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Kaitlyn Aldrich
By Rob Alway, Editor-in-Chief
LUDINGTON — City Council is expected to offer the job of city manager to Kaitlyn Aldrich when it meets in special session tonight at 7:30 p.m. at City Hall, 400 S. Harrison St. Aldrich is currently the village manager of Kingsley and was one of four candidates for the position to replace Mitch Foster, who resigned in June to take a position at West Shore Community College.
Aldrich has been Kingsley village manager since November 2022. Prior to that she was a planning assistant for the City of Traverse City from May 2022 to November 2022 and an engineering administrative assistant for Traverse City from Oct. 2018 to 2022. She has a bachelor’s degree in political science and history from University of Michigan, graduating in 2016, and a master’s degree in public administration from Central Michigan University, graduating in 2018.
Tonight, City Council is expected to offer Aldrich a one year $120,000 contract. She will become the city’s ninth city manager and the first woman to serve in the role permanently.
Jeanne Oakes, a former city councilor and retired superintendent of the Mason-Lake Intermediate School District (now West Shore Educational Service District), has been serving as interim city manager since Foster’s resignation.
The other candidates for the position included Gregg Elliot, city administrator and director of community development for the City of Adrian; Patrick Jordan, county administrator for Ionia County and former city manager of the City of Escanaba; and Pepper Lockhart,city manager of the City of Evart.
List of Ludington city managers
Charles Baggott, June 1, 1942 to January, 1947
Edward W. Larsen, May 1 to Oct. 31, 1953
James E. Cartier, Nov. 17, 1953 to Sept. 1, 1974
George Von Drak, Sept. 16, 1974 to April 1, 1982
Gerald Richards, April 12, 1982 to June 28, 1988
James Miller, Nov. 10, 1988 to Dec. 31, 2002
John Shay, Feb. 6, 2003 to July, 2018
Mitch Foster, March 18, 2019 to June 1, 2024
Kaitlyn Aldrich, October, 2024
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