Garvin fits the mold as interim manager of the city

Before being named city manager in McMinnville in 2017, Jeff Towery had already served four tours in upper-level city management posts, dating back 30 years. He had also earned a master’s degree in public administration from Syracuse University, and spent seven years holding upper management posts with Lane County.

Former City Council President Adam Garvin, unanimous council choice to steer the ship of state until the city can bring in a new manager, boasts neither the credentials nor the aspirations of Towery. He aims to return to the helm of his local auto-detailing business as soon as the city settles on a permanent successor.

But he does boast a moderate, collaborative record, broad credibility spanning the major political fault lines, deep immersion in local affairs and an extensive record of community service in both the public and private sectors. So he seems ideally suited to fill the same role former City Attorney Candace Haines played during the interim preceding Towery’s arrival — using intimate inside knowledge and a well-earned reservoir of goodwill to keep the city moving along on an even keel.

It worked last time. Why not again?

Garvin has plenty of positives, described below. Our related reservations are these two questions: Should McMinnville’s mayor and city manager both be voting members of the Water & Light Board, and should the city manager be chairman of the Fire District Board. We see important potential issues in those scenarios that should be addressed by the City Council.

Garvin is a third-generation resident of McMinnville. He was studying accounting at Linfield when he decided to leave early to fulfill a business plan he developed for a high school marketing class.

He served on the boards of the McMinnville Area Chamber of Commerce and McMinnville Kiwanis Club before winning election to the city council in 2016, re-election in 2020 and election to the council presidency in 2022. He has since won election to the McMinnville Fire District Board, which he chairs, and appointment to the McMinnville Water & Light Board.

Along the way, he has also served on the city’s Airport Commission and county’s YCOM Executive Board. And he has yet to hit 40.

When Garvin launched his 2020 re-election campaign, he pledged to preserve McMinnville’s culture, traditions, livability and small-town feel, “while still having a vision for the future.”

His vision included consolidating McMinnville’s urban and rural firefighting agencies under the umbrella of a new fire district with its own tax base. When he succeeded after four years of determined effort, he was rewarded with the chairmanship of the district’s inaugural board of directors.

It might sound as if Garvin’s dance card is already full, but he’s pledging to turn his business over to trusted lieutenants and put in at least 40 hours a week on the job at city hall. And it will probably take all of that, with a park and recreation bond issue looming, along with critical decisions on downtown, Three Mile Lane, McMinnville Landing and Alpine District development projects.

The city is, it seems to us, at a critical juncture on all fronts. What’s called for is a steady hand on the tiller.

It’s easy to make waves. It’s a lot harder to smooth troubled waters, but also far more productive.

We join a unanimous council in casting our lot with Garvin, chosen from a field of 17. Welcome aboard, Adam.