Ellsworth City Manager David Cole Announces Plan to Retire

Ellsworth City Manager David Cole announced his plan to retire, to the City Council in executive session on Monday, August 17th. The date of his last day as City Manager is yet to be determined.

Cole has served as City Manager of Ellsworth since August, 2015. He was the Interim City Manager from March 23, 2015 until his appointment as City Manager. Prior to his tenure as City Manager, he served as Maine’s Commissioner of Transportation and Chair of the Maine Port Authority from 2003 until he left state service in February of 2011 to form David Cole Consulting.

Cole previously worked for 24 years for Eastern Maine Development Corporation, a regional economic development organization based in Bangor, including a seven year stint as President and CEO.

While at MaineDOT Cole utilized his transportation and economic development skills on a national level, chairing the Special Committee on Intermodal Freight and Economic Expansion for the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Organizations from 2005-2010, AASHTO’s over-arching freight committee, and serving as state co-chair for Federal Highway’s 2007 China intermodal freight scan.

Councilor Marc Blanchette commented, “David’s commitment to the City of Ellsworth, its residents and its employees is inspiring. In a very large way, it was he who helped foster Ellsworth’s growth over the past five years, from Jackson Lab to additional housing for all residents. We’ve been fortunate to have a person of his caliber at the helm. And I’ve been fortunate to have him as a good friend.”

A search process for Manager Cole’s successor is being developed by the City Council and will get underway as soon as possible