MUSCATINE, Iowa — After three months without a permanent city administrator, the Muscatine City Council is gearing up to make a final decision.

A.J. Johnson served as Muscatine city manager for 20 years, ending his term in June and now serving as the city manager in Urbandale.

Public works director Randy Hill has been serving as interim city administrator since Johnson’s departure.

Four candidates  from as far as New Hampshire will be touring the city Oct. 15-18 and almost all have some ties to Muscatine.

The candidates, who will be interviewed on Saturday, Oct. 17, during their weekend visit to Muscatine, are:

Gregg Mandsager

Lebanon, N.H.

Gregg Mandsager, 39, was born a “Navy brat” in Honolulu, Hawaii. He is city manager in Lebanon, N.H., a town of 13,000 people at night that doubles in size by day, with Dartmouth College across the Connecticut River in Hanover, N.H.

Mandsager describes Lebanon and Muscatine as “micropolitans” — communities into which people travel for work or leisure.

He and his wife, Anna, and their four children — Taylor, 14; Michael, 12; Caitlin, 10; and Ryan, 6 —are looking to return home to the Midwest, Mandsager said.

He has his associate’s degree from Iowa Central Community College in Fort Dodge,  a bachelor’s degree from Iowa State University and a law degree  from Drake University.

His first city position was as an administrative assistant to the mayor in Fort Dodge for two years, followed by a position as a city manager in West Burlington for five years. He’s been in New Hampshire for the past four years.

It was during his time at Iowa Central that he studied city management and “really got into it,” he said.

“Now it’s time to come home,” Mandsager said of Iowa. “I got a chance to talk with the former administrator (A.J. Johnson) and he confirmed why I applied [in Muscatine].”

Mandsager said he feels positive about Muscatine and sees his past experiences as a perfect fit.

“My kids are excited about the soccer fields,” Mandsager said.

Richard Downey

Rock Falls, Ill.

Richard Downey, 38,  is a Youngstown, Ohio, native and city manager in Rock Falls, Ill.

Downey received his bachelor’s degree in political science at Kent State University in Ohio, followed by a master’s degree in public administration from Central Michigan University.

His first position was as an intern with the city of Mt. Pleasant, Mich., followed by another internship in Clare, Mich.

He worked three years as a city administrator in Elkhart, Kan., before accepting the position in Rock Falls. Downey said that he’s focused his efforts on economic and housing development.

He’s attracted to Muscatine because of its riverfront. During his time in Rock Falls, he focused his efforts toward riverfront projects.

“It’s another river community with a mix of industry,” Downey said of Muscatine.

Downey’s wife, Roberta, and their children — Max, 17 months; and Bonnie, 4 — are also behind his decision to apply in Muscatine.

“Muscatine has good schools,” Downey said.

He said he had a long chat with A.J. Johnson and that he spoke highly of the city. He’s also attended Bi-State Regional Commission meetings in Illinois.

Downey said he is happy with the position he has  had in Rock Falls for more than six years and could stay there “as long as he’d like,” but he thought it would be a great opportunity to live somewhere new.

“We like this part of the country,” Downey said of his family.

Jeff Doherty

Carbondale, Ill.

Jeff Doherty, 56, a former longtime city manager of Carbondale, Ill., is willing to come out of retirement for Muscatine.

The veteran Carbondale city manager, who left his job in June 2008 for a “change of pace,” said the community spirit of Muscatine attracts him most to the city administrator position.

Doherty graduated from Southern Illinois University in Carbondale and immediately took a position as an intern in community development with the city in 1976.

He later moved to the position of assistant city manager, sitting next to two city managers before being appointed to the chair in 1992. His work in Carbon-dale spanned 30 years.

Doherty said he and his wife, Barbara, often brought their two children; Jeffrey, 25, and Sarah, 19, to Muscatine as children for soccer tournaments.

Doherty said some of his big projects in Carbondale included housing development and rehabilitation and economic development, all qualities he would like to bring to Muscatine.

He also worked closely with Southern Illinois Univeristy in the development of a research park and worked with the railroad system around Carbondale.

“I have considerable experience in housing, a lot of economic and retail development in my background,” he said.

Doherty said he’d also like to focus attention on industry, helping recruit new industries and retain current ones.

“I’m impressed with the facilities and parks [in Muscatine],” Doherty said. “I’m impressed that it’s a progressive community.”

Gary Boden

Clinton, Iowa

Gary Boden, 55, is a native of Rockford, Ill., and recently served as city manager in Clinton.

He graduated with a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana, and followed with a master’s degree in public administration from Northern Illinois University in DeKalb, where he followed his academics with an internship. He worked with the city of DeKalb for more than nine years.

In 1991, he moved to Whitewater, Wis., where he took a position as city manager. After 13 years, he was hired as vice president of Springsted, a public financial advisory company. He left in 2007 for the administrator’s job in Clinton.

He resigned in Clinton in June after a 4-3 vote accepting his resignation. In his two-year tenure, Boden said he made changes to the organization of the city government and created a community development department.

“I worked with a lot of economic development,” Boden said. “I also did a lot of work with industrial parks and potential for job creation.”

The parallels between Muscatine and Clinton go beyond population, Boden said, and  into economics.

“Muscatine is a very independent city, while also a part of the wider Quad-City area,” he said. “It seems to be a community that has gone through development and redevelopment.”

Boden and his wife, Ruth, enjoy living in Iowa. His children, twins, Andrew and Sarah, are both seniors in college.

“It’s close to family,” he said of his wife’s family. “This position seems typical for my career path.”