Valdez Welcomes John Hozey as New City Manager

Valdez Welcomes John Hozey as New City Manager
By Lee Revis Editor, Valdez Star
CITY HALL - The Valdez City Council chose the former Administrative Director for Senator Ted Stevens in Washington D.C., John Hozey, as the new city manager for Valdez. "He was the best qualified," said Mayor Bert Cottle after the council announced its decision last week.
Hozey was hired after a flurry of activity last week when the city brought in the three final candidates for the position which has been vacant since February of this year.
The three candidates, which included Hozey, took tours through Valdez, met with the public and did extensive in person interviews with the council last week, which included addressing the council as if they were making a report in real time. "They all three were excellent candidates," said Cottle, who called the decision a very tough choice.
"I felt like it would be easy for me to do a good job here," Hozey told The Star during a brief interview at the public reception held at the Civic Center on the evening of June 15 when asked why he was looking at Valdez. He says he enjoyed his time in D.C. but had only left Alaska to be closer to his mother who lived in Philadelphia when he went to the east coast back in 2000 to work for Senator Stevens. Hozey was employed as Assistant Borough Manager for the Ketchikan Gateway Borough from 1997 till 2000. He also said he and wife Rhonda, who also got to make the rounds in Valdez, were looking to bring their sons, ages 12 and 13, back home to Alaska.
As the city's top administrator, Hozey will face many a challenges as he steps into the void left by former City Manager Dave Dengel. While the city faces an economic slump and a declining tax base, issues ranging from forced borough incorporation to the fight to bring a natural gas pipeline to Valdez are just a fraction of the issues facing the city at this time.
Hozey will be taking command at city hall on August 15, at a salary of $90,000 a year.