The Seward City Council voted to offer its open city manager position to chamber of commerce director Kat Sorensen.
Sorensen, who has directed the Seward chamber since late 2021, was one of five candidates interviewed Wednesday night by the council, which quickly voted to offer her the position.
The city manager job has been open since May, when two-year manager Janette Bower departed to be the city manager in Soldotna. Other applicants for the Seward seat included a former Seward mayor Edgar Blatchford, a Western Alaska assistant finance director, an East Coast real estate developer, and a Pennsylvania city official. The city council interviewed all five applicants Wednesday night, in back-to-back half-hour interviews.
Sorensen was the only applicant currently living in Seward. She said she’s excited about the opportunity to give back to the city.
“Because over the course of the six or seven years that I’ve lived in Seward, the city has given me so much,” she said.
Sorensen is also a former Peninsula Clarion reporter, and hails from New Jersey.
City council members expressed initial hesitation about Sorensen’s lack of municipal experience. But Seward Vice Mayor John Osenga said Wednesday that her interview with the council sealed the deal. In deliberations, the council immediately gravitated toward Sorensen.
“I will admit, I had some reservations when I saw her application in for this position,” Osenga said. “But I will say that tonight, she absolutely nailed tonight, this interview, and totally changed my mind. I wanted to give her this chance, I think she will do a fine job.”
Two council members voted against offering her the position, saying they would prefer instead for the city to reopen the listing. But with five “yes” votes, Sorensen got enough support to move forward.
Sorensen hasn’t been formally offered the position yet. But she said she would be excited to dialogue with the community from an administrative position.
“One of my strong suits is my communication style and my experience in creating streamlined and open communication and dialogues, and I’m really excited to bring that skill set to the city manager position,” she said.
The city did not clarify its timeline for filling the position, but said they would direct the HR department to complete a background check and negotiate a contract with Sorensen.
