Louisville names 4 city manager finalists

LOUISVILLE — Louisville City Council this week selected four finalists for the municipality’s city manager position, which has been vacant since last summer when Jeff Durbin resigned amid an investigation into a still unspecified personnel matter. 

The final candidates, who were recruited with the help of search firm Bob Murray & Associates, are:

• Routt County county manager Jay Harrington.
• Diana Langley, city manager of Yuba City, California.
• Aspen city manager Sara Ott.
• Commerce City city manager Jason Rogers.

Louisville will hold a meet-and-greet event Jan. 22 to introduce the finalists to the public. A vote to select the city’s next top unelected official is scheduled for Jan. 27, after which the chosen candidate will negotiate terms of employment with the Louisville City Council. A start date will be determined upon the signing of contract. 

Samma Fox has served as Louisville’s interim city manager since July 2024, when city leaders accepted Durbin’s resignation.

The resignation acceptance vote, which included little public discussion among city officials, came less than a month after the Louisville City Council launched an investigation into Durbin for an unspecified personnel matter.

“There’s not an awful lot that can or should be said right now by any of us,” Louisville mayor Chris Leh said in July. “… This process is one we’ve taken very, very seriously.”

Half a year later, the city has not released the results of  its investigation nor provided any detail on the nature of the personnel matter it was meant to probe. Louisville officials have repeatedly declined to comment on the situation, and questions provided by BizWest on Wednesday were not immediately answered.

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