By B.C. Manion
The initial field of 61 candidates to replace retiring Pasco County Administrator John Gallagher has been winnowed to four, and interviews with those finalists have been set for May 24.
Pasco County commissioners voted last week to consider Michelle Baker, Tomas Gonzalez, Eric Johnson and Charles Oliver to replace Gallagher, who is leaving his post after three decades at the helm of Pasco County government.
Baker, who is chief assistant county administrator, is the only internal candidate being considered to replace Gallagher.
Johnson, a high-ranking administrator in Hillsborough County; Gonzalez, city manager in Irving, Texas; and Oliver, former administrator of Escambia County, are the other candidates who made the short list.
A bus tour has been arranged for the candidates on May 23 and a public reception will take place that evening at the Fox Hollow Golf Club in Trinity.
On May 24, commissioners will meet individually with candidates in the morning at Saint Leo University, and then the board will conduct public interviews in the afternoon.
