Gaithersburg hires new city manager

Angel Jones plans to bring ‘‘a voice to the vulnerable”

The city's top administrative position has been open since October when David B. Humpton retired after 12 years in the role and 25 years of service to the city. About 38 people applied for the position and six were interviewed. Jones and Ted Voorhees, assistant city manager of Durham, N.C., were selected as finalists in late June.

‘‘We had much discussion and gathered much information to reach this decision and through the entire process we had many, many good candidates who applied,” said Mayor Sidney A. Katz. ‘‘Everyone was extremely qualified and had great credentials...But at the end of the day, the council decided that Angel did the best throughout the interview process and throughout.”

Jones, 49, was the city's ‘‘top choice,” Katz said. Jones will bring her own leadership style, but he does not expect ‘‘dramatic changes.”

Visiting the city in June, Jones underscored ‘‘sustainability initiatives” she developed in Eugene - such as creating affordable housing opportunities, making community services more accessible to minorities, developing after-school youth programs and working with police to improve public safety.

‘‘I think one of the most significant things I bring is a sense of community,” she said in June. ‘‘That's very important to me, that's something I've taken pride in wherever I've been because I believe local government represents true democracy - it's the level where you can see democracy at its best.”

The city manager oversees nearly 250 employees and an annual operating budget of $52.3 million. The city's population is more than 60,000.

Jones has served as assistant city manager for Eugene since 2007, and for a period last year served as city manager pro tempore, overseeing more than 1,500 employees and an operating budget of $442 million. Eugene, population 153,000, is the second largest city in Oregon.

Jones served from 1999 to 2006 as executive director of Eugene's Library, Recreation and Cultural Services, and from 1993 to 1999 she served as deputy director of the parks department of the City of Richmond, Va. She worked 12 years for the City of Richmond, where she lived for more than 15 years. Most of her family lives near the Washington, D.C., area.

Gaithersburg's Acting City Manager, Jim Arnoult, will return to his job as director of the Department of Public Works in September.