| By Big Radio News Staff |
The vote was not unanimous, but Rock County’s Board of Supervisors taps Illinois resident John Light to be the next county administrator.
The board voted 19 to 7 Thursday night to confirm the board’s staff committee pick of Light for the county’s top role. Light was competing with two other finalists — Rock County employee Andrew Baker, and Walworth County Employee Richard Hough.
Nearly a third of the board in attendance Thursday voted against Light’s appointment. Some of those appointing Light — including Supervisor Mike Schwarz — think the staffing committee sidestepped the full board by choosing Light as the appointee. He says the committee should have forwarded all three finalists to the full board and allowed the board to decide who to hire.
Others said Light’s resume shows a track record of him switching government jobs on average once every four years. They worry he won’t be here long.
Former Rock County administrator Josh Smith served for 10 years before he left for a finance job at the UW System.
One board member said they don’t believe Light gave ample details on some of his short-lived gigs, such as his time as a human resources administrator in Kent County, Illinois, after only a matter of months.
Light recently has been employed by a contract agency who assigns him to interim municipal and county administration jobs.
Other board members like Debi Towns say they support hiring Light. Towns called the board committee’s pick of Light as the single front runner “how democracy works.”
Light spoke briefly Thursday, saying his biggest hope is to “build trust” with all members of the county board.
