Katie King Nominated for Town Manager

April 2, 2025
• The Select Board named the deputy town manager as Kate Fitzpatrick’s successor, pending successful negotiations.

Needham’s next town manager will likely be a familiar name — almost the same one as her predecessor.

Following a final round of interviews at the Select Board’s March 25 meeting, Deputy Town Manager Katie King emerged as the consensus pick for the job. She interviewed alongside Needham Department of Public Works Director Carys Lustig and Benjamin Branyan, the chief financial and administrative officer of Greenwich Public Schools in Connecticut.

King would take over for Town Manager Kate Fitzpatrick, who plans to retire in early July.

The board made the decision during its Tuesday meeting, where all but Josh Levy voted in favor of King’s appointment. Member Marianne Cooley said King could “hit the ground running,” and member Cathy Dowd said, of the candidates, King “rises to the top.”

“We are facing times of uncertainty with the federal government changing its policies. We are facing also, perhaps, some lean times,” Dowd said. “This is difficult for us, and I think Katie King is ready to step into this difficult role now.”

King expressed her appreciation in an emailed comment.

“I am grateful for the Select Board’s confidence in me to lead our dedicated Town staff to effectively serve the Needham community,” King wrote.

Prior to her tenure as deputy town manager, King served as the director of the Boston Mayor’s office, first as the deputy director and director of State Relations, and later as the director of the Office of Intergovernmental Relations until June 2019. She became Needham’s deputy town manager a year later.

King worked in nonprofits, including the American Cancer Society and American Lung Association, before pivoting to local government in 2013.

Should she accept, King would assume the position on July 5. Fitzpatrick became Needham’s first town manager when the town charter changed over in 2005.

“Choosing a town manager is the most important job the Select Board has, and it’s been 20 years since we’ve done it,” Chair Kevin Keane said. “We haven’t exercised this muscle in a while, but I think we did it right. The process was fair, thorough and thoughtful.”

A Town Manager Screening Committee interviewed 15 candidates, selecting the top three finalists to advance to the Select Board. Keane and Vice Chair Heidi Frail also sat on that subcommittee.

Levy said he feels Branyan is “what Needham needs at the current moment.” Branyan’s focus on collaboration, as well as his experience as both a town administrator and town manager, stood out to Levy.

While he praised King and Lustig for their work, Levy said “the needs of residents too often [take] a back seat,” emphasizing the need to balance them with operational elements when the town faces decisions that have a long-term impact.

“Change is hard, and moving on from our first and only town manager will be particularly hard, whoever fills the role,” Levy said. “I understand the appeal of choosing a familiar face in the midst of change, but I think Mr. Branyan’s experience in similar roles and his ability to bring best practices from other communities are what Needham needs in the current moment.”

The town faced “an embarrassment of riches,” Dowd said, as the pool of candidates was strong. Lustig is a Needham native and has spent her entire professional career in town, facing serious issues such as severe flooding and staffing shortages, she said, but ultimately recommended King for the role because of her ability to reach the three constituencies: the town, staff and residents.

Keane similarly concluded King is the best fit for the job, given how well she understands the town’s operations and “has an upper level strategic view” of Needham, he said.

“She’s also the only one during the interviews who laughed, who had a sort of self-awareness of her situation, what was happening and a certain, the French word, joie de vivre, of understanding the role and the people she gets to work with every day,” Keane said of King. “So that impressed me.”

During her interview on March 25, King underscored her 11 years working in municipal management and passion for public service.

“I can’t think of a better job than to say we’re going to make sure people are responding to 9-1-1, that you have clean water, that you can get a flu shot and a free book,” King said. “I don’t know why everyone doesn’t want this career.”