The two candidates left standing for the Snellville city manager job — after a third contender dropped out — would bring hefty experience to the position.

Russell G. Treadway of Elizabethton, Tenn., has more than 25 years in top-level management in local government, according to his resume. Stephen J. Cottrell of Dunedin, Fla. has at least 13 years in analyst and management jobs in cities as large as Tallahassee, Fla.

Mayor Jerry Oberholtzer said he will soon nominate either Cottrell or Treadway. Both men have been invited to a follow-up interview with the mayor and City Council Thursday.

Of the two men, both of whom could not be reached for comment, Treadway comes with some baggage.

Curt Alexander, the mayor of Elizabethton, a city of about 14,000, where Treadway last served as city manager, said Treadway was fired last year over an ongoing power struggle with the city council.

"Some of council members wanted what was best for their personal best interest, rather than what was best for the city," said Alexander, who had voted to keep Treadway. "Sadly, it cost him his job."

"He had all of the qualities you'd want in a city manager."

Alexander said Treadway, who likes to golf and bicycle, was extremely knowledgeable and had experience leading small and large cities.

So could Treadway bridge the gap that often surfaces on Snellville's council?

"I believe that accomplishments in local government come from working together," he wrote in his resume.

The mayor of Belleair, Fla., where Cottrell worked as city manager said Cottrell could handle whatever happens in Snellville.

"We had some contentious times in Belleair," Mayor Gary Katica said.

He said Cottrell, who worked for the city of about 4,500 residents for about nine years, was able to quell a storm brewing over a developer's plans to tear down a historic hotel.

"He's a diplomat, a very bright guy," the mayor said.

Cottrell who likes to hunt and barbeque, also served as assistant city manager of Plant City, Fla., for about seven years, helping run the daily operations of a city that had a population of 27,000.

Cottrell also worked as a management analyst for about five years for the city of Tallahassee, population of 140,000.

He has a masters of science in public administration at Florida State University, while Treadway has a master's of city management two from East Tennessee State University and a doctorate in philosophy from the University of Tennessee.

One of the three city manager finalists saidhe dropped out of the running, in part, because of the history of discord on the council.

"I'm aware of it," Randy Wetmore said of city leaders' recent name-calling and battles that have led to a lawsuit and involvement by the state's attorney general.

Snellville leaders were impressed by Wetmore, who had served as deputy city administrator for the much larger city of Franklin, Tenn., an affluent suburb south of Nashville. It's population is about 55,000, compared to Snellville's 19,000.

Wetmore visited Snellville last month and interviewed with Oberholtzer and the council.

"It just wasn't the right thing for me," he said. "It was a combination of everything."