The Houston City Council and City Administrator Tona Bowen — after a relationship that has faltered in recent weeks – parted ways on Monday night during a closed session.
Bowen said the decision was mutual for her departure. Discussions in closed session cemented her decision that it was time for her to move on, she said. The six-member board was unanimous in its decision to seek change.
“We’re going in different directions. It is time for me to leave,” Bowen said Tuesday morning after arriving to clean out her second-floor office at Houston City Hall.
Relations between the council and Bowen, who had been in the job for about 18 months, have been rocky in recent weeks. At its Jan. 7 meeting, performance issues were discussed in closed session, and Bowen was given three months to improve.
A source familiar with the Bowen decision said Mayor Don Tottingham encouraged the council Monday night to make the move sooner rather than later — if it was inclined to change leaders. The mayor, who doesn’t have a vote, was fearful of having a new mayor and the city administrator’s post empty.
Tottingham will not seek re-election in April. Willy Walker, who is running unopposed, will be the new mayor.
“I wish Ms. Bowen well,” Tottingham said Tuesday morning. “I think she’s done some positive things for the city.”
The search timetable wasn’t immediately available for Bowen’s replacement. An employment ad will soon be developed, Tottingham said. Bowen will be paid for a month.
City employees met at 11:30 a.m. Tuesday to discuss the situation.
Bowen came to Houston in July 2017 from a position as financial services administrator with MoDOT in Jefferson City. She replaced Larry Sutton after his termination. That vote came months after the election of council members Donnie Wilson, Kim Bittle and Jeremy St. John in April. Joining them in support of removing Sutton was Viki Narancich. Those members and two others oversaw a search that led to hiring Bowen, who already had property in the county.
As city administrator, Bowen led the day-to-day operation of city government and developed the annual budget.
IMAGES FROM BOWEN’S TIME AS CITY ADMINISTRATOR
JULY 2017: Tona Bowen, Houston’s new city administrator, visits with resident Terry Flowers during Tuesday afternoon’s meet-and-greet with the public.
AUGUST 2017: New Houston city administrator Tona Bowen, right, shakes hands with Houston PTO president April Arnold during the annual Back to School Fair last Friday at Houston Elementary School.
AUGUST 2017: New Houston city administrator Tona Bowen wears a Houston Tigers shirt while seated at her desk at city hall.
AUGUST 2017: New Houston city administrator Tona Bowen, left, stands with Blessings in a Backpack program coordinator Sandy Cremer during the annual Back to School Fair last Friday at Houston Elementary School.
JULY 2018: The Houston Lions Club recently conducted its annual installation of officers. New officers installed by past district governor Tom Steinbach and Northwest Texas County Lions Club member Charlotte Williams (both center) included, from left, Bennie Cook, vice president; Brad Evans, board member; Brad Eidson, board member, Tona Bowen, treasurer; Peggy Hirt, secretary; Don Shelhammer, president; Aaron Cantrell, lion tamer; Fred Fromm, tail twister; and Robert Rouse, board member.The Houston Lions Club meets at the Lions Den on North U.S. 63 at noon on the first and third Fridays of each month. For more information, call Shelhammer at 417-967-6304 or Cook at 417-260-2382.
JANUARY 2019: Members of the Houston Community Foundation board of directors. Front row, from left: Kayla Sloan, secretary; Tona Bowen, member; and Joe Kammerer, central regional manager for Community Foundation of the Ozarks. Back row: Brad Gentry, member; Ross Richardson, vice chair; Ron Reed, chair; Rob Harrington and Jarid Scheets, members. Not pictured: Omanez Fockler and Parke Stevens Jr., members.