A new York County manager will be in the building. But will council make it official?
The new York County manager will be on hand Tuesday night in York. The question is, which candidate will it be?
The county has a meet-and-greet at the York County Government Center for three finalists. The 5-6 p.m. event brings together Cumberland County, N.C. assistant county manager Melissa Cardinali, former Horry County administrator Chris Eldridge, and interim York County manager David Hudspeth.
A special called meeting follows for York County Council. Council has closed-door finalist interviews on the agenda. Actions may be taken following that executive session.
The county manager oversees department heads countywide, from finance to voter registration, emergency management, finance and more than a dozen other departments. Law enforcement, fire safety, utilities and planning also fall under the county umbrella.
York County Council selects and employs the county manager. All three candidates in the running for that role see challenges and opportunities in York County.
Cardinali
Cardinali, 60, comes from North Carolina. She graduated from East Carolina University before starting as director of finance for Southern Pines, N.C. She worked as portfolio administrator in Durham, N.C., and as financial director in Sanford, N.C., and Cumberland County, N.C. She started her current role as assistant county manager in Cumberland County in 2014.
Her various roles include leading finance, budget, tax administration, information and related departments. Cumberland is the fifth most populous county in North Carolina with more than 330,000 residents. Cumberland county is home to Fayetteville and Fort Bragg.
Though York County is smaller and a nearly three-hour drive west into another state, Cardinali is familiar with the area. Her daughter’s family lives here.
“We’ve been interested in that area for some time now,” Cardinali said. “The challenges that I see are I would say fairly obvious, in growth and managing that growth. Being proactive in addressing that growth, which includes pressures on the infrastructure and the natural resources. Including transportation and utilities.”
Cardinali recognizes York County has plenty to offer.
“It’s very beautiful, and I appreciate the natural resources that are there — the trails, the lake,” she said. “But I also recognize that the growth needs to be managed.”
She isn’t concerned about switching states, given any public rules or funding mechanisms that may vary. Social and public health services fall to counties in North Carolina, for instance, while state road funding and similar issues operate under different structures between states.
“That’s where leadership kicks in and you know any organization you go to will have some unique components,” Cardinali said. “And you have to learn.”
Cardinali said she believes it’s important not just to develop strong relationships with York County Council members and county staff but also other public bodies from municipal councils to school boards.
“That air of cooperation with the municipalities is so important,” she said.
Eldridge
Eldridge, 49, boasts experience in high-growth areas, similar to what York County faces.
The Appalachian State and Clemson universities graduate started his career at a weekly newspaper in Pickens County. He went on to become city administrator in Liberty, Pickens and Georgetown. Eldridge left last year after spending the past seven years as county administrator for Horry County.
That county includes Myrtle Beach, and Eldridge’s time with the county included management of a top five fastest-growing metro area in the country, a major airport expansion and a capital projects sales tax campaign to fund road work.
“It’s similar in respects,” Eldridge said. “It’s fast growing, just like York is.”
Another similarity between Horry and York, he said, is the varied character.
“You’ve got the densely urbanized areas in one part of the county, and another part of the county is really quite rural,” Eldridge said. “There’s a lot of similarities.”
Eldridge said his work leading such a county through road and other large capital projects makes him a fit for what York County faces.
“A lot of it is project management,” he said. “A lot of it is still on the table to get done there in York.”
Eldridge sees considerable possibility on the opposite end of the state from where he most recently served.
“It’s a vibrant community,” he said of York County. “It has a lot to offer for families. A lot for recruiting industries. York County is not a hard sell.”
He would focus on the priorities his council identifies, Eldridge said, in setting a course for York County.
“It’s my job to make sure I make those happen,” he said.
Hudspeth
Hudspeth, 56, is by far the candidate with the most York County experience. After graduating from York Technical College and Winthrop University, he worked briefly for a Fort Mill engineering firm before spending a dozen years in the Rock Hill city planning and engineering departments. Hudspeth spent more than 15 years as town manager in Fort Mill. He came to the county in 2018 as planning and park services director, taking over as interim county manager in July 2019.
Hudspeth spent time in between those roles as administrator in Mullins and Bamberg County. Yet in those York County stops he built relationships with elected officials, business leaders, developers and citizens he sees as a strength leading the county.
“It’s my home and it’s where I started my career,” Hudspeth said. “I had an opportunity to work in those three places, so I think that’s just a natural result of me being here.”
Hudspeth doesn’t rely solely, though, on local ties.
“Ultimately the choice is up to council and I’m sure they’ll consider other factors than where you’ve lived most of your life,” he said. “But professionally I have a knowledge of the cities, the county. I have established relationships for decades with key people around the county.”
Hudspeth said he’s quite proud of his work in Fort Mill, helping transition the town from what it was in the late 90s to the larger force it is today. At York County, there’s ongoing work on the Riverbend park project to bring public access to miles of Catawba River frontage the county bought as part of a 2,100-acre deal.
“I’ve been very pleased to work in the planning department and attempt to bring some stability there, and implement council’s goals,” Hudspeth said.
Hudspeth said there always are individual projects or departments that may need change, but he wouldn’t look to overhaul county operations with a switch from interim to full-time manager. He likes the path the county is on now.
“I don’t think it’s going to be a major shift in anything we do,” he said. “Certainly there will be things we can tweak and improve on, but we’ve got a well-run county and it has a lot of things going for it.”
This story was originally published February 11, 2020 at 7:00 AM.
