Brandon names Wardrop city manager
Currently serving as West St. Paul CAO
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 16/01/2025 (245 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
For the first time since the end of August 2024, Brandon has a new permanent city manager.
The City of Brandon announced on Wednesday that Dave Wardrop has been hired as the Wheat City’s 11th city manager.
Wardrop starts his new job on March 17 and is coming to Brandon from the Municipality of West St. Paul — located about 232 kilometres east of Brandon — where he has been working as the community’s chief administrative officer for the last year and a half.
The City of Brandon has hired Dave Wardrop to be the new city manager. His first day on the job is expected to be March 17. Wardrop brings more than three decades of municipal leadership experience as an engineer and professional chartered accountant to the role. He is coming to Brandon from the Municipality of West St. Paul, situated about 232 kilometres east of Brandon, where he was that community’s chief administrative officer. (Submitted)
“It’s a comparable role,” Wardrop said in a phone interview with the Sun. “City manager and chief administrative officer are really interchangeable terms. In fact, the city manager role is often referred to as the chief administrative officer or acts as the chief administrative officer within the City of Brandon.
“It’s certainly an exciting opportunity, and I’m looking forward to it, that’s for sure,” said Wardrop, who is a professional chartered accountant with a master of science in civil engineering. He also holds a master’s degree in business administration.
Wardrop was hired from a pool of 35 applicants and has more than 30 years of municipal leadership experience, according to a City of Brandon media release.
As the City of Winnipeg’s chief transportation and utilities officer, Wardrop was in a leadership role for more than 5,000 employees, managing Winnipeg’s water and waste, public works and transit departments, as well as its fleet and parking services agencies.
During the catastrophic flooding of Winnipeg in 1997, often described as the “Flood of the Century,” Wardrop led field operations and as director of Winnipeg Transit, oversaw the “on-time and under-budget delivery of that city’s Southwest Transitway Project,” the media release stated.
“I think there’s a lot that Brandon has to offer, there are lots of exciting projects underway,” Wardrop added, referring to the proposed expansion of the water treatment plant, the southwest lift station project and work on the Sportsplex — also under consideration.
“There’s been talk about the municipal airport improvements, transit enhancements, both in terms of technology and real time service and onboard surveillance, and work on some of the refurbishments for transit as well. So, all sorts of exciting opportunities that I’m looking forward to being part of,” Wardrop said.
The city manager works in partnership with council, he added, and complimented the mayor and councillors for being a “great team,” and “being on track.” He also said he’s looking forward to strengthening alliances with other communities.
Wardrop’s strategic focus and commitment to excellence will be a great asset to the team, said Brandon Mayor Jeff Fawcett.
“We are very pleased to have Dave Wardrop join our team as the new city manager,” said Fawcett.
“His extensive experience and dedication to municipal leadership in Manitoba will be invaluable as we continue to grow and enhance the services we provide to the community,” the mayor said.
Terry Parlow has been acting city manager since Aug. 8, 2024. He took over for Ron Bowles, who was the city’s 10th city manager from April 26, 2021, to Aug. 31, 2024. Bowles accepted a similar position in West Kelowna, B.C.
Parlow will stay in his role until Wardrop’s first day on the job, and will then resume his position as chief of Brandon Fire and Emergency Services.
Fawcett added his thanks to Parlow in the media release.
“We appreciate all the effort, care, and consideration for staff that he has put in over the last few months. His interim leadership greatly helped us during this transition period,” Fawcett said, adding, “We are pleased that he will continue in his role as the chief of emergency services.”
Wardrop said he sees his job as providing leadership to align people and teams, to develop “the best outcomes for the community, both in terms of efficient service delivery and overall effective services.”
“These really are exciting times for Brandon and I’m looking forward to continuing to build upon the strong, positive culture.”
» mmcdougall@brandonsun.com
» X: @enviromichele