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Wes�t'Linz� Tidin�gs :: City picks manager finalists U�� :�'��'��- � � * �� ��'�� ll�i� :�. i�� .� �,�� `��{� � � F'a�� G �f�'# . �t �� (503) 635-8811 e.mail,@westlinntidings.com tJs�T nl.L',CY+:�� t-'• �� _WT I4 P�r�'_I a�: _�r� U� � Y-�a��; � I�l�.�� CALL ;�'r� _� �5 L�iihl� ft1� �3Ar'K ISSUES. �� Back to Local Headlines City picks managerfinalists Jim Hart - 09/28/05 After a series of interviews last week, two finalists emerged from a quintet of semifinalists for the position of West Linn city manager. Neal Beets of Roseville, Minn., and Chris Jordan of Lake Oswego are the two candidates given the nod after visits with local residents, department heads and the council. A comprehensive background check has been accomplished during the week, and the city council is expected to meet soon to further scrutinize the two hopefuls before announcing its selection. Neal Beets Currently city manager of the city of Roseville, Minn., a suburb of the Minneapolis-St. Paul area, Beets has served in municipal managementfor the past four years. After a childhood in northern Virginia, Beets earned a bachelor's in political science at the University of Virginia. After a tour of duty in the Army, he entered law school in Arizona and started a 21-year career as an attorney. Significant in that career is the fact that he was the city attorney for the city of Mesa, Ariz., for 14 years. "Then I decided that I had mined all the gold there was to mine in the field of law," he said during a public debate last Friday. "I decided that I wanted to be more of a leader, more of a manager of a city." Roseville, he says, has a good quality of life for its 34,000 residents, but he says West Linn also has the quality of life he desires. As a city manager, Beets says he would be active in all aspects of the community. "I think a city manager has to be extraordinarily visible and engaged and active in ail facets of the community," he said. "I would anticipate service on service clubs; I would anticipate being involved in youth sports, since I have a 1D-yearold and a 12-year-old; and I would envision working with the chamber and speaking before the neighborhood associations— any and ali.oppart�nities to get out and be seen and be heard and.begin to sha�e`a dialogue about what is most important for Vllest l.ini�'as you move ir�'to the future." - .. Beets pledged to be a line of candui� between the council and city staff. "The city manager's role is absolutely critical and pivotal," Beets said, "in making sure that council understands what staff does, why it does it, how it does it and the reasons behind the recommendations (pros and cons). In turn, the city manager conveys to the staff the city council's policy direction." Chris Jordan For the past five years, Jordan has served as the assistant city manager of the city of Lake Oswego. Prior to that he assisted the city manager for five years, managing the city's open spaces and other special projects. Prior to his service as interim city manager for the city of Oregon city, he worked for 10 years in the executive office of the President of the United States, in the Office of Management and Budget. Over those 10 years, he was a poE'icy analyst, budget examiner and acting chief. He gr�dua�ed in 1985 from Corr�ell University, with a bachelor's degree in history and ��rnri�n�. and currently resides in Lake Oswego with his wife, two dau�hters and one son. A candidate for the same West Linn position four years ago, Jordan says he would still love to work in West Linn, since it has values and expectations that are similarto his current city of residence. n�hCml:��l�-fr�(Y:'�.€]c,�iim��n��':�o�[aanc]r��eL�iii_�;'�J��fsr�'�',}�]��"n�l�Teri��:k[t��.E��CLS��n��L)L7°�n�{�fi��T�IL�'o... [�: ��]{)�