NLV council names Juden permanent city manager
Ryann Juden, a longtime friend and associateofnorthlasvegasmayor John Lee, was appointed Wednesday night as city manager, three months after a dispute with his predecessor got him fired, rehired and promoted to the role temporarily.
Thenorthlasvegascitycouncil opted out of conducting a wider search and unanimously selected Juden, who has a resume light on municipal administration other than serving as assistant city manager for more than two years.
He will earn $220,000 annually under a two-year contract.
“We’re going to continue workinghardtoturnthecorner in North Las Vegas,” Juden said.
Juden was named interim city manager in January following a dispute with his predecessor, Qiong Liu. The Citycouncilvotedfeb.7to fire Liu “for cause” amid allegations that she attempted to give herself a $30,000 retroactive raise.
A North Las Vegas planning commissioner spoke in favor of Juden’s appointment on Wednesday, along with a citizens’ advisory committee member, a representative for several landowners at Apex Industrial Park andofficialsfromthelaborunions covering city employees and police officers.
Juden’s career path took someunusualturnsleading himtotheroleofcitymanager, when compared with those in similar roles who traditionallyspendyears—sometimes decades — working their way up the municipal ladder.
After receiving a law degree from the University of Iowa College of Law, Juden worked as a research associate for a law firm. Juden does not belong to any state bar associations.
Juden said he met Lee through the Mormon church shortly after moving to Southern Nevada in 2005. He later worked as a policy consul- tant for several lawmakers, including Lee, who served 14 years in the Legislature.
Juden went on to work for Lee’s mayoralcampaignin2013.
Councilman Isaac Barron said he didn’t see a need to seek applicants for the city manager job because the council has been “test driving” Juden for months.
“Maybe he’s got a long way to go still; I don’t know,” Barron said. “But I think we’re moving in the right direction with a person who shows that he has vision, that he has a different style that seems to be meshing well with the city leaders of the city here, and I would be very much in favor of making this permanent.”