By Joanne Bailey-Boorsma
joanne@wktv.org

John McCarter likes to joke that he got from Novi, Michigan to the City of Wyoming via Texas.

The native Michiganer, McCarter (who was born in Milwaukee, Wis., and moved to Michigan at a young age), was recently named the city’s new deputy city manager. McCarter, who was the interim financial director for Pearland, Texas, officially took over the position on March 15. 

With only a few days on the job, McCarter said he is still learning but has loved what he has seen of the City of Wyoming, from its operations to its people. 

“Economic development, data analytics, diversity, equity and inclusion, that is what got me excited,” McCarter said about his decision to come to Wyoming. “Since I started here…so I am far from an expert, but I see people who are invested in those things and moving the ball down the field, innovating and doing new things. So all those things that drew me I have seen in my three days and in the foreseeable future.”

In his new position as deputy city manager, McCarter will focus on communications, data analytics and process improvement as well as be responsible for directing and monitoring City projects and serving as a liaison between the city manager and department heads, community groups, boards and designated government agencies.

“John brings a diverse skill set to the City of Wyoming that will help us continue to grow as an organization that serves our whole community,” City Manager Curtis Holt said. “He will help steer our organization into a more equitable and prosperous future with his skills in process engineering and systems thinking.”

An Eastsider transplanted to West Michigan

McCarter grew up in Grosse Pointe, which is a city outside of the Detroit area, with his family moving to just outside of Flint, to Lapeer, Michigan. While in Lapper, his mother was involved with the Downtown Development Authority and the city’s art gallery, Gallery 194. His father was the publisher of the city’s newspaper, LA View. 

It was during that time that McCarter found a passion for public service as his family would volunteer at the community events.

“I didn’t realize it at the time, but I loved it,” he said. “At the time, it was something that my parents made me do, but as I went to college and found myself. I tried a few different hats on and I settled on administration because I fell in love with public service. I love the community and the connection with the residents that I found in high school in my early teens.”

After graduating from Lapeer High School, McCarter would attend Central Michigan University for his undergraduate and would get his masters in public administration from Oakland University. He would land his first job in Novi and then he heard about an opportunity in Sugarland, Texas.

“I was in my early twenties,” McCarter said. “I was single and I wanted to make a change. There was this really cool job in a really cool city, next to Houston which is the fourth largest city in the nation.”

So McCarter moved to Sugarland to work in management assistance and eventually went to work for the neighboring city, Pearland. 

“My idea was that I was going to be there for five years and I stayed for seven,” McCarter said with a laugh. “It was kind of an adventure and I knew if I never did it then, I would never do it.”

A Perfect Fit

McCarter got married while in Texas and with his family starting to grow, he and his wife, Julia, decided they wanted to be closer to their families and so McCarter began looking for positions.

“I was looking for something between the Detroit area and Cedar Springs, Iowa (where McCarter’s wife is from),” he said. “Grand Rapids was at the top of the list as I had been here before. I have friends from here.

“When the job in Wyoming came up, the size of the city, 75,000 or so,  it was really attractive to me. It wasn’t so big that you couldn’t get your head around it, but it wasn’t so small that there weren’t resources and opportunities.”

McCarter said there also was the opportunity to work with City Manager Curtis Holt, who with 20-plus years in public administration, is a leader in the field of city management and is known to be a mentor to his staff. “I knew he was someone I could come in and learn from,” McCarter said.

Now here, McCarter is excited to roll up his sleeves and get to work.

“What I am really most excited about is leveraging our assets here, especially our strongest asset, which is our people, to help build a better city,” he said.

Outside of work, his number one priority is son, which he and his wife Julia welcomed about a month ago. McCarter also enjoys music and is a big Tigers fan. “I’m always hopeful,” he said with a grin.

And now that he is back in Michigan, he plans to take a few trips to the lakeshore.

“On the westside of the state, you don’t have to go far to find dunes or rock formations and that to me is so unique,” said McCarter, adding that being next to “Beer City USA” is a bonus as well. 

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