As Randy Wetmore traveled the highways Tuesday from Georgia to West Virginia, he was eager to get to work. So eager, in fact, that he and his wife Andrea were traveling to the Mountain State on their 41^st wedding anniversary.

 

Thursday will mark the start of another anniversary. Randy Wetmore will begin his duties as Bridgeport’s third city manager. He will officially be sworn in at 8 a.m. in City Council chambers at the Bridgeport Municipal Complex.

 

The Wetmore family on the road through their decades of marriage isn’t unusual regardless of the situation. In fact, Wetmore said he’s served in city manager capacities in 10 locations and in seven states that include Georgia, Tennessee, Iowa, Oregon, Kansas, South Dakota and now West Virginia.

 

The city’s and his managerial roles have varied. His first job was in Yankton, South Dakota before taking a position in Kansas where Wetmore hails from a city of 2,100 and he just left Statesboro in Georgia where he managed a city of roughly 35,000.

 

“I kind of knew my career would, more than likely, have several moves; as far as moving this much, well, probably not,” said Wetmore with a laugh. “It’s been a great adventure and we’ve enjoyed it.”

 

Wetmore actually retired from Statesboro’s position in May. However, he soon realized that retirement wasn’t necessarily for him at the time.

 

“I realized I wasn’t ready to retire,” said Wetmore. “I think I have some things to bring to the table and help the city progress with positive decisions and hard work.”

 

The work officially begins tomorrow. The 8 a.m. ceremony is considered a special Council meeting only because there is a likelihood of the majority or all of Council showing up for the event. Mayor Andy Lang said there will be no other business other than the swearing in portion of the process.

 

“I guess a lot of people would have opted to come in on Monday, but (Thursday) was the date he picked and he’s ready to get started,” said Lang. “I know he’s already contacted several of the department heads to schedule meetings to discuss things on Thursday and Friday. I know he’s excited to get started.”

 

Lang believes it will be a smooth transition. He said as much as he believes Wetmore can bring, he said things work well in Bridgeport because of the leadership throughout the municipal operations.

 

“You can’t give too much credit to one person because the department heads run their departments and do their job and the city manager facilitates that,” said Lang.

 

For the last month, Bridgeport Police Chief John Walker has filled the vacant spot left after former City Manager Kim Haws’ contract was not renewed. Lang said Walker did a fine job filling in.

 

“He worked extremely well with the department heads,” said Lang. “We certainly appreciate what he’s done.”

 

While Walker’s time will end after today, Wetmore’s will start. And it will start in a city that he came and visited before doing an application for the position.

 

“My wife and I made a trip to look at the city before making a final application. We liked what we saw,” said Wetmore. “We liked the (Bridgeport Indoor Sports and) Recreation (Complex) project. For a city the size of Bridgeport to have something like that was a real eye opener. It was the one thing that really piqued my interest and made me take a really closer look. What I quickly found out was there’s a lot of momentum in the city.”

 

As for the aforementioned department heads, Wetmore met them during the interview process. He liked what he encountered.

 

“After all the places I’ve been to, I can size up a group fairly well having been through a number of interviews,” said Wetmore. “If there wasn’t a good vibe and if I wasn’t certain the staff was competent and professional, I would have taken my hat out of the ring. It’s a professional group with nice tenures.”

 

Lang said Wetmore will be part of a city picnic event Friday at the Bridgeport Fire Department from roughly 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. to meet with employees. There will be a public reception during Wetmore’s first City Council meeting August 12, Lang said. The Mayor said it should start at 6 p.m. and run until the start of Council’s meeting at 7 p.m. and allow members of the community to meet with Wetmore.

 

“We think we have the right person for the job. We also believe he’s stepping into a great situation and it’s important for him to get in there and get started,” said Lang.

 

Wetmore and his wife will have already begun setting up their new residence. They will be bringing their family dog with them.

 

The new city manager was actually born in Connecticut but grew up in Kansas. He was the only child of the late Al and Pat Wetmore. His father Al was also a city manager.

 

Wetmore earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology & Sociology from Emporia State University. He has a master’s degree in Public Administration from the University of Kansas.

 

Wetmore is the third city manager in Bridgeport history. Along with Haws, the city's first municipal manager was the late Harold Weiler.

 

Editor's Note: Top photo of Randy Wetmore is from the Statesboro and was taken by Frank Fortune. Connect-Bridgeport would like to thank Editor Jenny Starling Foss for permission to use the photo. Bottom photo is of Bridgeport Mayor Andy Lang.