Crowden poised for success as administrator for Scott City

Mike Crowden has some big work to do.

Crowden was recently named the city administrator at Scott City.

The town has been through a lot of turmoil in recent months within its municipal government ranks. Lawsuits. Firings. Sunshine Law complaints. Alleged misuse of funds. The list is long.

The city council is hoping that the rough patches are in the past. Crowden is hoping to work with the council to restore order and function in the city government.

The city council voted to select Crowden by a 4-3 vote. Crowden was one of two finalists for the position, and among 17 applicants.

We can vouch for Crowden. Many years ago, he worked at the Southeast Missourian, and our ad department had a relationship with him when he was manager at West Park Mall. He's a good, sincere and capable person.

According to a story by Mark Bliss, Crowden, who lives in Cape Girardeau, managed operations of West Park Mall from January 2009 to December 2014. In that role, he supervised and managed staff members from operations, maintenance, security, housekeeping, customer service and event planning, according to his resume. As mall manager, he oversaw an operations budget of more than $4 million.

He owns Root + Holler, a Cape Girardeau business that supplies hormone- and steroid-free locally raised pork, beef, lamb and goat meat to restaurants, health-food stores, caterers and private consumers.

Crowden earned a Bachelor of Science degree in mass communication from Southeast Missouri State University in May 2000 and is track to graduate next year with a Master of Public Administration degree from the school.

In an email to the Southeast Missourian, Crowden said, "Scott City is a vibrant town with terrific people. Recent events have galvanized many residents, so the ability to serve and help this community prosper attracted me to this position."

That's a good way to put it.

Here's to hoping internal conflicts have healed, wrongs have been righted and city leaders can get back to doing what's best for the city. Here's hoping Crowden can be a catalyst for success, progress and consensus in Scott City's government.

Good luck, Mike. We wish you the best.