North Carolina – Pauline Armstrong is set to take over as Washington’s city manager next month. Her first day will be Nov. 2. Armstrong, who has 17 years of municipal management experience, most recently worked for a consulting company. She replaces Jonathan Rorie, who departed in July.
Minnesota – Steve Baker is the new fire chief in Owatonna, joining the department last week. After 25 years of fighting fires, he retired in November 2025 and started his own business, providing leadership development and training programs for fire departments. While the business continues to grow, Baker said he missed being on the front lines and began looking for a new opportunity.
Texas – Jason Mangum has been hired as an assistant city manager following the approval of Pflugerville’s city council. Mangum was selected out of 140 candidates from across the nation. He has more than 25 years of experience in local government, with stops in Arizona, Michigan, Illinois and, most recently, Texas. For the past decade he has worked in Missouri City, Texas, first as parks and recreation director and then as assistant city manager. Mangum has bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Arizona State University.
Missouri – Shaun Shadwell will lead the Canton Police Department as its next chief. He takes over following the resignation of Tycher Blakely earlier this year. Shadwell has previous law enforcement experience gained during stints with the Ralls County, Mo., Sheriff’s Department and the Frankford, Mo., Police Department. With the addition of Shadwell and a patrol officer, the department is now fully staffed.
Tennessee – Earnest Jackson III has been selected to serve as Jackson’s internal auditor. Jackson will report directly to the mayor, with an oversight reporting relationship to the city’s audit committee. He will be responsible for conducting audits across all municipal departments. Jackson joins the city following more than 20 years of service in the United States Coast Guard, where he retired as a senior chief petty officer.
Ohio – Terry Emery will serve Johnstown as its next city manager. He calls the opportunity to lead Johnstown a “neat challenge.” Over the past four decades, Emery has worked for cities across Ohio, including Greenville, Gahanna and Marysville. In Marysville, he was initially hired as a city administrator under a strong mayor government, before city residents voted to transition to a council-manager system.
New York – Dennis O’Hara, currently the superintendent of Islip Union Free School District, has been hired to lead the South Country School District. O’Hara’s term with the district begins in December and will run through June 2030. He began his career in education as a classroom science teacher and later became a principal. His first job as a superintendent was with the Hauppauge Union Free School District.
North Carolina – Berardino “Dino” DiBernardi III has been promoted to chief of the Long View Fire Department. DiBernardi joined the department as an engineer in July 2024 and was promoted to lieutenant in July 2025. He has more than two decades of public safety experience, including numerous leadership positions with Caldwell County, N.C., Emergency Services.
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