By a 4-1 vote, the Select Board on April 1 opted to stay in-house and name Deputy Town Manager Kathleen “Katie” King as the second town manager in Needham’s history.
King will assume the role on July 5 and succeed Kate Fitzpatrick as the town’s chief executive officer. Fitzpatrick has held that role since 2001, first as town administrator and since 2005 as town manager when a town charter change resulted in the new title for the town’s de facto CEO.
King was not present at the meeting. In an email, she said she is deferring interviews until the hiring process is complete but added, “I am grateful for the Select Board’s confidence in me to lead our dedicated Town staff to effectively serve the Needham community.”
King was hired as deputy town manager in 2020, cutting her teeth in the midst of the pandemic. In her current role, her management portfolio includes overseeing the 400 town employees among the Building Department, Economic Development, Health and Human Services, the Public Library, Park & Recreation and Planning and Community Development.
She came to Needham after six years with the city of Boston, where she was director of the Office of Intergovernmental Relations for Mayor Marty Walsh. She had come to Boston from the nonprofit sector, having worked for the American Cancer Society and the American Lung Association of the Northeast.
King is a graduate of Boston University and holds a master’s degree in public health from the B.U. School of Public Health and a master’s in public administration from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.
All five Select Board members were effusive in their praise for all three finalists who emerged from a field of 15 applicants for the position. The job became open in October when Fitzpatrick announced her plans to retire after having worked in town since 1990.
“I think we had an embarrassment of riches,” said Select Board member Cathy Dowd of King and the two other finalists, town Department of Public Works Director Carys Lustig and Benjamin Branyan, the chief financial and administrative officer of the Greenwich Public Schools in Connecticut.
“Any of these candidates would do a fine job,” she said before elaborating on why she ultimately opted for King.
“I think she really stands out in dealing with all three of the main constituencies that a town manager has to deal with: that’s the residents, that’s the town staff and that’s the state and the outside entities.”
Member Marianne Cooley echoed Dowd’s praise of all the finalists, but said King’s knowledge of the town at a challenging time was a key factor.
“I did come to the conclusion that Katie King would be the person who I think will best serve the town. She is able to hit the ground running with the knowledge she’s worked hard to build over the last several years.”
The two Select Board members who served on the search committee, Chair Kevin Keane and Heidi Frail, joined the chorus of praise for all three finalists.
“The applicants were so impressive, all of them,” said Frail. “I couldn’t find Carys Lustig more impressive, but Katie King, for me, offers the entire package.”
“Katie has an upper-level, strategic view of the town,” added Keane. “She understands how the town works very well.”
The lone dissenter was member Josh Levy, who favored Branyan as the best choice among a stellar field.
“We asked the screening committee to make our job difficult, and they have delivered on that request in triplicate,” Levy said.
He articulated a conscious choice for an outsider, expressing his view that “the needs of residents are too often taking a back seat” and suggesting a change agent was needed.
“I understand the appeal of choosing a familiar face in the midst of change,” he said.
After voting to appoint King, the board then assigned Keane and Frail to conduct contract negotiations with King, reasoning that it was a logical extension of their having served on the search committee.
In addition to Keane and Frail, the search committee included School Committee Vice Chair Michael O’Brien, Finance Committee Chair Carol Fachetti, Planning Board member Paul Alpert, Human Resources Advisory Committee Chair Rita Vogel and Town Meeting member Anna Giraldo-Kerr.
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