Flint, MI — Clyde Edwards has officially been approved to serve as Flint’s new City Administrator.
Mayor Sheldon Neeley tapped Edwards to be the next City Administrator on Nov. 18, asking City Council to consider his appointment at their Nov. 25 meeting, as required by the city’s charter.
“I am proud to go before Flint City Council to ask for their support of City Administrator,” said Neeley. “He is highly qualified and highly committed to serving the city of Flint. As I promised — as your mayor, I will continue to respect the City Charter and the City Council. As a team, we can and will lead our city through the challenges we face.”
Edwards was approved with a 6-1 vote. Maurice Davis, Ward 2, Santino Guerra, Ward 3, Kate Fields, Ward 4, Jerri Winfrey-Carter, Ward 5, Allan Griggs, Ward 8, and Eva Worthing, Ward 9, voted to approve Edwards. Eric Mays, Ward 1, dissented, advocating to postpone until councilmembers Monica Galloway and Herbert Winfrey were present.
“If approved by this body, I am looking forward to doing the best job that I can,” Edwards told Council. “I love the city of Flint. I’m born and raised here. I know a lot about it. I spent my entire professional career here and I would look forward to serving the residents in another capacity.”
Councilman Guerra made mention of the fact that the previous City Administrator regularly attended council meetings in order to answer any questions councilmembers had for the administration. When asked if he would be there as well, Edwards replied: “I find absolutely no problem with that. I believe in strengthening relationships, especially the relationship between Council and the Mayor’s office.”
A lifelong Flint resident, Edwards attended both Scott Elementary and Whittier Middle School, going on to graduate from Southwestern High school. He earned his Bachelor of Science in psychology from Eastern Michigan University and his Master of Science in administration from Central Michigan University.
Edwards’ professional experience, according to a press release, includes working for the state of Michigan for over 20 years as a juvenile and social services specialist, 7 years of service to Flint’s Civil Service Commission, and working alongside Neeley in Lansing as his chief of staff and legislative analyst.
According to Councilwoman Fields, his credentials “more than fill the requirements for City Administrator.”
Shortly after the meeting’s adjournment, Mayor Neeley thanked the council for their support in a city-issued statement.
“I appreciate the City Council’s support tonight. We know we have a lot of work to do, and I am excited to work with the team we’ve put together. With Clyde Edwards in place as our city administrator, we are ready to move forward. This will prove to be a tremendous victory for the residents of Flint.”
The hiring of Edwards succeeds a series of other administrative appointments, the recent among those being Marjory Raymer as director of communications and John Daly as the city’s director of transportation infrastructure.