Mark Sohaney will be Boca Raton’s next city manager.
On Tuesday, city council members chose the former CEO of Pearl Harbor Joint Base-Hickam in Hawaii to succeed George Brown. Four of five council members ranked Sohaney first among the five finalists. Councilmember Andy Thomson preferred Deputy City Manager James Zervis.
The choice breaks a nearly four-decades-long pattern of promoting from within. In addition to Zervis, Deputy City Manager Jorge Camejo was a finalist.
But Mayor Scott Singer liked Sohaney because he would provide a “fresh perspective.” During his interview, Sohaney said that Boca Raton—for all its attributes—is “a little behind” in some areas.
His supporters also liked Sohaney’s background, which includes supervising multi-billion-dollar projects. Before his stint in Hawaii, from 2022 to the end of last year, the career Navy officer was CEO of the Key West Naval Air Station.
Interestingly, Sohaney failed to secure other manager jobs in Florida over the last few months. He was a finalist in Palm Bay—population 142,000—and Venice—population 30,000.
Singer will negotiate a proposed contract with Sohaney. The council must approve it to make the hiring official. Barring a snag, Sohaney could start before the end of the year.
