Leawood names new city admin after death of Scott Chambers

Leawood has named its next city administrator, following the death of former city administrator Scott Lambers earlier this year.

Driving the news: At the Leawood City Council’s Monday meeting, Mayor Peggy Dunn announced Diane Stoddard as the council’s selection for its next city administrator.

Who she is: Stoddard previously served as one of the assistant city managers for the city of Lawrence, which is her hometown.

She held this role for roughly 15 years, and from June 2015 to March 2016, she also served as the city’s interim city manager.
Outside of Lawrence, she also worked as the deputy city manager in Manhattan, Kan. — in addition to working in various roles for the cities of Lenexa and Ottawa.

What else: Stoddard holds a master’s degree in public administration and an undergraduate degree in political science from the University of Kansas.

She has also served as the president of the Kansas Association of City/County Management, an organization made up of local government management officials that focus on professional management and ethical standards for city and county governments throughout the state.
Stoddard has also participated in the Leadership Lawrence and Leadership Kansas programs.

Leawood city administrator — Above, Leawood’s City Hall at 4800 Town Center Drive. File photo.

Wider background for Leawood’s city administrator position

Stoddard follows previous city administrator Scott Lambers in the role. Lambers worked for the city of Leawood for more than 20 years.
In a news release after his death in May, the city referred to him as a “champion of [Leawood’s] employees and a strong steward of the city’s finances.”
Between May and now, local business executive Patrick Geschwind had served as the city’s interim city administrator.
Geschwind’s last Leawood City Council meeting as the interim city administrator was this week.