What should Eugene look for in its next city manager?

Presenter: What do Eugenians want in their next city manager? Six speakers shared their ideas Oct. 20.

Nigel Francisco: My name is Nigel Francisco. I have the pleasure of calling Eugene my home for most of my life. I was born here, educated here, I’m a business owner here, and I work in our community. 

Let me tell you a quick story. I have a friend, a classmate who I grew up with here in Eugene. He called me about a year and a half ago, wanted to try to move back to Eugene with his family. He was currently living in Portland after he had graduated college from the University of Oregon.

[00:00:28] After he graduated, he found himself looking for employment outside of Eugene, not because he wanted to leave, but because he didn’t have opportunity here. He asked who our largest employers was, and I told him who they were. His skill set as an executive lacked very large employers in our area, which created a conundrum for him.

[00:00:48] After searching for a job for six months and he’d not received any leads or interviews, he was frustrated and started looking at business ideas to start. After years of tossing around different ideas, he finally found a business he could purchase. He was lucky enough to be able to do so because of his past roles and experience.

[00:01:04] I share this story with you because we have people that grew up in our community, like myself, but they can’t find a way to live here, and that’s because we haven’t created the opportunity for them to make their homes here. So when looking for a new city manager, I would ask you to prioritize the following.

[00:01:21] One, economic development. We need to attract employers to our area. Homegrown businesses are great, but getting other major employers to our region helps lift up all those businesses. We need to make it easier for business to operate and make it harder and less hard for them to work or to do business here.

[00:01:39] The business community, too, the business community would also like a collaborative partner that can work with the private sector and public sector on moving us all forward. We need a collaborative partner that sees the value in bringing businesses to our community. We need a leader focused on fiscal stewardship and operational efficiency. We need to do things that will move us forward and sometimes cut loose the things that don’t make sense.

[00:02:01] As our funding model has gotten stretched, we need to think about innovative ways to change. I’m concerned. I’m concerned because I have a child and I would like him to be able to grow up here and participate in this economy, find gainful employment, and I just don’t know that’s possible in the town that I grew up in and call home.

[00:02:17] So I want to be part of the solution. I’m letting you know that I’m here to help, and thank you again for your service.

[00:02:24] Terry Vance: My name is Terry Vance. I actually went to the University of Oregon. I’m from Salem originally. I started my public service with the state of Oregon as a student employee. I was a wildland firefighter in the local area. And then I went off into the Air Force for a little over 20 years. I have returned back after retiring from that chapter of public service.

[00:02:47] And I’m not as worried about the same type of issues as the previous speaker, but I brought my family back to Eugene, and we’re very excited to be here. I do come from an outside-in perspective, and I think that all of our public infrastructure, our staffs are under tremendous challenge, whether we’re at the federal level, the state level, the municipal levels. My experience is in public sector consulting for the past many years where I’ve helped clients navigate a lot of the challenges and strains on our people.

[00:03:18] And so the first point I’d like to make tonight in terms of the values that we really need to find in a city manager is somebody who has a lot of experience, I believe, developing people and teams. We all know the issues Eugene faces, the state of Oregon faces, but I think first and foremost, we have to be able to develop better teams and really lean into developing our people to respond to this community.

[00:03:42] And if we can invest in our people, they’re going to be the best stewards of our resources and the biggest force multipliers for us to solve all the problems that we’re facing.

[00:03:51] Secondly, I want to echo the comments about proximity to the private sector and the business community. I think the city manager critically must be able to not only partner and run a business internally, I think they need to be able to leverage all the experience around this community and also from larger business communities.

[00:04:13] I think industry best practices are essential and so we need to bring someone into this role that is exposed to what private industry is capable of and understand what tomorrow really looks like. And I think if we can really find someone who blends both that internal capability of developing teams and also leveraging a lot of best practices from industry, I think we’ll be moving in the right direction. Thank you for your time.

[00:04:40] Meredith Tufts: My name is Meredith Tufts, and I am here as a parent, and speaking on behalf of other families who feel that tightness in our chest in smoke season and thinking ahead to what climate is going to bring to our community in our lives and in our children’s lives.

We in Eugene face a lot of different challenges. What I think we really need in a city manager, in our next city manager, for the important role that they play, is someone who can hold those pieces in mind: the housing and cost-of-living crises that we have currently, while also looking ahead to the crises that we know are coming, and who will keep sustainability and community resilience front of mind as they’re dealing with those initial challenges that we have right now. Thank you.

[00:05:21] Jordan Papé: I am Jordan Papé, CEO of the Papé Group. I’ve also been an executive director for the state chamber of commerce, Oregon Business and Industry, and the state business roundtable, Oregon Business Council.

[00:05:32] I’m here this evening to encourage you that we are on the cusp of a real opportunity if we lean into economic development with our next city manager.

[00:05:43] I was recently appointed the chair of the Southern Willamette Valley Innovation corridor. This is a new effort that pairs the University of Oregon with Oregon State, several civic leaders and several business leaders ranging from Eugene to Corvallis, covering a whole region where we hope to lean into all the innovation coming out of these two campuses.

[00:06:02] And why is that? Because on the eve of AI implementation and robotics, the country is going to face significant disruption. And in that period of disruption, if we want our kids to be able to find gainful employment here in the Southern Willamette Valley, we need all of you to find a city manager in this go-around that understands economic development, somebody with experience, hopefully in a university town, but you can also find great experience in places like Bend that have done it right and redeveloped areas like the Mill District into a community highlight that people can lean into.

[00:06:41] So I just, as I look at you all today, we face a period of time where our community is at risk. That risk is AI, automation, and robotics. We know that it’s coming, and we need to attract the jobs of the future in order to secure our families here in the area. So please take that into account as you find our next city manager and leader.

[00:07:05] Tiffany Edwards: My name is Tiffany Edwards and I’m speaking today on behalf of the Eugene Area Chamber of Commerce and our more than 1,200 members and all of the thousands of employees that live and work here in this community.

[00:07:20] I come to you tonight because this decision, selecting Eugene’s next city manager, is among the most consequential choices this council will make for the future of our city. We have enormous shoes to fill, as Sarah Medary chartered a new course with grace and bold leadership as she led us through some of some truly unprecedented challenges.

[00:07:41] Now Eugene stands at a critical crossroads. We’re facing significant challenges, from historic budget shortfalls and growing public safety concerns to a deepening housing and homelessness crisis, and a regulatory environment that makes it harder to build, grow, and invest.

[00:07:56] These challenges have not arisen overnight, and we recognize Sarah and the dedicated public servants who have carried this city through many difficult chapters. But the moment before us now demands a new kind of leadership, one that can build on that foundation and lead Eugene through a period that requires innovation, courage, and action.

[00:08:21] The next city manager must be bold, a decisive leader who can continue modernizing how our city operates, moving from process to process, from caution to creativity. We need someone who will foster a culture of accountability and partnership inside City Hall, one that sees our businesses, nonprofits, and residents as collaborators in solving Eugene’s toughest problems.

[00:08:46] This leader should bring a proven record of driving fiscal stewardship and operational efficiency, making smart use of limited resources while ensuring public dollars deliver meaningful, measurable outcomes.

[00:08:58] Most importantly, we need a city manager who can restore confidence and optimism in Eugene’s future. Someone who will unite people around a shared vision, communicate clearly, and act decisively to move our community forward. Eugene’s challenges are real, but it’s also our potential.

[00:09:19] With the right leader at the helm, we can chart a new course towards stability, prosperity, and pride in the city we all call home. Thank you.

[00:09:28] Joe Liebersbach: My name is Joe Liebersbach, and I’m here tonight not only representing the Eugene Area Chamber of Commerce, but also on behalf of the Eugene Young Professionals. This is a constituency that you rarely hear from in this venue, and I’m working to change that. But there truly are tens of thousands of us in Eugene.

[00:09:47] First, I want to take a moment to recognize and celebrate our city manager, Sarah Medary, for her years of service and steady leadership through some—let’s just call it what it is—crazy times. Her heart for this community is something that we can all aspire to, and her work and legacy is leaving behind a firm foundation for her successor.

[00:10:08] As you continue to search for the next city manager, I hope you’ll consider what this decision means for the next generation of Eugene’s workforce and leaders. Young professionals in our community are deeply invested in Eugene’s future.

[00:10:19] After all, we are the ones that are going to inherit it. We are building businesses, raising families, and deciding whether or not this is the place to dig in our roots. We’re looking for a city manager who can continue building trust between city hall and the private sector, who values collaboration and accountability, who approaches problem solving with urgency and creativity, someone who can make it easier, not harder, to do work here.

[00:10:45] Eugene has so much potential. We’re ready to have hard conversations that will help us unlock that potential. And we invite the new leadership to join us at that table. And through that invitation, we can create a culture that says, let’s figure it out together. The young professional community is ready to be a part of that work. We’re not only the future of Eugene, we are here now. And we’re eager to help move this work forward. Thank you so much for the opportunity to share.

[00:11:12] Presenter: Eugene Mayor Kaarin Knudson: 

[00:11:14] Kaarin Knudson (Eugene, mayor): The community listening session on tonight’s agenda is related to our city manager recruitment process, an opportunity for the council to hear from the public about the attributes, experience, and qualities that they think are important in a new city manager.

[00:11:30] Sarah Medary is retiring in December of this year. And by city charter, the counselors are tasked with hiring a new city manager, and they have elected to work with Bob Murray and Associates to conduct a nationwide search. Applications for the position are due by Nov. 3. Initial interviews will take place in December, and final interviews will be in mid-January 2026.

[00:11:53] Presenter: The public weighs in on what it wants to see in the next Eugene city manager: a culture of accountability at city hall; more collaboration with the business community; and economic development to provide jobs for the next generations.