| 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.
Some of the seven who voted against appointing Light say they think the board’s 10-member staff committee would have forwarded the list of three finalists to the full board, and allowed the board to decide which finalist 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 the don’t believe Light gave ample details on some of his short-lived gigs, such as his time as a human resources administrator in suburban Lake County, Illinois after only a matter of months.
Light recently had 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 a single frontrunner “how democracy works.”
Light spoke briefly Thursday, saying his biggest hope is to “build trust” with all members of the county board.
