Kalamazoo city manager Jim Ritsema retired Tuesday after 12 years as Kalamazoo's administrative leader.
Since Ritsema took the job in 2013, a lot has happened. He helped co-found the Kalamazoo Foundation for Excellence in 2017, a public-private organization that contributes millions of dollars to city initiatives. That same year, he oversaw the creation of Imagine Kalamazoo, an ongoing plan to improve Kalamazoo’s quality of life through urban re-design.
Ritsema's tenure was not without controversy. After the Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety’s response to a far-right Proud Boys rally that descended into violence in 2020, Ritsema faced scrutiny. After the incident, the city said that then-KDPS chief Karianne Thomas had resigned, when really she had been fired.
Malcolm Hankins, who previously served as the assistant city manager of Des Moines, Iowa, will be Kalamazoo’s new city manager beginning on January 5.
Former deputy city manager Patsy Moore will serve in the role until then.
