photo by: Contributed

David Vela

One of the five finalists for Lawrence’s city manager has removed himself from consideration for the job, the city announced on Tuesday.

The finalist no longer seeking the position is David Vela, who most recently served as city manager for the west Texas oil town of Odessa. The city’s news release on Tuesday did not provide any details on why Vela had withdrawn.

Vela’s departure leaves four finalists vying to succeed Craig Owens as Lawrence’s next city manager. They are Joe Fivas, the city manager of Cleveland, Tennessee; Joe Lessard, an independent consultant whose most recent city manager experience was a one-year tenure in Ashland, Oregon; Majed Al-Ghafry, the city manager of DeSoto, Texas; and Michael Kovacs, the city manager of Fate, Texas.

All four are scheduled to be in Lawrence this week for onsite interviews, which will include a community meet-and-greet at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, May 20, at the Carnegie Building, 200 W. Ninth St.

photo by: Contributed

Joe Fivas

photo by: Contributed

Joe Lessard

photo by: Contributed

Majed Al-Ghafry

photo by: Contributed

Michael Kovacs