The Clear Voice

Infrastructure problems rarely start the day a pipe breaks or a road fails. Most begin years earlier with decisions cities did not realize carried long term consequences. In this episode of The Clear Voice, Host James Groom and Clear Career Professionals President Michael Boese sit down with municipal engineer Craig Kerkhoff, Managing Partner at BHC, to discuss the infrastructure realities city le...

What does it take to lead municipal finance in one of the most economically dynamic regions in the United States? In this PositionCast™, James Groom,  Host of The Clear Voice, is joined by Kelly Kuenstler, Vice President with Clear Career Professionals, and Aaron Smith, City Manager of Odessa, Texas, to discuss the Chief Financial Officer opportunity with the City of Odessa. This conversation goes...

Episode #39 of The Clear Voice features Brad Stafford, retired City Manager and Vice President at Clear Career Professionals, in an honest and important conversation about city manager burnout, leadership stress, and mental health in local government. Brad is joined by Kelly Kuenstler, Vice President at Clear Career Professionals and former city and county manager, along with James Groom, Host of...

In this episode of The Clear Voice, host James Groom is joined by Clear Career Professionals President Michael Boese to welcome Max Fisher, a recent Texas Tech Master of Public Administration graduate and emerging local government professional. Together, they explore what the next generation of public service looks like and how cities can build stronger leadership pipelines. Max shares his journey...

This PositionCast™ episode of The Clear Voice focuses on the City Manager search for Nederland, Texas. Clear Voice Host James Groom is joined by Michael Boese, President of Clear Career Professionals, and James Hopper, Vice President of Clear Career Professionals, along with special guest Mayor Jeff Darby of Nederland to discuss the expectations and opportunities for the next City Manager. The con...

Wichita Falls, Texas is hiring a Chief Building Official during a period of major growth and development. In this episode of The Clear Voice, host James Groom is joined by Clear Career Professionals recruiter Michael Boese and Assistant City Manager Paul Menzies to discuss the Chief Building Official opportunity in Wichita Falls, Texas. The conversation explores the city’s compliance focused inspe...

In this episode of The Clear Voice podcast by Clear Career Professionals, we explore a significant development in local government leadership in Surfside Beach, Texas. For the first time in the community’s history, Surfside Beach is creating a City Administrator position to lead day to day operations, implement strategic priorities, and work closely with the Mayor and City Council. This PositionCa...

The Clear Voice closes out the year with a reflective wrap-up conversation between host James Groom and Clear Career President Michael Boese, looking back on the moments, lessons, and impact that shaped 2025 while setting the stage for the year ahead. Together, they revisit key themes from the past twelve months, discuss how leadership and service continue to evolve in local government, and reflec...

In this special year-end episode of Clear Voice, host James Groom takes us on a reflective journey through 2025, sharing personal and professional milestones of the Clear Career Professionals team. Listeners will hear from various team members, including James Hopper, Marty Schmitt, Deanna Hendrix, Kevin Boese, and Kelly Kuenstler, as they share their own reflections on the past year. From leaders...

The City Manager position in Lamesa, Texas offers a rare opportunity to lead a full service West Texas city at a moment of real transition. In this City Manager PositionCast, Mayor Hayden Davis, Clear Career Professionals President Michael Boese, and The Clear Voice host, James Groom, provide a candid discussion about the Lamesa City Manager role, including council expectations, governance philoso...

In this episode of the Clear Voice, host James Groom is joined by Clear President Michael Boese and City of Weatherford leadership for a PositionCast highlighting an exceptional municipal finance opportunity, Director of Finance for the City of Weatherford, Texas. City Manager James Hotopp and Assistant City Manager and CFO Dawn Brooks provide an in depth look at Weatherford’s culture, values, and...

The Clear Voice sits down with Liberty Police Chief Rick Ashe for a detailed look at one of the most meaningful leadership opportunities currently open in Texas, the Assistant Chief of Police for the City of Liberty. Chief Ashe shares his decades long journey in law enforcement, including his tenure in Temple, his time as an assessor for TPCA accreditation, and the path that ultimately brought him...

In this episode of The Clear Voice, Clear recruiter Kelly Kuenstler visits with Marble Falls City Manager Caleb Kraenzel to discuss the city’s open Finance Director position. The conversation gives listeners a grounded look at the role, the organizational culture, and the opportunities that come with serving a fast-growing Hill Country community. Caleb outlines how the finance team supports budget...

In Episode 28 of The Clear Voice, we sit down with Dr. Don Hooper, a lifelong educator and national leadership expert whose work connects neuroscience, purpose, mindset, and organizational performance. Dr. Hooper has served as a superintendent, university professor, and the longtime president and CEO of the Center for Quality Leadership. His career has been shaped by decades of studying high perfo...

In this episode of The Clear Voice, brought to you by Clear Career Professionals, host James Groom sits down with Executive Director Chip VanSteenberg and Clear Associate Vice President Brian Beasley to explore what makes this opportunity both unique and highly accessible to strong government leaders. Montgomery County is one of the fastest growing counties in Texas, with a rapidly expanding popul...

Episode 26 takes you to Fairfield, Texas, where the city is recruiting its next City Administrator. Mayor Robert Nichols joins the show to share Fairfield’s small town character, its strong council dynamics, and the vision guiding the community as it plans for future growth along the I 45 corridor. He discusses the city’s ongoing investments in streets, drainage, water, sewer, and parks, as well a...

In this episode of The Clear Voice, we sit down with Dumas City Manager Mark Hall and finance expert Debbie Reid, who is currently consulting with the City of Dumas to support its financial operations. Together, they walk listeners through the Finance Director opportunity in this growing community in the Texas Panhandle. Mark shares his vision for Dumas, the culture he is building, and why the fin...

In this episode, The Clear Voice host James Groom and Clear Career Professionals President Michael Boese sit down with Dr. Alex del Carmen, one of the nation’s leading experts on policing practices, racial profiling research, and community trust. For nearly three decades, Dr. del Carmen has trained every police chief in Texas, consulted with agencies across the country, and helped shape modern acc...

This week on The Clear Voice, host James Groom and Clear President Michael Boese sit down with Pey Zeigler, a graduate student at the Bush School of Government and Public Service at Texas A&M University, where she is pursuing her Master of Public Service and Administration (MPSA). Pey shares how faith, family, and hands-on experience shaped her calling to serve, including her internship with t...

Public trust does not happen by accident. It is built through consistent and intentional communication. In this episode of The Clear Voice, Lara Price, a Communications Manager for a Texas school district, joins host James Groom to explore how local governments and public organizations can strengthen their connection with the community in today's digital landscape. Lara shares practical strategies...

Cities grow, priorities shift, and what once worked may no longer fit. In this episode of The Clear Voice, host James Groom sits down with Clear Career Professionals President Michael Boese to explore one of the firm’s most impactful services: the organizational review. These in-depth evaluations go beyond checklists and templates to take an honest, relationship-centered look at how cities and dep...

Not every fire is visible. In this episode of The Clear Voice, host James Groom is joined by Associate Vice President and retired Fire Chief Danny Kistner to explore the unseen pressures inside today’s fire departments. Together they examine the growing gap between community expectations and operational realities, from staffing shortages and training limitations to shifting public perceptions abou...

Financial wellness is not just about money. It is about leadership. Nick Daugherty, founder of FinancialCop, joins The Clear Voice to discuss how financial stress impacts performance, morale, and decision making across every level of public service. From eliminating debt to building healthy money habits, Nick explains why financial confidence is a leadership skill that benefits individuals, famili...

City Manager Austin Bleess of Jersey Village, Texas has helped secure more than 31 million dollars in grant funding for his community, but his real impact comes from the culture he has built along the way. In this episode of The Clear Voice, Austin joins host James Groom and Clear Career Professionals President Michael Boese to talk about what it takes to win grants, manage them effectively, and u...

The latest episode of The Clear Voice spotlights the Finance Director opportunity in Rockdale, Texas, featuring City Manager Tim Kelty and Clear Career Professionals Vice President Kelly Kuenstler. They discuss how the role anchors a growing organization by managing core budgeting, accounting, utility billing, and financial reporting functions while partnering closely with the City Manager and dep...