Samuel A. Finz

Samuel Allen 'Sam' Finz was a deputy county executive for Fairfax County from 1976 to 1979.

Finz was born in the Bronx, New York City. He attended New York University, where he too k a bachelor of science degree in economics in 1966, then went to the University of Maryland College Park for his 1971 master's degree in quantitative economics and statistics.

After college, Finz came to Fairfax County, becoming the director of the county's office of research and statistics.

Finz was appointed as a deputy county executive, along with J. Hamilton Lambert and Pat McDonald, in November 1976. Finz's portfolio was planning and development for the county.

Finz resigned from the county in August 1979 and became a vice president of Guissepe Cecchi's International Developers.

In July 1983, Finz became chief executive officer of the Northern Virginia Builders Association. Finz left the NVBA in 1987 to become a developer.

Finz later closed his business and moved to Florida, where he was hired as a deputy city manager of Hollywood, Florida in 1992. When the city manager was fired, Finz took over as acting city manager in September 1993, and had his appointment formalized by the city commission two weeks later.

Finz served as city manager of Hollywood for 10 years (nearly three times the average term of his predecessors) until he was fired in June, 2002. Finz returned to the Washington D.C. metropolitan area, becoming city manager of College Park, Maryland in July 2002. Choosing not to renew his contract with the city, Finz left the office in August, 2004, publicly citing "personal reasons", but privately expressing frustration at the administration's resistance to strengthening ties between the town and and his old alma mater.

Finz next worked as the planning director for the town of Lovettsville, Virginia from November 2004 to June 2007. Additionally, he worked as a special assistant county manager and director of economic development for Arlington County from June 2005 to July 2006. Finz became interim town manager of Lovettsville in August 2006, serving until September 2007.