RUMFORD — The Board of Selectmen will soon begin its second round of interviewing candidates for the town manager position.

John Madigan, the town manager for Rumford and Mexico, announced in April he would retire and run for a seat in the Legislature. Selectmen in both towns voted in May to extend his contract to Jan. 1 while they search for a replacement.

Rumford board Chairman Jeff Sterling said selectmen began with 29 applicants and chose six for interviews. However, before those interviews began, three candidates withdrew from consideration.

“We ended up interviewing three candidates” on Oct. 3. “They were all excellent interviews,” he said.

The town contracted with David Barrett, director of personnel services and labor relations for the Maine Municipal Association, to assist with finding candidates.

“He’s been helping us a lot and doing a great job,” Sterling said.

Like the previous interviews, the second round will take place in executive session.

“I think the process is going very well,” Sterling said. “We look forward to the second round and hopefully hiring someone by the first of November.”

Sterling said the plan is for the new town manager to “hit the ground running on Jan. 1 because we’ve got a lot going on. So there’s not going to be a whole lot of time to catch up. We’re going to have to get right to it in January.”

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