The city of Wichita has narrowed the search for its next City Manager down to three candidates.
According to a news release, they are:
Mark Freitag
Freitag is the former Chief Administrative Officer for Westminster, Colorado. He was formerly the Chief Executive Officer for Janesville, Wisconsin. He served in U.S. Army command positions, including Chief Executive Officer of the U.S. Army Garrison in Fort Hood. He has a Bachelor of Science degree from West Point Military Academy, and has a Master of Science in Management degree from St. Mary College and a Master of Science degree in National Security Strategy degree from National War College.
Dennis Marstall
Marstall has been the County Administrator for Lancaster County, South Carolina since 2021. Prior to that he was the Assistant City Manager in Manhattan, Kansas. He also was a Vice-President with United Way and held several positions with the City of Charlotte, North Carolina. He has a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science degree from Kansas State University and a master’s in public administration degree from the University of Louisville.
Donte Martin
Martin has been an Assistant City Manager for Wichita since 2017. He has also held the position of Court Administrator and Interim Superintendent of Central Inspection for Wichita. He is also an adjunct instructor for Fort Hays University. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Wichita State University, as well as a Master of Professional Studies in Human Resource Management degree from Fort Hays State University. He is a veteran of the U.S. Army.
One of the three will replace Bob Layton, who is retiring at the end of the year after serving as City Manager since 2009.
City Council members met Monday, Nov. 10 with the 11-person city manager search committee and search firm CPS HR.
A community forum for all candidates will be held from 5:30-9 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 18 in Lotus Hall at Botanica, 701 Amidon St. Residents will have the opportunity to meet and ask questions of the finalists. Updates on this event will be available here.
The City Manager position was promoted across a variety of platforms to maximize exposure. The city received 89 applications. From there, CPS HR selected 17 candidates to be reviewed by the selection committee. The selection committee then completed interviews with six semi-finalists.
