Cookeville Chooses James Mills as City Manager Designee

Cookeville will appoint Planning Director James Mills to its City Manager position later this year.

Cookeville City Council voted Thursday to accept current City Manager Mike Davidson’s resignation effective June 30.

Mills said he looks forward to the opportunity and wished Davidson the best in his future endeavors.

“I’m humbled that the Council wants me to do this job. I appreciate all the confidence they have in me. I’m going to do my best to live up to the confidence they have in me,” Mills said. “I wasn’t seeking this. Didn’t expect Mike to leave, I don’t think any of us did. Mike has set the bar extremely high. I’ll do the best I can to meet the expectation he set in this position.”

Mills said his experience as Planning Director and with the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development have prepared him for this next position.

“The thing about planning is, especially with city planning, you’re involved in almost all the aspects of the city,” Mills said. “Planning touches on all the different departments, so I’ve got a great deal of familiarity with the departments. So that helps in making decisions on how to go forward.”

Mayor Ricky Shelton said hiring from within has benefited the city historically and noted that Mills expressed some interest in the position.

Councilman Eric Walker said he has “full confidence” in Mills and gave his vote of approval.

Davidson announced he would step away from his position earlier this year after accepting another position elsewhere. Davidson has served as Cookeville City Manager since 2015.