3 finalists named for city manager post

Three finalists – two of them local to the metro area – have been named for the city manager position in the city of Springfield.

David Cameron, city administrator of Republic, and Brian Weiler, the city’s director of aviation, are in the running for the position, along with outside candidate Bob Cowell, who most recently served as the city manager of Roanoke, Virginia, according to a news release from the city.

The candidates are scheduled to participate in on-site meetings and interviews on April 15-16, the release states.

Incoming Mayor Jeff Schrag, whose term is set to begin when he is sworn in on April 21, said in an interview with Springfield Business Journal that he and the other incoming City Council member Bruce Adib-Yazdi were not involved in the selection of the finalists, but they will be involved in the process moving forward.

“The council has now passed something where the newly elected folks – that’s me and Bruce – will be able to be read in on the search,” he said the day after Election Day.

He added that he expects for the pair to be read in by April 13.

“Their plan is to make us a part of it,” he said. “Everything council’s a part of, we’ll be a part of.”

City Council members will decide who to hire for the position, which has been without a permanent leader for three months following the resignation of Jason Gage. Schrag and current Mayor Ken McClure have said there is no timeline for that decision.

David Cameron
Cameron, a native of Miller, has served as Republic’s city administrator since July 2016, coming from a similar role in Siloam Springs, Arkansas, according to past SBJ reporting. He holds a bachelor’s degree in organizational management from John Brown University in Siloam Springs.

The city’s release notes that under Cameron’s leadership, Republic has delivered $1.4 billion in capital investments and created 3,000 new jobs with an annual budget of $48 million. Cameron has overseen expansions to the city’s wastewater capacity and aquatic park development, among other projects.

Republic has 170 city employees and a population of just under 21,000, growing at roughly 2% annually, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Bob Cowell
Cowell has spent three decades in public service, most recently as city manager of Roanoke, Virginia, a position he held 2017-24. Before that, he was deputy city manager of Amarillo, Texas. He is a Missouri native who began his career as a planner.

He has a master’s degree in urban planning from the University of Tennessee and a bachelor’s degree in aeronautics from St. Louis University.

Roanoke has a population of 97,000, according to U.S. Census Bureau figures from 2023. The city’s release says it has 1,800 employees and an annual budget of about $282 million.

Cowell’s resignation from Roanoke was submitted via a letter that celebrated all the city had accomplished during his leadership. “Together, we have built a strategic, intentional, creative and welcoming organization based upon empowerment, collaboration, efficiency and diversity and equity,” the letter said.

Some controversial personnel action occurred in the months leading to Cowell’s resignation, however. The Cardinal News, which serves southwest and southside Virginia, reported that Cowell left the Roanoke city manager position June 7 after seven years on the job and following several high-profile personnel issues in the Roanoke City Hall. The outlet reported that Cowell demoted an assistant city manager after allegations that the assistant had verbally attacked a city budget analyst. That followed a resignation by Roanoke’s parks and recreation director, who alleged “passive aggression and intentional slight” in city offices.

Cowell counts his accomplishments as navigating COVID-19, a city safety initiative, a successful police chief hire and multiple infrastructure projects, according to an interview with TV station WDBJ. In the interview, he referred to his departure from the city as one that occurred by mutual agreement with the City Council.

One of his key accomplishments as a planner occurred in College Station, Texas, where Cowell planned the city’s Brazos Valley Biocorridor with Texas A&M University as a research and development hub for vaccines.

Brian Weiler
Weiler heads up the Springfield-Branson National Airport, which set back-to-back passenger records in 2023 and 2024, when it ended the year with 1.4 million passengers, a 10.4% increase year over year, according to past SBJ reporting. The airport employs 2,000 and is currently undergoing $25.4 million in projects.

Weiler is a U.S. Marine Corps veteran and has been in the director of aviation role since 2011, following a 15-year career with the Missouri Department of Transportation. He has a master’s degree in aviation safety from the University of Central Missouri and a bachelor’s degree in professional aeronautics from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University

According to the city’s release, Weiler’s accomplishments include negotiating with American Airlines to finance and construct a new maintenance base at the airport, partnering with Ozarks Technical Community College to start a flight school that tripled in size in its first five years and transforming a 100,000-square-foot former airline terminal into a non-aeronautical revenue source with 100% occupancy and more than 1,000 employees with online travel company Expedia Group.

The process
The deadline for applications for city manager was Feb. 2, and there were 75 applications, according to city officials.

McClure issued an update on the search on March 27 that council noted there was no timeline for the hire.

“We are not constrained by a specific timeline, as we are committed to taking the time necessary to doing the best job possible for the citizens of Springfield,” McClure said in that release.

Schrag said there will be more details to come on the search following the interviews of the candidates this month.

“What I want to do is respect the fact that council has not put a goal or a deadline on this to give themselves maximum flexibility,” he said. “And again, you’re also talking to a guy who hasn’t read one document yet about the search.”

Asked to assess the quality of the finalists, he said he knows the two local candidates very well but does not know the out-of-state candidate.

“I feel like I should wait until I’ve read everything,” he said.

The starting salary for the position is $350,000, a level that is negotiable based on experience and qualifications. Former City Manager Gage was earning $268,000 at the time of his separation in January; the new city manager’s salary will be roughly 31% higher. Keller, Texas-based Strategic Government Resources Inc. was contracted to handle recruiting.

City officials have not responded to queries from SBJ on the increased starting salary.

The city said the three finalists will participate in community engagements in Springfield April 15-16, to include meetings and interviews with city stakeholder groups and members of the city’s leadership team. There will be 30-minute live virtual town hall meetings with each, starting at 6:30 p.m. April 15on Cityview.springfieldmo.gov and the city’s Facebook page. City Council will then conduct a final interview round.

Residents may submit questions for the virtual town hall meetings on the city’s website or in real time by commenting on the livestream broadcast.

The April 15 meet-the-candidate virtual town hall meetings will feature Cameron at 6:30 p.m.; Cowell at 7 p.m.; and Weiler at 7:30 p.m.

Executive Editor Christine Temple contributed to this story.