Claremont voters narrowly defeated a proposed amendment to the city charter that would have eliminated the requirement that the city manager live in Claremont. That vote was 793-775 against.
The City Council proposed the Claremont City Charter amendment, saying it would broaden the pool of talent that would apply for the position of city manager. The measure lost by three votes in Ward I (198-195), 20 votes in Ward II (341-321) but passed by five votes in Ward III (259-254)
Since the departure of City Manager Ed Morris at the beginning of the year, the council has relied on interim managers. In a search conducted by consulting company Municipal Resources Inc., four candidates, whose names were not released, were interviewed by the council, but none were offered the position. The council last week hired former Brattleboro Town Manager Octavian “Yoshi” Manale, who is expected to start in early October.
— Patrick O’Grady