AUBURN — Benjamin Marchant didn’t make it far into Auburn Public Library’s Community Room on Tuesday night.

Surrounded by former and current city councilors, representatives from city boards and programs and a few curious residents, the prospective Auburn city manager spent a good part of the evening near the room’s entrance, discussing municipal government philosophy, economic development and his history.

He’d finish chatting with one person, and another would step up.

Interim City Manager Don Gerrish said he offered Marchant the opportunity to address the room, but he turned it down, preferring to talk one on one.

Tuesday was a busy day for Marchant and his wife, Randi. The couple arrived in Auburn on Monday night and he began the interview process early Tuesday morning. He met with Auburn employees and business owners at Auburn Hall, and took a tour of the community.

“I think her tour might have been better than the one I got,” Marchant said. “I got to see city buildings and city properties. She got to go see neighborhoods and parks and schools.”

The day was capped by the social gathering at 5:30 p.m. in the library.

It’s part of a two-way process, Gerrish said. Auburn’s residents and city councilors are interviewing Marchant, but he’s also interviewing Auburn.

“Part of it is making sure this is the person the community wants,” Gerrish said. “But they also have to be sure this is the community they want. They need to make sure they want to be here.”

The process will continue Tuesday, May 8, when Clinton Deschene and his wife, Jennifer, arrive to tour the community and meet residents at a 5:30 p.m. social gathering. Deschene — town manager in Hermon, Maine — and Marchant are the final two candidates in the City Council’s hunt for a new manager. Councilors are scheduled to select one of the two later this month.

Marchant was city manager for Jerome, Idaho, a city of roughly 11,000 people just north of the Utah border, for almost four years, until last October. He has been working as a consultant since then.

Before Jerome, he’d worked as deputy chief of protocol for the Mayor’s Office in San Diego, Calif., was an administrative intern in Hoffman Estates, Ill., and was assistant to the city administrator in Maryland Heights, Mo.

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