What People have to Say About David Frasher
City Management and Administration
Richard William Riggs
Senior Judge – State of Oregon
I am writing on behalf of David Frasher to recommend him for employment with your organization. I initially met David Frasher a few years ago in his capacity as City Manager of Grants Pass, Oregon. By then, I had retired from my full time duties with the Oregon Supreme Court, although I continue to serve as a Senior Associate Justice, subject to assignment throughout the state as needs require. In 2006, David and I worked on a project for the City of Grants Pass that took about four months to complete. The project involved several hours of interviews with citizens, city employees, and elected officials, followed by a thorough analysis of the City's prior real estate purchases and some sensitive personnel issues. At the conclusion of the project, David carefully crafted a new real estate purchase policy for the City that effectively addressed every issue identified during the project while at the same time dealing effectively and very fairly with the associated personnel matters.
As a practicing lawyer and judge for more than thirty years, I have encountered just about every kind of person one might imagine. I have become accustomed to working with some of the most talented, capable, creative, and well educated professionals in the country. David always demonstrated these qualities at the highest level, but with a quiet sense of humility, confidence, and compassion seldom seen. What struck me most about David became manifest as I observed him in the community and in his interaction with his co-workers and with elected officials. While it was dear that David possessed superior knowledge about his profession and the technical aspects of his job, it was his exceptional leadership ability that I remember most. David inspired people with an easy going style that appeared effortless. I witnessed the deep mutual respect that David shared with those around him, regardless of their position within the organization or their standing in the community. David always remained focused on what was best for the community and executed his responsibilities with an intense commitment to the highest ethical standards.
Since completing our project together I have remained in touch with David and have followed the developments in Grants Pass. The community appears to have been politically divided for years, well before David began working there. These influences became more prominent when several new City Council members were elected and made a series of decisions in such a manner that David eventually resigned. Grants Pass residents responded by recalling these Council members from office little more than forty days later. The political upheaval continues in Grants Pass to this day and may simply be part of the fabric of that particular community for some time. While such an experience would be difficult for any City Manager, David remained the poised, professional leader that I have known him to be throughout. No matter how chaotic the local political environment became in Grants Pass, the community appeared to remain confident in the City Manager's office and the stability that it provided, passing a new public safety levy by a record margin of nearly 68 percent...a strong testament to David's professionalism and the legacy of service and trust that he created in Grants Pass.
In closing, I highly recommend David to any organization seeking a top level executive with exceptional professional knowledge and experience, outstanding communication skills, a strong commitment to ethical standards, and leadership abilities that are among the best that I have seen in my years of public service experience. I am pleased to serve as a reference for David and welcome any questions that you may have.
Richard William Riggs
Phil Paquin
Former City Councilor – Grants Pass, OR
David Frasher's resume shows he is infinitely qualified as an attorney, police officer, and most importantly a city manager.
I served on the Grants Pass City Council for six years and chairman for one year. During my tenure, the council dismissed the previous city manager and began a search for his replacement. David was one of the three finalists. All were asked to make a presentation to the council and the public on a project called the River District Plan. None of the candidates knew about the RDP so they had to do their own interviews and research in a very short period. David put on a Power Point presentation that amazed everyone. Once we decided on David, the council sent an investigator to the two communities he previously served. The report back was David was held in high esteem in both communities and by most of the previous councilors.
David served the Grants Pass Council very well. He did his dead level best to carry out the council's wishes and to offer advice, do research, and provide information so we could make intelligent decisions. One of David's first actions was to set up a class on ethics for the council and staff. Three council members attended and all of the staff. As it turned out two of the councilors and the sitting mayor lost sight of the truth and began attacks on David. Eventually the council members served their term and left or quit. Six of the sitting council members were replaced by a very nasty group all bent on getting rid of David. They had a small group behind them and not much opposition. They eventually paid David off and released him from his contract. The result of the council' s action was a recall effort on five of the eight councilors. As of this writing the vote has not occurred.
In my experience, David is the best and most qualified city manager Grants Pass has ever had. Not only is he specially qualified he is the epitome of ethics. His staff loved and respected him and he in turn would go to the mat for them. Once in awhile he had to deal with staff problems but he was still respected, trusted and they enjoyed working for him. David expects a lot from his staff but he also expects a lot from himself. His work ethic is impeccable.
David is fair, honest and a team player. I would not hesitate to hire him as a city manager. His firing by the new city council was unfair, falsely spawned by a small group of dissidents, and filled with trumped up charges.
Phil Paquin
Martin Seybold
Director Community Services and Parks – Grants Pass, OR
I have had the pleasure of working with David Frasher for three years. David came to the City of Grants Pass after an extensive search and selection process. There was considerable community involvement in the selection process and David easily stood out from the other candidates. David became the City Manager and provided high quality leadership to the community.
My own background lends perspective to my view of David as Grants Pass City Manager. I have been a department director for many years, completed 2 1/2 years on my Ph.D., served as chair of the school board, was named Community Father of the Year and am active in community volunteer activities.
As City Manager, David brought a fresh perspective to the City and began guiding Grants Pass toward maturity in quality of life and services. For example, David strengthened standards for code enforcement, emphasized community quality of life in our budgeting and operations, and institutionalized ethics training for staff and elected officials.
David has high ethical standards and emphasized their importance in the conduct of City business. His background in law, administration, and public safety provided valuable tools in administering our City. David also established excellent rapport with the school district and the community.
Unfortunately, David was caught up in a political maelstrom when new council members were elected. A group of five individuals took control of the City Council and decided to terminate the City Manager. After only six months in office, the Community initiated a recall effort to remove the five council members - an action that was unprecedented in Oregon. All five council members were recalled from office. We now have interim, appointed council members serving until a new council is elected in six months. The unfortunate actions of the recalled council members caused our community to lose stability and a competent, knowledgeable City Manager. It will take some time to recover.
I believe David has the skills, education and experience to lead a vibrant city. He exhibits high ethical standards and is well liked in the community. Consequently, I can recommend him without hesitation. Please feel free to contact me at (541) 474-6360 if you would like to discuss further David's capabilities as City Manager.
Sincerely,
Martin Seybold
Steve Iverson
Superintendent of School District 7 of Grants Pass
It is my pleasure and honor to write this letter of endorsement in support of David Frasher as a deserving and worthy candidate for any position he feels qualified to pursue. I have known David on both a professional basis as the City Manager for the City of Grants Pass, Oregon for the past six plus years. During this time, I worked on several very critical issues of major significance to both the City and to the Grants Pass School District. These have included the Parks and Recreation Programs of the City, improvements of street and services, joint efforts of City and School District management teams, joint projects of the City Council and the School Board plus numerous others. In every challenge, Dave was a professional in his leadership style and an excellent architect of ideas and solutions.
On a more personal basis, I have always found Dave to be a man of integrity, honesty and patience. He works hard in his efforts to provide detail and has a passion for accuracy-thoroughness. In my experience with David Frasher, I was never disappointed in his communications, his processing or in his commitments.
In summary, in my nearly forty years as an educator, administrators and superintendent, I consider Mr. Frasher to be one of the most caring, dedicated professionals I have been associated with. In my judgment, I believe he performed at a very high level as the City Manager of the City of Grants Pass during some very challenging circumstances and events. I also believe the City of Grants Pass has made some very tangible progress in services, major facility improvements and in the production of its employees under the leadership of Mr. Frasher. Please know I have no reservations in recommending David Frasher as a competent and deserving professional.
If I can be of any further assistance or provide additional information, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Steve Iverson
Jonathan Jordan
President and CEO of the Grants Pass & Josephine County Chamber of Commerce
My name is Jonathan Jordan, President and CEO of the Grants Pass & Josephine County Chamber of Commerce in Grants Pass, Oregon. It is our 86th year serving the community. We represent 700 businesses that encompass 10,000 employees in our county. We also have 13 committees that utilize over 100 volunteers.
I have worked with David Frasher for 3 years. I was on one of the initial hiring committees for our new city manager. Mr. Frasher was the only candidate who asked us questions. This is why I voted to select him as our city manager. He was proactive, intelligent and astute in his actions.
I have worked professionally and privately with Mr. Frasher. David has been a great supporter of the chamber and has been an active part of “Concerts in the Park”, a free gift to our community every year.
Mr. Frasher has been to my house for dinner and I have been to his. I know him to be an ethical, honest and forthright person. My only regret is that we were unable to keep David after an unprecedented community uprising recall of 5 of our 8 city councilors.
I know David will excel in any endeavor he pursues because of his high moral standards and continually choosing the “high road”.
Sincerely,
Jonathan Jordan
John D. Chmelir, P.E.
President of the Home Builder's Association of Josephine County
This is a positive recommendation for David Frasher. He is smart, hard working, loyal, and has a high level of integrity. I recommend him to any evaluation panel without reservation.
I have been an executive in Public Companies providing Professional Engineering, Scientific and Management services to industry and government, and have hired and managed literally hundreds of high-performance individuals. Likewise, in my career I have dealt with government at local through national levels and have encountered countless public officials making decisions that affected my endeavors. Currently I am a builder and developer in Grants Pass and the surrounding counties and towns, I also serve as the President of the Home Builder's Association of Josephine County. David stands head and shoulders above other professionals I have worked with in my career. He has the highest personal integrity and professional abilities.
I was not supportive of the removal of David's predecessor but was impressed with David when he first arrived. His immediate position to either enforce all ordinances or get rid of them ruffled some feathers initially, but eventually was seen to be positive. He won my respect for his even-handed approach to enforcement of those ordinances. Essentially, he created an environment in which if one lived by the rules then the outcome was predictable as outlined in the code. His integrity quickly became apparent. It didn't matter whether one was a "Good Old Boy" or not, only whether one lived by the written rules. That is not to say that he was a slave to those rules. On the contrary, he always listened to arguments, suggested improvement or removal of conflicts in the ordinances, and pressed for fair resolutions.
David quickly earned the respect and admiration of his staff and earlier councils. The November's '08 election brought four new members to the Council. Those new Councilors immediately indicated their skepticism that David could satisfy them, then overwhelmed David with information requests, went around him to staff, and when he objected, wrote editorials excoriating him. Throughout the ensuing six months, even though these Councilors, and an additional one they had recruited, were maneuvering to remove David, he was always professional in his demeanor, and always worked to steer Council's efforts toward resolving the important issues before the City. I know that David was touched by the outpouring of support from the community for him in his defense, and eventually the five Councilors that voted to remove him were in fact removed themselves by recall, and unprecedented outcome.
Even in the midst of it all, David provided the Council with advice on his own removal to keep the effort within the law. In short, he put the best interests of the City above his own career in every instance. He has earned my complete trust and respect, and I would hire him back as a City Manager of Grants Pass if it were within my power. David Frasher would be an asset to any organization, and especially municipal government. I give him my highest endorsement.
Respectfully,
John D. Chmelir P.E.
Captain Danny Cummings
Patrol Shift Commander of the Independence Police Department
I have known David Frasher as a colleague and friend for twenty-five years. We met when we were assigned to adjacent patrol districts, working as police officers for the Independence Missouri Police Department. David and I handled dozens of call together and sometimes worked side by side on criminal investigations, often under stressful and dangerous conditions where it was critical to be able to think on your feet. David had exceptionally good judgement, always remained calm and collected, and was a natural leader. He was a standout. He was the person you wanted next to you in a tough situation. David was honest, ethical, professional and very good at his job. He was one of those people everyone, including his supervisors, would consistently turn to for advice.
In my recollection, David was one of the youngest patrol officers ever to become a detective and he earned record high scores when he took promotional exams at the police department. It was always clear to me that David's talent and intellect would likely take him to opportunities beyond local law enforcement so it was no surprise when he left the police department to attend law school. David and I have remained close friends and have followed one another in our respective careers. Over the years he has provided me with remarkably solid and insightful professional advice on all sorts of issues related to local government administration and law enforcement. David understands and practices teamwork. His ideas have been creative, innovative, and they work.
I am proud to offer my recommendation for David and am eager to respond to any inquiries about his qualifications or abilities.
Sincerely,
Captain Danny R. Cummings
