By Mary Hladky
Boca Raton City Manager Mark Sohaney, who was hired to lead the city 14 months ago, has resigned.
An announcement from the city Friday said he is leaving “to pursue a new professional opportunity that will allow him to return to serving the military community.”
City Public Affairs Director Anne Marie Connolly said he has accepted the position and details regarding his departure date are being finalized.
Sohaney is a retired U.S. Navy captain who served for nearly four decades. His positions included commanding officer of the Naval Air Station in Key West and at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam.
“Serving as City Manager of Boca Raton has been an honor, and I am deeply grateful for the opportunity to work alongside an exceptional team of dedicated public servants,” Sohaney said in a statement.
“While this was not an easy decision, the opportunity to return to a mission that has been central to my professional life is especially meaningful to me.”
“We appreciate his leadership and the work he has done alongside our employees, and we wish him and his family the very best as he returns to serving the military community’” Mayor Andy Thomson said in a statement.
The City Council will determine interim leadership arrangements and the process for selecting the next city manager, the city said.
In selecting Sohaney as city manager, the council jettisoned the city’s longstanding practice of promoting from within its ranks. His council supporters said he would bring fresh eyes to the position.
Sohaney actively sought a city manager job in Florida after retiring ftom the Navy. He was selected as a finalist in five cities, including Boca Raton. He lost out in three cities and withdrew from consideration from the fourth. He also lost out on a bid to become Palm Beach County’s top administrator.
Since joining Boca Raton, he has been actively involved in decisions concerning where a new Police Department headquarters should be built and has advanced initiatives to deal with homeless persons in the city while also making services available to them.
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