There is a polite fiction in local government that serving “at the pleasure of the governing body” rests securely on mutual trust. Often it does. Increasingly, it can feel more fragile.
In today’s political climate, the employment relationship between elected officials and their chief administrative officer deserves a closer examination. What protections actually exist? Who advocates for the manager when circumstances shift?
In this episode of Generation on the Rise, Eden Ratliff and Dave Pribulka sit down with Brad Gotshall to explore what it means to become, in his words, a “free agent.” They examine contracts and severance, and they also confront questions of reputation, professional identity, and the personal weight of transitions that can be political, strategic, or simply inevitable.
“We, I think we all see ourselves as good negotiators. That’s what we’re paid to do. But for ourselves, I think it’s a different animal…I don’t like to talk about myself. And I think that’s the case with most of us…We’re not really comfortable talking about ourselves or advocating for ourselves, but, you know, the past two places I’ve been..it’s really been an unfortunate wake-up call for me that the most important conversation, is how to protect ourselves.” - Brad
“It does bring up an interesting question about the role of the recruiter in the process of interacting with candidates. And I’ve been a part of recruitments where I’ve been very impressed by the recruiter. They’ve been very honest with me about the community, about the issues that were going on, the dynamics. Even going so far in some cases is saying, you know, you really might want to give this some consideration.
I guess the question is: to all the recruiters that are listening and would be recruiters, how do you think your role is represented with both the candidate as well as the organization?” - Dave
“There’s a recruiter who’s now retired, regional to Pennsylvania that we all know. And he used to say the same thing. He was like, in the interview process, when we’re getting down to making a job offer, every elected body and every manager wants the same thing…and the whole thing is a lie, but it’s the same thing. The board wants the manager to say, I love you now and I will love you forever.
And the manager wants the board to say, we love you now and we will love you forever. And together we will ride off into the sunset. But the reality is, it’s not true.” - Eden
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⏱️ Timestamps
* 00:00 – Cold open, book banter, introductions
* 04:30 – Brad’s background: elected official at 17 to professional manager
* 09:30 – Transition to Warren County and “free agency”
* 11:30 – Protecting yourself as a manager: personal and professional buckets
* 13:30 – Contract negotiations: learning the hard way
* 16:00 – Do managers need representation?
* 19:00 – The loneliness of severance negotiations
* 22:00 – Lower Paxton: no contract, negotiated exit
* 26:00 – Recruiter’s role in negotiations
* 31:00 – Severance pushback and board dynamics
* 37:00 – Creative contract structures (Rehoboth example)
* 39:30 – Should managers use agents?
* 41:30 – Legal review vs. negotiation support
* 43:00 – Preserving reputation under NDAs
* 45:30 – Building a personal brand before crisis hits
* 48:00 – No-fault divorce vs. political dismissal
* 50:00 – Wrap-up and Part Two teaser
