Oct. 25 -- Santa Fe City Attorney Erin McSherry has been named by Mayor Alan Webber to serve as interim city manager following the news City Manager John Blair is departing for a new job in Washington, D.C.

Senior Assistant City Attorney Marcos Martinez will serve as interim city attorney while McSherry is interim city manager, the city said in a Friday afternoon news release. Deputy City Manager Layla Archuletta-Maestas will remain in her current role, said city spokesperson Regina Ruiz.

McSherry will not apply for the permanent position, according to the release, but her appointment "will ensure continuity and stability at the City of Santa Fe during the search for a City Manager."

Blair, who has been city manager since January 2022, announced Tuesday he would be leaving the city for an unspecified new position in Washington.

Webber announced the interim appointments at a special City Council meeting Friday afternoon, along with the nomination of Andrea Salazar as the next city clerk. Salazar, who currently work at the New Mexico Office of the State Auditor, was an assistant city attorney for the city for four years.

The councilors met in closed session to discuss personnel matters for about an hour at the special meeting, and did not have any public votes or discussion.

Councilors are scheduled to vote on Webber's appointments at the next City Council meeting on Oct. 30. If approved by the council, the interim appointments will start on Nov. 2, the day after Blair's final day as city manager.

McSherry has been with the city since 2018 and will return to her role as city attorney following the hiring of a new city manager, the release said.

The city posted the city manager position Thursday on its online hiring portal, which lists a first review of applications date of Nov. 1 and a salary range of $168,000 to $243,000 a year.

The position has also been posted on several external forums, including the International City/County Management Association and the Local Government Hispanic Network. The release said the candidate search process will be "thorough, extensive, and transparent."

The job posting requires applicants to have a bachelor's degree in management, political science, business or public administration "or similar field" and eight years of "increasingly responsible managerial experience in planning, organizing, directing, and overseeing a large organization."