ADRIAN — Three candidates have been asked to interview for the position of interim city administrator in a special Adrian City Commission meeting scheduled for Thursday, Aug. 20, at 4 p.m.

The candidates invited to interview are:

Bob Behnke, a current city commissioner, who would need to resign from the commission if appointed. He expressed interest in the role at the commission’s Aug. 3 meeting and has recused himself from discussions about the role, meaning that the decision will be made by the remaining five commissioners and Mayor Angela Sword Heath. Behnke retired in 2022 as superintendent of Adrian Public Schools after having served in that role since 2014.

Ted Andrzejewski, who retired in 2021 as village administrator for Cadiz, Ohio, a town of about 3,000 residents. In 2023, he served as interim township manager for Cascade Township, a community of about 20,000 near Grand Rapids. His previous roles include city manager jobs in Menominee, Michigan, and Canandaigua, N.Y., as well as nine years in a variety of roles in Eastlake, Ohio.

Jae Guetschow, who served as village manager in Brooklyn, just outside Lenawee County, from 2015 to 2022. He is also a former Blissfield village president, trustee, and planning commission member. Since retiring, he has held interim manager roles in the Michigan communities of Shelby, Wayland, and Elk Rapids. 

Andrzejewski and Guetschow are both on a list maintained by the Michigan Municipal Executives organization of people who are available for interim city manager roles. Commissioners had asked human resources director Heather Lasky to reach out to the nine people on that list to see who was interested in interviewing. A total of three were interested, but one was not available this week, and with commissioner Mary Roberts being out of town next week, commissioners decided they didn’t want to delay the process further.

City commission meetings are open to the public and take place in the City Chambers Building, 159 E. Maumee St. They are also streamed via Zoom. Agendas and Zoom links are published on the city’s website, adriancity.com.