire chief and emergency manager.
Following nearly five hours of interviews and an executive session, the council approved Adams 6-1. Councilman Jai Mahtani was the sole ‘no’ vote. Despite his opposition, Mahtani said he will still support the manager and the council’s decision.
This is the second time the council has gone through this interview process in the last year. In December, they narrowed down a list of over 40 applicants and flew two finalists out for in-person tours and interviews. The candidate they selected withdrew their application just hours before the council was scheduled to approve the contract. In January, the council voted to start that process over again. Interim City Manager Lacey Simpson, who had been filling in for a year, also stepped down from the role last month.
In his application, Adams offered to sign a three-year contract to demonstrate his commitment and “ensure continuity and sustained leadership for the city and its utilities.”
The council will meet again on Thursday in an executive session for contract negotiations. That final contract will be brought before the council May 7.
