The Haines Borough Assembly has offered Tennessee real estate investor George Zoukee a job as borough manager. The decision comes after two rounds of interviews with finalists for the position. 

In May of 2020, the Haines Borough assembly and mayor fired then-borough manager Debra Schnabel. It was a controversial decision, opposed by numerous residents and several borough employees. 

After municipal elections this fall, the assembly began the process of hiring a new manager with help from consultant Lenise Henderson Fontenot. Haines mayor Douglas Olerud praised her work on Monday. 

“After going through manager hires in the past, without that outside facilitator, this made the job a lot easier,” Olerud said. “Knowing our end goal from the beginning, what we were looking for, and keep dialing us back into those key things we were looking for, made this process much smoother.”

Over the past few weeks, the assembly has been narrowing down the applicants for the job. On Monday they interviewed two finalists: Alekka Fullerton and George Zoukee.

Fullerton has been working for the borough since 2016 as a legal clerk. After Schnabel was fired she also took on the responsibilities of interim manager. 

During an interview for the job,  Fullerton said her career in law has helped her develop strong conflict resolution skills and other people skills.

“I think my greatest strength is the fact that I have a high degree of emotional intelligence quotient. My EQ is very high and I think that is really a huge benefit to somebody in the managerial role,” Fullerton said. “Not only is it really worthwhile for working with staff, but I think it’s great for the community and I think it’s really good to work with assembly members.”

Fullerton also pointed to her experience negotiating contracts as a valuable asset.

Tennessee resident George Zoukee has a background in finance and administration. He’s worked for the City of Boston, the State of Massachusetts, and the U.S. Department of Transportation among other public sector jobs. More recently he has made a living as a real estate investor.  

He said his integrity is his greatest strength. 

“I would also say that bringing back stability to the role because I understand you went through a few managers in a few years.  I personally think for the sake of the city and the sake of myself would be looking to make at least a 10-year commitment. I’m not looking to use anything as a stepping stone. I’m looking for something I want to do for a long time,” Zoukee said.

After an hour-long closed-door discussion, the assembly voted 5 to 1 in favor of offering the position to George Zoukee. Assembly member Cheryl Stickler said it wasn’t easy.

“This has been a very difficult decision, but for good reasons. We had two very solid candidates,” Stickler said. 

Not everyone agreed with the decision. 

Assembly member Gabe Thomas was the sole no vote. 

“I feel like Alekka has earned my vote due to the levels of service she has provided during these times. She stepped right up and did the job and just kept doing it, kept grinding. She went through not only the pandemic, but also the disaster in December,” Thomas said. 

In a phone call with KHNS, Mayor Douglas Olerud said that he let Zoukee know the assembly had chosen him for the job. Zoukee is still considering the offer, and they are planning to have a follow-up conversation on Friday.