Patrick O’Rourke to be offered economic development position in Kandiyohi County – West Central Tribune

WILLMAR — Patrick O’Rourke has emerged as the top candidate for Kandiyohi County’s executive director of economic development and will be offered the position.

Four members of the Kandiyohi County Joint Powers Board for Economic Development voted in a secret ballot for O’Rourke as the lead candidate; two members voted for him as the runner-up.

The Kandiyohi County and City of Willmar Economic Development Commission, the economic development authority created in 2003 by special legislation, began doing business earlier this year as Kandiyohi County Economic Development.

Joint Powers Board Chairman and Kandiyohi County Commissioner Steve Gardner and Vice Chairman and Willmar City Councilwoman Vicki Davis will serve as the negotiating committee to negotiate employment terms with O’Rourke.

O’Rourke was selected after the Joint Powers Board conducted final interviews Monday afternoon with four candidates.

Current Executive Director Aaron Backman submitted his retirement letter to the board earlier this year, with his final hire date set for July 31. However, Backman will be on vacation for the entire month of July.

O’Rourke stood out by far as the candidate with the most experience in economic development, as well as the one with the most experience working collaboratively with government entities and other organizations to achieve different goals, according to feedback from Joint Powers Board members and stakeholders.

He also impressed members of the Joint Powers Board by taking the initiative to come to Kandiyohi County ahead of Monday’s talks to take a self-guided tour of the different communities in the county.

One comment on a stakeholder questionnaire, completed anonymously, said O’Rourke appeared to be the “most road-ready” candidate, but would need a lot of “local context” to learn and understand the “collaborative nature” of the region.

Speakers completed anonymous questionnaires throughout the day’s activities, which also included a morning meeting and a community tour.

“I think it’s clear that once this process was complete, we were looking for people with prior economic development experience, particularly in roles like this,” Gardner said.

He noted that recruiting firm David Drown Associates provided this and presented an “interesting list of candidates” and that the three who had economic development experience “rose to the top.”

One concern shared by stakeholders in their anonymous questionnaires was how long O’Rourke would stay in the role if hired.

In response to this, Gardner commented: “Whether it’s someone at the end of their career or someone trying to move up the ladder, there’s no guarantee that anyone is going to last eight and a half years like Aaron (Backman) did. … I’m comfortable with what seems to be a relative consensus on that.”

According to David Drown Associates’ profile paragraph, O’Rourke is currently owner/consultant of Entrepreneurial Business and Nonprofit Consulting where he has been employed since 1998.

Other roles he held during this time include founding (interim) executive director of the Central Minnesota Dementia Community Action Network and the Dementia Resource Center Clinic in St. Cloud, Minnesota, for two years; past president and 2018 board chair, among other roles, for nearly three years with the Redwood Region Economic Development Commission in Eureka, California; and a member of the City Council for the City of Ferndale, California, for nearly three years.

O’Rourke holds a bachelor’s degree in communications and electronic media management from Northern Arizona University and a master’s degree in public affairs from Indiana University – Bloomington School of Public and Environmental Affairs.