City manager finalists

Finalists are listed alphabetically.

Heather A. Balser

Heather A. Balser is a seasoned local government executive with more than 20 years of experience leading municipal operations, finance, strategic planning, transportation, and public policy. She currently serves as Chief Financial Officer for the City of Lafayette, Colorado, where she oversees the City's financial operations, budgeting, capital planning, debt management, and implementation of new financial management systems. Previously, she served as Town Manager for Kennebunk, Maine, managing all municipal departments and leading organizational improvements, labor negotiations, and budget transparency initiatives. Before Maine, Balser spent more than two decades with the City of Louisville, Colorado, advancing through progressively responsible leadership roles from Management Assistant to Assistant to the City Administrator, Assistant City Manager, Deputy City Manager, Interim City Manager, and ultimately City Manager, where she directed all city operations, managed a $55 million budget, led the City's strategic planning efforts, guided its COVID-19 response, secured millions in state and federal grant funding, and coordinating major capital and infrastructure projects, including major regional corridor improvements to U.S. Highway 36. She also served as Interim Chief Resiliency Officer for the City of Greeley and Transportation Advisor for the Boulder Chamber of Commerce. Balser holds a Master of Public Administration from the University of Colorado Denver, a Bachelor of Arts in Economics with a secondary concentration in French from Bates College, completed advanced economics coursework at the University of Provence-Marseilles in France, and is a graduate of the International City/County Management Association’s Senior Executive Institute at the University of Virginia Darden School of Business.

Jonathan Cain

Jonathan Cain is an accomplished local government executive with extensive leadership experience in municipal administration, fiscal management, economic development, emergency response, and community engagement. He currently serves as Town Manager and Zoning Administrator for the Town of Nederland, Colorado, where he oversees municipal operations, financial strategy, capital planning, and land use. With the Town's elected leadership, he guided the acquisition and transition of the Eldora Mountain Resort to municipal ownership, while also leading recovery efforts following a major downtown fire. Previously, as Assistant City Administrator for Idaho Springs, Colorado, he secured more than $15 million in grant funding, advanced affordable housing, transportation, economic development, and infrastructure initiatives such as Virginia Canyon Mountain Park, and led A Clear Path Home, a regional housing initiative designed with residents, and COVID-19 business recovery efforts. Earlier in his career, Cain served as Assistant Director of Parks and Recreation for Gilpin County, Director for SwimLabs Swim Schools, and held additional roles in local government, housing, and consulting. He is nearing completion of graduate coursework toward a Master of Arts in Political Science and Public Policy through the University of Colorado Denver's DOLA Best and Brightest Program and earned a Bachelor of Arts in Politics and Government from Ripon College.

Larry Dorr

Larry Dorr is an experienced municipal executive with nearly 25 years of progressively responsible local government leadership in Colorado, specializing in finance, community development, strategic planning, economic development, and organizational leadership. He currently serves as Deputy City Manager for the City of Westminster, Colorado, where he oversees Finance, Information Technology, Human Resources, and Community Services while serving as Acting City Manager when needed. In this role, he has led major community development initiatives, including Westminster's largest master-planned community, affordable housing projects, downtown redevelopment, voter-approved capital funding measures, organizational restructuring, and emergency response efforts during both the COVID-19 pandemic and the Marshall Fire. Prior to Westminster, Dorr spent nearly two decades with the City of Lakewood, Colorado, advancing from Financial Analyst to Assistant Finance Director and ultimately Director of Finance, where he managed the City's financial operations, guided long-term fiscal sustainability, led successful voter-approved revenue initiatives, and played a key role in transformative redevelopment projects such as the Belmar downtown district and St. Anthony Hospital campus. A Certified Public Accountant (CPA) and ICMA Credentialed Manager (ICMA-CM), Dorr holds a Master of Business Administration from the University of Colorado Boulder, a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from the University of California, Irvine, and completed graduate studies through the Rocky Mountain Program at the University of Colorado Denver Graduate School of Public Affairs.

José R. Madrigal

José R. Madrigal is an accomplished municipal executive with more than 24 years of local government experience, including 18 years in executive leadership roles serving communities ranging from 20,000 to more than 228,000 residents. He currently serves as City Manager for the City of Durango, Colorado, where he oversees all municipal operations, a workforce of approximately 450 full-time employees, and a $170 million annual budget. Additionally, he serves on the Colorado Municipal League Executive Board and the Board of the Local Government Hispanic Network. Prior to Durango, Madrigal founded Socius Amica, LLC, providing executive consulting services to municipalities throughout Texas. His previous leadership roles include Deputy City Manager for the City of McKinney, Strategic Services Team Director (Assistant City Manager) and Public Works Team Assistant Director for the City of Irving, Management Consultant for the City of Pflugerville, Assistant City Manager and Assistant to the City Manager for the City of Cedar Park, and Assistant to the City Council for the City of Lubbock. Throughout his career, he has led strategic planning, budgeting, economic development, organizational improvement, and operations across nearly every municipal service area. Madrigal holds a Master of Public Administration and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Texas Tech University and is a graduate of the Senior Executive Institute at the University of Virginia and the Public Executive Institute at the University of Texas at Austin's LBJ School of Public Affairs.

Jason Slowinski

Jason Slowinski is a seasoned executive leader with more than 20 years of experience in higher education and municipal government, recognized for driving organizational transformation, fiscal stewardship, and strategic partnerships. He currently serves as Associate Vice President of Operations at the Colorado School of Mines, where he oversees campus operations, capital planning, public safety, facilities, sustainability, and a $750 million capital development portfolio. Previously, he served as City Manager for the City of Golden, Colorado, Village Manager for Lake Zurich, Illinois, and Assistant City Manager/Acting City Manager for Des Plaines, Illinois, leading major infrastructure projects, economic development initiatives, organizational restructuring, and emergency response efforts. Earlier in his career, he held leadership roles with the Village of River Forest and worked as a City Planner for the City of Alexandria, Virginia. Slowinski earned a Juris Doctor from the University of Illinois Chicago School of Law, completed graduate studies in Public Administration at Northern Illinois University, and holds a Bachelor of Business Administration with a Certificate in Urban Planning from the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee.

The City of Lakewood provides non-discriminatory employment opportunities to all persons without regard to an individual's race, color, creed, national origin, religion, ancestry, sex, sexual orientation (including transgender status), age, military service, veteran status, marital status, genetic information, pregnancy or disability, or any other applicable status protected by state or federal law. The City of Lakewood does not tolerate discrimination, harassment, or retaliation and promotes equal pay for equal work.