I appreciate the hard, careful work the committee to hire Rockland’s new city manager has done. I think it is far better than having a headhunter or the city council do it! We should be aware, though, that some people who wanted to be on the committee were actively kept off of it.

Since we were given only one candidate to consider, I have some questions for Colonel Christopher Philbrick. I look forward to being able to ask some of them in person, and perhaps I will find him a suitable fit for being Rockland’s hopefully long-term city manager. I also respectfully request that if the community is not satisfied that he is the right fit for us, that we either re-open the hiring process, or perhaps there are other options. This is not a decision to rush or take lightly. 

My questions for Colonel Christopher Philbrick:

1. Given that you applied to numerous city manager positions around the country with very similar cover letters and resumes, what specifically about Rockland excites you about being our next and hopefully long-term city manager? We're not looking for a short run for our next city manager but a major passion and time commitment.

2. What do you know about the recent situation with Rockland’s most recent city manager and how would you do things differently?

3. Have you read Rockland’s recently passed “Resolution of Commitment to Promoting an Open,Respectful, Healthy Community,” also known as “The Diversity Resolution”? Do you wholeheartedly endorse the resolution, and if not what are your specific hesitations? Please explain specific reservations about any words or sections. 

4. On your Linkedin page, you proudly discuss working with and fundraising for the Boy Scouts for 29 years. During that time the Boy Scouts actively discriminated against gay and transgender troop members and leaders, as well as atheists and agnostics, not allowing them to join the Boy Scouts. Did you ever speak out against these policies? Did you work to make sure the Boy Scouts became an inclusive LGBTQI-friendly organization? 

In 2014, the Boy Scouts finally changed its policy denying gay children the right to join. This is also the same year you left the Boy Scouts. Why did you leave?

5. You write on your resume that you were “city manager”, but your actual titles were: Garrison Commander, Battalion Commander, Principal Municipal Advisor in Baghdad, and Chief of Staff for the Department of Defense. Currently, as a  “strategic management consultant,” you appear to primarily consult for the Army. I empathize with wanting to leave the military for municipal life, but I have concerns about how a small city like Rockland, and our need for cooperative community might clash with someone with almost exclusively military training, which is about chain-of-command and hierarchy.

How will you adjust to working as a city manager in which things are done cooperatively and not in the military chain of command? 

6. In the Desert Dispatch in 2008, you said about Fort Irwin’s living conditions, where you were Garrison Commander, “No one’s health, life or safety is being compromised.” Meanwhile, the soldiers there said they were “shocked” by the conditions, and that it was like living in a moldy “jail cell.” Why were the soldiers saying such drastically different things than you were about the living conditions?

Also at Fort Irwin in 2008, you were asked to investigate reports of soldiers having infantry pins pushed directly into their chests. What did you find out about the pinnings, and what did you do about it? 

7. In your August 2016 cover letter to be the Port St. Lucie city manager, you wrote that you would, “Examine citizens’ expectations and expand (if required) on city-wide customer survey analysis.” Is there something you can consider us besides CUSTOMERS?

8. What are the issues and challenges facing, and the wonderful things about Rockland currently? 

9. Are you familiar with the concerns of a working waterfront town?

10. What is your vision for what Rockland will look like in five years?

Thank you so much for your interest in being part of this amazing community.

Becca Shaw Glaser lives in Rockland