Bedford Selects Interim Town Manager

As the Bedford Town Council – with the hired assistance of Municipal Resources Inc. – continues its third town manager search in as many years, an interim replacement will be hired to help guide Bedford through Town Meeting season.

Town Council Chairman Chris Bandazian told Bedford Patch that Pat McQueen will serve as part-time interim town manager, temporarily filling the position being vacated by Jessie Levine, who was hired in 2012 to replace Russ Marcoux, who passed away suddenly in November of 2011.

Levine stepped down for personal reasons late last year and will take over as Sullivan County Manager. Her final day is Friday, Jan. 10.

"With the budget, bonds and zoning amendments up for a vote in March, there is too much to do to leave that seat vacant," said Bandazian. "It is also not reasonable to expect the department heads to take on additional administrative duties as well as their regular duties."

McQueen, he said, has served as a town manager in a number of New Hampshire communities and has experience serving as interim town manager in Durham, Pelham and Berlin.

"He has considerable experience helping municipalities with transitions," added Bandazian.

The current town manager search has been trimmed to three candidates who have each been interviewed, said Bandazian, who noted the council may move forward with second interviews with all three candidates or possibly whittle down the short list. The potential remains that a candidate will be selected from the information the council already possesses, and there is also a chance additional candidates may be interviewed.

A decision on how to move forward will likely be made Monday night when the town council meets with Don Jutton from MRI to be debriefed on the professional panel and department head panel interviews of town manager candidates that took place Dec. 20.

Bedford Patch will continue to follow the search for a new town manager and provide updates as additional information is made available.