City Manager Applicants, So Far, With Experience in the Job

Former Nassau County Manager Mike Mahaney is one of 18 candidates for the Fernandina Beach city manager position with just one week remaining until applications are closed. Five of the 18 applicants so far have experience as a city manager.

Mahaney was county manager of Nassau County from 2004 to 2007.

His next job was as city manager in Deerfield Beach, Florida where he lasted two years before being fired in 2010. He earned $180,000 a year and supervised a city with 798 employees. When he was hired, he told the Ft. Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel he left the county manager position because the political winds had shifted.

Mahaney then took the job as city manager of North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina where he currently runs the city. On his resume, Mahaney states he oversees a $208 million city budget with 680 employees in a town that has 20 million tourists per year.

His tenure was marred in 2022 when the owner of a local kayak business said Mahaney assaulted her during a meeting concerning the future of her business. The State Law Enforcement Division (SLED) investigated the May 10, 2022 incident and sent its findings to 15th Circuit Solicitor Jimmy Richardson, who wrote back that the state wouldn’t move forward with a prosecution given the high barrier of proving an assault “beyond a reasonable doubt.”

Mahaney earned a Bachelor of Science in civil engineering from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. He also holds a Master of Public Administration from James Madison University.

Other candidates with city manager experience are:

Joe Helfenberger: Former city manager of Lake City, Florida. He is currently with Watson Realty in Jacksonville. Helfenberger was Lake City city manager from 2018 to 2021. He was terminated in a dispute over his firing of the city's Human Resources Director. He was unsuccessful in seeking the city manager job in Madeira Beach, Florida in 2021.

He was city manager of St. Cloud, Florida from 2015 to July 2017. He resigned after the city council questioned actions that had led to the resignation of the city finance director.

Seddrick Hill: Became city manager of Jonesboro, Georgia five months ago. Hill previously was city manager in Talladega, Alabama from 2021 to 2023. In January, the Talladega City Council voted to terminate Hill’s contract, citing “insubordination and lack of communication,” as was reported by the Talladega Daily Home.

Charles 'Tony' Hammond: City manager of Archer, Florida, a town of 1,200 residents starting in 2018. Hammond applied for the Fernandina Beach city manager position last year and was included among the nine finalists for the job by the executive recruiting firm. Hammond is a Fernandina Beach native and graduated from Fernandina Beach High School. He pursued a career in the U.S. Navy and obtained a bachelor’s degree in healthcare management from Southern Illinois University.

Michael Cleghorn: After four years, he resigned as city manager of Lawton, Oklahoma in March, 2023.

Cleghorn, a retired Army combat veteran, was appointed Lawton’s city manager in January 2019 and took office the next month.

After retiring from the Army and before he was hired by the Lawton City Council, Cleghorn held various posts in several municipalities.

He was the public works director for the City of Copperas Cove, Texas, for 26 months, 2017 – February 2019, during which time he managed the activities of eight departments and approximately 80 personnel.

In Killeen, Texas, Cleghorn was the director of solid waste services for four years and four months, October 2012 – January 2017.

He was the assistant director of solid waste for the City of Lufkin, Texas, for about a year and a half, June 2011 – October 2012.

And for six years prior to that, 2005-11, Cleghorn was the solid waste director in the City of Crockett, Texas.

Cleghorn retired from the Army as a chief warrant officer after a career of almost 21 years: August 1983 – May 2004.

Editor's note: candidate profiles were compiled from various news reports and candidate resumes.