The Spy continues our informal series of long-form exit interviews with some of the Mid-Shore’s most well-known leaders in public affairs, the arts, and regional culture at the end of that individual’s tenure of employment. Many of those profiles tend to focus on sometimes decades of work and deeds, but in other cases, like with Cambridge City Manager Tom Carroll, these can be short-lived experiences.
Hired two years ago after successful roles as city manager in Loveland, Ohio, and village manager in Silverton, Ohio, Carroll quickly won the praise of many Cambridge stakeholders with his professional manner and effective management style. He also created a positive working relationship with current City Council members, including Mayor Steve Rideout, as the city worked through several serious municipality challenges.
And yet, despite this early record of success, Tom Carroll gave notice last month, and he is not subtle about the reasons why.
Over the last nine months, Carroll grew increasingly concerned about the strategic vision, transparency, and financial funding of Cambridge Waterfront Development Inc.’s (CWDI) plan to develop over 30 acres of the city’s waterfront. After making efforts to resolve those concerns, the city manager decided to resign rather than support a scheme that he thought had the potential of catastrophic financial consequences for Cambridge and its residents.
In his Spy interview, Carroll specifically details those concerns, but also the progress that Cambridge has made even during his short tenure, and more importantly, his confidence in the city’s future.
Carroll will become the new town manager of Lexington, Virginia, later this summer.
This video is approximately 17 minutes in length.
Michael Davis says
I think Cambridge’s loss is Lexington, VA’s gain.
The issue of transparency in government comes up a lot in towns on the Eastern Shore. When I lived in Chestertown in the early 1970s, there as no transparency of systemic racism although anyone looking at housing patterns would see it immediately. I saw first hand the effects of good old boys running the governments with little to no oversight. Due to my experience, I tend to believe those who raise issue of governmental entities doing things and no one can find out why. “Good old boys,” includes women as well.
And here we are a half-century later and the issue of transparency keeps coming up. Now in Cambridge, and recently in Oxford. And I think it unlies the issue of Lakeside. The people behind Lakeside are vehemently opposed to government review of how their project will impact the Chesapeake Bay – a vital resource of all of us.
Sometimes people quitting in the face of resistance to good government – where people know why things are happening – can have a positive affect. Hopefully Mr Carroll’s resignation will stimulate improvements.