The Clatsop County Board of Commissioners has released the names of its six finalists for county manager.

The finalists come from backgrounds in municipal government, law enforcement and the private sector.

They will all come to Clatsop County next week to meet county commissioners, staff and other community leaders – as well as the general public – to make their cases for why they deserve to be the county’s next top administrator.

The Board its list of candidates to six at a meeting last Wednesday with executive search consultant Greg Prothman, who conducted interviews of 12 semifinalists.

The candidates will be guests at a public meet-and-greet reception March 19 from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Astoria Event Center, 894 Commercial St. Citizens will be able to meet with the applicants and ask them questions.

On March 20 the candidates will undergo interviews by three panels made up of the county commissioners, senior county staff and labor representatives, and local mayors and officials from the Port of Astoria and Astoria/Warrenton Chamber of Commerce.

Commissioners hope to make a final selection by March 27.

The finalists are:

? Kenneth Carter, of Kirkland, Wash.

Most recent position: Interim public works director, Walla Walla, Wash., June 2008-November 2008

Education: Bachelor’s degree, political science, Fort Hays State University; graduate studies, Kansas State University

In his application Kenneth Carter said he has experience in communities facing “extreme financial challenges” like the one facing Clatsop County, and has successfully met those challenges.

Carter has 35 years of experience in city government, in both Kansas and Washington, beginning as an assistant city administrator in Great Bend, Kan. in 1973. He moved up to administrator in 1977, then became city manager for Hays, Kansas, where he served from 1981 to 1992.

He took the top job in Prosser, Wash. in 1993 and served there for 11 years. He served as interim city administrator of Milton, Wash. from 2006 to 2007.

In Prosser, a city of 4,980, Carter said he implemented systems to “bring the city back from a critical financial situation.” During his tenure the city also passed, with 88 percent of the vote, a bond measure for a new fire station and equipment.

Carter said he also brought together several partners for a $15.2 million street project, developed and implemented a new business park and a water system improvement plan, and established “open and effective communications” between the city council and management staff.

“I believe in creating a free flowing communication network that allows staff to have all the available information,” he wrote in his application. “I encourage vigorous debate and want competing viewpoints to be heard.”

? Dave Fonfara, of Chelan, Wash.

Most recent position: City manager, Chelan, Wash., January 2004-September 2008

Education: Bachelor’s degree, political science, UCLA; master’s degree, parks and recreation management, California State University at Los Angeles; Master’s degree, public administration, University of Southern California.

Fonfara has 36 years of experience in public service, beginning in 1972 as recreation supervisor in Oxnard, Calif. He served in parks and recreation and community services management positions with Azusa, Calif.; Sunnyside, Wash.; and San Clemente, Calif. until 1987, when he became executive director of Sunnyside Inc., a private, non-profit organization that provided community and economic development services through a partnership with the City of Sunnyside and the local school district, port district, chamber of commerce, hospital and Yakima County.

From 2000 to 2004 Fonfara served as city manager of Sunnyside, overseeing a full-time staff of 110 and a budget of up to $30 million.

Fonfara served most recently as city administrator of Chelan, a city of 3,800 in north-central Washington state. He oversaw a staff of 44 full-time employees and an annual budget of $22 million. Accomplishments he listed include the initiation of a strategic plan for the city; reorganization of various city departments; improved fiscal accountability with an estimated $6.8 million in reserves in 2008; transitioning the city’s law enforcement, jail and municipal court services to contracted county management; and securing an estimated $3 million in county, state and federal grants.

“My management style can best be described as open, inclusive, collaborative and respectful,” Fonfara said in his application.

? Edward Gil de Rubio, of Dallas, Texas

Most recent position: County manager, Sullivan County, N.H., 2002-2008

Education: Bachelor’s degree, management, Johnson State College; master’s degree, public administration, Sage Graduate School

Gil de Rubio said he places great emphasis on building a “high performance, citizen-friendly organization.”

Currently a resident of Dallas, Gil de Rubio has 18 years of experience in the public sector in New England, beginning in 1990 as municipal manager of Northfield, Vt. That was followed by a four-year job as town administrator of Wrentham, Mass. from 1998 to 2002, followed by six years with Sullivan County as manager.

Sullivan County is located in west-central New Hampshire with a population of about 40,000, and the county government has staff of about 350 and a $27 million budget. Among his accomplishments Gil de Rubio listed redevelopment of the entire department of corrections with an emphasis on community corrections, transitional housing and drug intervention; creation of a public/private partnership for a county nursing home; work with schools to obtain grant dollars for addressing substance abuse in schools; and development of a countywide recycling plan.

In his application Gil de Rubio said financial management and responsibility were key goals, and pointed out that he eliminated a $2 million budget deficit for Sullivan County in one year.

“I love my job and it shows,” he wrote.

? Robert Jasper, of Grand Junction, Colo.

Most recent position: District Manager, Consolidated Metropolitan District, Colorado, 2006-2008

Education: Bachelor’s degree, social services, University of Nevada-Las Vegas; master’s degree, public administration, University of California, Riverside.

In his application Jasper wrote of visiting Astoria several years ago and watching the ship traffic on the Columbia River at a friend’s house.

“It was a pretty day and I though to myself, this is truly beautiful,” he wrote. “I asked my friend about the community and he talked about the friendly people who are caring and involved in the community. Then and over the years, I thought about how great it would be to live in Astoria.”

Jasper has nine years experience as county manager of Mesa County, Colo., part of a 31-year career in public service. He began his career in 1977 as an administrative analyst for Monterey County, Calif., before joining Washoe County, Nev. in 1983 as assistant county manager.

Jasper served as Mesa County Administrator from 1995 to 2005. Among the accomplishments he listed are: Leading efforts to prepare a new land-use master plan and revise the county development code, and negotiating agreements with cities for a county transit system and regional storm drain and flood control partnership.

From 2005 to 2006 Jasper served as part-time interim county manager while teaching political science at Mesa State College. In 2006 he joined the Consolidated Metropolitan District, which provides water, wastewater, storm drain and recreation services to Battlement Mesa, Colo., an unincorporated community of about 5,000.

In his application Jasper noted that he led successful efforts in both Washoe and Mesa counties to finance and build new county jails. He also said he has considerable experience in the development of public/private partnerships to promote economic development.

? Susan Stanton, of Phoenix, Ariz.

Most recent position: City manager, Largo, Fla., 1990-2007

Education: Bachelor’s degree, political science, University of Florida; master’s degree, public administration, University of Florida

Stanton said she studied Clatsop County’s latest budget, financial audit and Long Term Financial Plan, as well as the minutes of many county commission meetings, before submitting her application for the county manager position.

Stanton served for 17 years as city manager of Largo, Fla., a city of 78,000 located near Tampa Bay. The city government has a staff of more than 900 and an annual budget of $133 million. Her prior positions include administrative assistant to the managers of Ketchikan, Alaska and Champaign, Ill. between 1983 and 1986, and city administrator of Berea, Ky. from 1986 to 1990.

Stanton said she was the longest-serving city manager in the 100-year history of Largo, where, among other accomplishments, the city developed Community Redevelopment Districts that tackled blight and fostered private investment; forged a public/private partnership that created a mixed-use development of office and residential space; supervised construction of a new library; and maintained diversified revenue sources to keep the city’s budget balanced while keeping local property taxes among the lowest in the state.

Stanton said she also strove to maintain “open and transparent” communications with the mayor, city commission, staff and the public.

“I manage by direct and frequent communication with people at all levels of the organization irrespective of their job, title or level of responsibility,” she wrote.

? David Wareing, of Bellingham, Wash.

Most recent position: General manager, Sudden Valley Community Association, Bellingham, Wash., 2007-present

Education: Bachelor’s degree, business, USNY-Excelsior College; master’s degree, public administration, Idaho State University; certificate, public executive program, University of Washington Cascade Graduate School

David Wareing presented a résumé with government, law enforcement and private sector experience, most recently as general manager of the Sudden Valley Community Association, where he oversees a staff of 45 and directs all business operations for the community of 6,500, the largest community association in Washington.

Wareing began his career in 1986 as director of community services for the Pocatello, Idaho police department, then a year later took a job as chief of police for Washington State University. From 1992 to 1996 he was undersheriff of Whatcom County, Wash, then served as deputy administrator and administrative services director for the county executive’s office.

In 1999 he joined a private company, NSI Inc., as executive vice president, then ran his own administrative consulting firm, The Challenger Group from 2001 to 2006.

Wareing described himself as “an accomplished and results-oriented administrative professional with broad experience in public administration, administrative service and local government.” During his tenure with the Whatcom County Executive’s Office, he wrote, he was instrumental in restoring the county’s budget process, facilitating a complete upgrade of its information technology systems, and rebuilding strained relations within county government, among other accomplishments.