The Lake County Commission has unanimously chosen Alan Rosen, the assistant city manager of Port Orange, to replace County Manager Jeff Cole, who is retiring later this month.
Commission Chair Sean Parks will negotiate a contract with Rosen. And commissioners expect to approve it at the Dec. 22 meeting.
Rosen impressed them with his experience in government in Florida, his management style and his view of the big picture.
He has a black belt in tae kwon do, and that, too, seemed to impress the commissioners during his interview Tuesday.
"And how could we as a commission be assured you would use tae kwon do for good and not for evil?" one of them quipped.
"Well, he did quote Spider-Man, come on," interjected Commissioner Leslie Campione.
"You won't use it on commissioners, will you?" one of them said.
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Retired Rear Admiral Jeffrey Harley was also a finalist for the job.
The commissioners also voted to make Deputy County Manager Jo Anne Drury the interim county manager from Dec. 19 until Rosen takes over.
