TRAVERSE CITY -- With only three finalists for the Traverse City manager position left, one of those finalists has decided to withdraw from the process, and now he's explaining his decision.

Tom Menzel, who recently served as the executive director for the National Cherry Festival was one of the three remaining people vying for the city manager position.

But Menzel announced he's pulling out of the process and says someone else may be better suited for the job.

Menzel says after one on one interviews with the city commission he realized there wouldn't be a successful working relationship.  So, he made the decision to drop his name from the list of candidates.

"Part of a healthy interviewing process is not only being interviewed by the board, but you interviewing the board to see if it will be a working relationship where everyone can benefit and I didn't see that," says Menzel.

Menzel says his decision to withdraw from the remaining list of candidates for Traverse City manager is based on the fact that he doesn't foresee a positive working relationship with some of the commission members...and didn't feel they could all work as a team.

"I did not find that commonality or I didn't find that I would be the profile that they're really looking for to move agendas," says Menzel.
      
Menzel says it may be hard to have a good working relationship with the commission.  In part because Menzel says city commissioner Deni Scrudato made a specific comment to him during the interviewing process, a comment that he called offensive and one that caught him off guard.

"Regarding my late father, which was hurtful and inappropriate in an interview session for an executive position," says Menzel.

"Do you know why this comment was even made in the first place?" asks 7&4 News.

"Well, if you analyze it, it was probably an attempt to bait me and get me upset and I've been used to tough situations before.  It did surprise me that family was brought into it," says Menzel.
 
Menzel says Commissioner Scrudato did call to apologize about the remark.

"I expressed my deepest regrets for what happened, but the comment was not my own.  It came from a much longer conversation," says Deni Scrudato in a statement to 7&4 News.
    
Scrudato went on to say, "I was simply re-stating another person's opinion about Tom's dad...I have never met Tom's dad...I will be making a statement at Monday's city commission meeting."
 
As far as whether Menzel would re-consider his decision if asked to do so...

"I don't believe I would reconsider the decision that I made.  I would certainly keep options open.  I've been treated fairly and professionally by the mayor and will always sit down and talk with him...I would have to make sure that there was that commonality of understanding and if there wasn't the commission wouldn't be happy, I wouldn't be happy and we wouldn't be meeting the needs of the residents of the city, and that's really what we should be focusing on," says Menzel.

Although Tom Menzel says the comment made by Commissioner Scrudato was not the main reason he pulled out of the city manager process, he says Mayor Michael Estes and Commissioner Barbara Budros also called to apologize.

The city commission meeting is scheduled for Monday evening.  That is when Deni Scrudato plans to make a public statement about her comments to Menzel.

7&4 News will have coverage of that meeting Monday night at 11.