Mike Stair 7/18/08 with three mugs
By Debbie Robinson
news@joplinglobe.com
MIAMI, Okla. — The final three candidates for the city manager position in Miami were introduced to the public Friday night in an informal event at the Civic Center.
The three candidates are Mike Randall, 54, of rural Monett, Mo.; Michael Ashcraft, 54, of Olathe, Kan.; and Huey P. Long, 59, of Safford, Ariz.
About 40 people, including many city employees and council members, turned out for the opportunity to meet the finalists.
All three candidates were given tours of the city earlier Friday.
Long, an Oklahoma native, is the current city manager in Safford and former county manager of LaPaz, Ariz.
Long was hired for the first city manager position in Spenser, Okla., when he was 21, he said.
His son, Bryan, is currently the assistant city manager in Lawton.
“All of our family lives in Oklahoma or within an hour-and-half drive from this area,” he said.
A daughter lives in Oklahoma City.
Long said he was impressed with the city and the people.
“I’ve seen the resilience of the community, especially when the B.F. Goodrich Plant closed,” he said. “It’s a community that picked itself up by the bootstraps and didn’t wait for a handout.”
Long graduated from the University of Central Oklahoma in Edmund with a degree in elementary education, then went on to earn a master’s degree in theology at International Seminary in Plymouth, Fla.
He and his wife, Tari, have six grandchildren.
Ashcraft served as organizational effectiveness consultant for the past eight years in Olathe.
“The job is like a deputy city manager,” he said.
Ashcraft said he works as a consultant that provides community surveys and methods to engage the community in city government.
He previously worked for the Oklahoma Turnpike Authority and lived in Edmond for eight years.
Ashcraft said he worked for former Oklahoma Gov. Frank Keating as head of a performance team that worked to find measures to improve governmental operations.
He also worked for the city of Tulsa as director of audits.
Ashcraft said he was impressed with Miami.
“I’m looking for an opportunity where I can commit and support, and be of value to the community,” he said. “This is a good state, and it’s good people.”
He and his wife, Jane, have two grown children.
Randall owns a consulting firm, Horizon Management Services, in Monett, and is a consultant for city government.
He also has worked for the city of Pryor and was interim city manager in Aurora, Mo.
He has worked in the consulting business since 1997 and worked for the city of Carthage, Mo., for seven years previously.
He has a master’s degree in public administration from the University of Missouri at Kansas City.
Randall’s wife, Carla, is a longtime employee of Precious Moments in Carthage.
“We’re from this area, and we wanted to stay in the Four-State Area,” he said.
Randall said he is impressed with Miami and sees opportunities for the city.
“Tourism really stands out as a strong opportunity for the community,” he said. “There is a strong economic base, both business and industry combined.”
Mayor Brent Brassfield said the three candidates have executive credentials and good track records.
Public Works Director Tim Wilson has been serving as interim city manager since Michael Spurgeon resigned in November to accept a similar position in St. Charles, Mo.
City officials narrowed the field to the three candidates from a field of 51 applicants.
Cindy Morris, director of the Miami Chamber of Commerce, said Friday night she was impressed with the three candidates.
“They have a good feel for Oklahoma, and a good feel for Miami,” she said. “I think there is some strength there, whoever they choose.”
Timeline
Mayor Brent Brassfield said city leaders hope to have a new city manager hired by early September at the latest.
