Emily Randel, the city of Mission deputy city administrator, is leaving at the end of January.
Randel has been with the city of Mission for 10 years and has worked her way up from a neighborhood services coordinator, who oversaw code enforcement and managed the grant program, to deputy city administrator over the past decade.
Once she hit the 10-year mark in May, she said she saw it as a chance to evaluate next steps. Randel said she believes Mission is poised for a bright future, making it the right time to hand over her responsibilities to someone else.
“If there is ever a right time (to leave), it feels like this might be better than some in terms of someone coming in and hitting the ground running to continue our progress,” Randel said.
A look back at Randel’s contribution to Mission
In 2014, Randel transitioned to become the city’s first-ever public information officer as she managed communications about the downtown Johnson Drive street renovation project.
A year later, Randel spearheaded the creation of the Mission Market, a farmers market located right along the recently-improved Johnson Drive.
Mission Market, what Randel calls her passion project, opened on June 6, 2015, with 10 vendors. Now, the city’s list of vendors is more than four times that.
“Thursday evenings at the Market are my favorite time of year, period, in my life or in my career,” Randel said.
Randel’s list of responsibilities grew, and she went from public information officer to assistant to the city administrator to, in February, deputy city administrator of finance and administration.
In this position, Randel oversees finance, human resources and municipal court.
Her peer, Brian Scott, the deputy city administrator of development services, oversees planning, development review and code enforcement.
The mayor, top city official weigh in
Mayor Sollie Flora and City Administrator Laura Smith both told the Post that Randel has led the way to solidifying Mission as a regional leader on sustainability initiatives.
Flora said Randel’s work, including that of the Mission Market and sustainability, will continue to positively impact the city beyond her departure.
“I’ve always been able to count on Emily’s competence and professionalism and I’ll also miss her sparkle — Emily has a positive impact on those around her and, for me, always makes me want to put in that extra effort to make a difference in our community,” Flora said. “I’m sad to see her leave but also excited to see where she’ll make an impact next — I know it’ll be great.”
Smith said working with a professional like Randel is one of the reasons she remains interested in and engaged in local government administration. Plus, the Mission community will miss Randel and all she brings to the city.
“I just am, continually, over the last 10 years, have been really impressed with her passion around so many things and her commitment to leaving things and making things better than how she found them,” Smith said.
Randel says she’s proud of the Mission community
Over the years, Randel said she’s seen residents and business owners share their concerns with the city in a respectful way — even when, at times, city council meetings were expected to be contentious.
Randel said she feels grateful to have worked in a community that is as kind and committed as Mission.
The Mission community never backs down from fun, either, Randel said. She recalls one of her all-time favorite memories: The first-ever Mission Market flash mob in 2019.
Randel said she had no doubts that it would go off without a hitch. More than a dozen people — including then-Mayor Ron Appletoft, a police officer and Randel herself — broke out into dance on a Thursday evening at the farmers market.
“It’s been my true pleasure and honor to work here,” Randel said.
The city has begun the search for a replacement
- Randel said she chose the end of January to support staff through the holidays, provide ample notice and to be part of the search process and subsequent transition.
- The city shared a job posting for Randel’s position about two weeks ago.
- Smith told the Post the timeline is fluid, but the city is seeing a lot of interest in the position — which she thinks speaks highly of both Randel and the city’s priorities.
