When City Council members in Fort Worth, Texas, sit down Cincinnati's city manager for a job interview today, they will likely be asking about his tumultuous relationship with the council here.

        John Shirey, 51, who is one of eight finalists vying for the $174,000-a-year job as Fort Worth's chief executive, spent Friday meeting with city department heads and touring the region.

        But today he will face a battery of questions in a closed-door session with the nine lawmakers who potentially will be his next bosses.

Shirey

        And some of their questions will undoubtedly involve Mr. Shirey's conflicts with the City Council — which erupted anew Wednesday when the mayor criticized him for using “the worst kind of political rhetoric” to push an energy assistance subsidy.

        “They can't make an appointment (this weekend),” said Pat Fvacina, Fort Worth spokesman. “But obviously if one candidate is head and shoulders above the others, the council could announce their intention.”

        Although the city has no set guidelines, Mr. Fvacina said the council will likely select two or three candidates who could be asked to make a presentation Sunday or return for another interview. An official appointment can't be made until the council votes in a regular council meeting.

        Mr. Shirey was hired in 1993 to oversee the city's 7,000 employees. But for two years, council members have complained about his failure to communicate and about scandals within his administration.

        At the same time, Mr. Shirey has been a central figure in some of the region's biggest developments, including the redesign of Fort Washington Way and the plan to transform Cincinnati's riverfront. His competitors for the job are two Fort Worth assistant city managers; the city managers of Bryan and Carrollton, Texas; the former city manager of Arlington, Texas; the county manager in Sedgwick County, Kansas; and the assistant county manager in Osceola County, Fla.

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