Two more applicants will be interviewed for the Florence town manager position, bringing the total number of applicants to date to seven.

The town has been without a permanent town manager since Brent Billingsley announced his resignation to the town council in January. Billingsley had been the Florence town manager since 2015.

Billingsley is now the director of community development for Pinal County.

Deputy Town Manager and Town Clerk Lisa Garcia has been serving as interim town manager since Billingsley’s departure.

Five people already have been interviewed for the position. It’s not known when a hiring decision will be made. Here’s a look at the two additional applicants.

Stacey Bristow, Scottsdale

In her application letter she wrote, “With over 25 years of progressively responsible executive experience in public administration, I have been fortunate to serve on various leadership and community teams. Recently working in a full-service, highly diverse county of 2.S [million] and a city of 168,000 has allowed me to be involved in all aspects of city government. The diversity of my leadership experience includes lead, liaison and/or member to over 30 councils, boards, and commissions, and chief roles for various crucial strategic city-wide initiatives to attain higher living for residents, seniors, businesses, and visitors.”

Currently, Bristow serves as CEO of Energy Company 360 in which she acts as a “performance life coach.”

Her education includes:

• Master's degree in Organizational Leadership and Innovation (in process) from Grand Canyon University
• Bachelor's degree in Administrative/Criminal Justice from California State University Hayward
• Harvard Kennedy School, Senior Executive Program Public Policy
• UC Berkeley, Strategic Management of Public Organizations Executive Program
• Stanford University, Local Executive Government Program

Bristow has worked as director and deputy director of the Development Services Department for the city of Hayward, California from 2008-2018.

“After three decades of supporting and building resilient and thriving communities, I am honored and blessed to have had amazing role models, a family of my own and the opportunity to continue my life's purpose of community service in my new home state of Arizona,” she stated in her application letter.

Harvey Krauss, Casa Grande

In his application letter, he wrote, “I very much enjoy local government management, and I'm excited about the opportunity to assist the Town of Florence with maintaining and building on the outstanding quality of life which residents and businesses strongly value and have come to expect over the years. More importantly, I have a high energy level, a strong work ethic, and the passion and commitment needed to be a successful Town Manager.”

From April 2014 to November 2021, Krauss served as city manager for Eloy, where he:

• Managed the operations of a full-service city with 120 full-time employees (six direct reports) and a total budget of approximately $52 million (FY2021-2022)
• Assisted the mayor and city council with developing policies, short-term and long-range goals and objectives, the annual budget, and provided timely information and recommendations to the mayor and council on various city and community issues
• Implemented the city's budget, facilitated the daily operations of the city
• Developed and maintained excellent working relationships with other governmental agencies, community organizations, and private businesses

He also has served as interim city manager for Eloy, as well as Community Development director for the city. He also served the city of Goodyear as a Development Process administrator, Community Development director and Assistant city manager. In addition, he has worked in local governments in Wyoming, New Mexico and Texas.

He earned his master’s degree in Public Administration from the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque; a master’s degree of Arts, Geography from Arizona State University and a bachelor’s degree of Arts, Geography from East Carolina University, Greenville, North Carolina.