Three candidates for the job of Springfield city manager had public interviews Tuesday night with city Director of Public Information Cora Scott.
They answered questions from the city and residents on topics including leadership style, neighborhood and developer dynamics, economic vitality, polarization and Springfield’s relationship to the region at large.
David Cameron is current City Administrator for the City of Republic and former City Administrator of Siloam Springs, Arkansas. He touted his local experience and a vision for empowering staff, maintaining a regionalist approach and promoting public-private partnerships.
Bob Cowell is a former City Manager of Roanoke, Virginia and former Deputy City Manager of Amarillo, Texas. He emphasized diversified economic growth and experience in very different communities. His solutions included neighborhood plans economic opportunities with bases in our anchor institutions.
Brian Weiler is current Director of Aviation for the Springfield-Branson National Airport. He explained the ways the airport is like a small city, including having its own police and fire department, a large staff and responsibility managing public-private partnerships.
All three were asked a number of questions over their half-hour interviews, including the biggest opportunity they see for Springfield.
Here are their answers to that question:
David Cameron:
"Regionalism. I also think that you've got the home of Bass Pro, you've got O'Reilly, you've got such a strong medical (and) education system, great staff here, great region-wide staff. We just have a very collaborative group of people in this entire region that care about southwest Missouri. It is 417-land. It is the home for us. There's a lot of history. You know, it's like the Ozark Empire Fair, the fairgrounds. It's a great place to live, work and play and raise a family. A great people. And I'm excited about what the future looks like. No matter the outcome. I wish the best in all of it. But I believe that our best is coming. And I believe once you unleash the staff in this organization with leadership, I think Springfield will recognize its absolute, absolute best in the future."
Bob Cowell:
"Biggest opportunities. Well, you know, one of the things that attracted me to Springfield was there are in my mind a number of similarities to what I've just come out of in Roanoke and our economic future. So, we were a railroad manufacturing community for years, built locomotives. And that opportunity left back in the 60s and 70s, and the city really struggled to figure out what was next. What was next became advanced manufacturing, health and wellness, biomedical research and outdoor tourism and hospitality. Those became the underpinnings of our economy. I think there are absolutely, very similar elements here. I love the fact that the community views itself as the base camp for the Ozarks. I think there's tremendous opportunity to actually leverage that and move forward. I think with Mercy and Cox Systems here, that you've got great opportunities to partner on that side of growth and associated with it. You've already got a great manufacturing base. So, I really think that the future is very bright for Springfield. I think someone said recently, so many people still think of Springfield as a town you can kind of forget. It's the third largest city in the state of Missouri. There are less than a percent of communities that have the population in the country of what Springfield does. And I think there are sometimes folks may forget that, and you may forget that the opportunity that that brings with it. And I would love to be a part of actually helping elevate that conversation and illustrate what's possible and draw upon the experience that I know have been able to build on in the other communities that I've worked in."
Brian Weiler:
"So many opportunities, but I am so excited about how we're bringing together the needs of industry and employers with the needs of the workforce, training through the various educational institutions and then trying to marry that with efforts of our industrial development, manufacturing, like through the Chamber of Commerce and through law, the other economic areas to try to create that vibrant, diversified economy that will lift the entire organization and hopefully, also allow us to keep good paying jobs in the area and keep more young people in the area."
The candidates will continue interview activities today, including an interview with city council and a breakfast with community stakeholders.
Editor's note: Text of comments edited for clarity.