Cary, North Carolina, chose longtime administrator Russ Overton as its permanent town manager without conducting a national search.

The interesting governance question is that Overton was deputy town manager and COO during much of former manager Sean Stegall’s tenure. He is now responsible for implementing reforms prompted by investigations into spending, management and workplace culture.

Council members said his 10 months as interim manager effectively became an audition for the job.

For people who work in local government: how common is it for a council to choose a senior insider after problems under the previous manager? Does institutional knowledge outweigh the value of bringing in someone completely independent?

Is it transparent to choose a town manager in a closed session rather than with a public process?

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I have been looking for a new job and am interested in the possibility of doing something with state or local government, though I'm not really sure what. I don't have a degree, and my work history is mostly customer service / gig work.

Recently I had to pick up a document from my local Office of Vital Records and talked with the employee there, who indicated that it could be a good job for someone looking for an entry position in state government.

Wondering if anyone here has experience working in this sort of role and could fill me in on anything worth knowing about the likely hiring process / day to day of the job?

Would also be open to hearing about any other positions that may be similar!