CARLTON FLETCHER: Former MCLB-Albany leader has eye on community

“Now the time has come, There are things to realize.”

— The Chambers Brothers

With Sharon Subadan’s departure as city manager, the Albany City Commission and Mayor Bo Dorough have an important task ahead. The future direction of the city depends on it.

While no concrete plan has been released about what is expected to be a nationwide search for Subadan’s replacement, an interesting development might draw some attention of commissioners as they begin their search.

Former Marine Corps Logistics Base-Albany Commander Col. Don Davis, who for the past four years has served as the county manager of Jefferson County, Colo., told me in a phone conversation this week that he is “very interested in what will happen” with the Albany city manager’s position. And while he stopped short of saying he will apply for the position, Davis said he has “maintained a great deal of interest in what goes on there in Albany.”

“I have fond memories of Albany and the great people there,” Davis said. “It’s what influenced me to continue my career in public service as county manager here in Jefferson County. I’ve found serving in local government to be very rewarding, and the men and women I serve alongside to be every bit as patriotic as any Marine, sailor, soldier or airman I ever led in 27 years in the Corps.

“I am cheering on Albany’s efforts to find their next city manager and pray they can unite behind whoever that is. I’m certain there will be many highly qualified servant leaders who will apply.”

Members of local government who did not want to comment on the record said Davis is a “very interesting candidate.” One noted: “So many work hard to get out of the community, using us as a stepping stone. It’s great to hear that a person of this caliber wants to come back to Albany.”

Davis said he decided to give government management a try while still on active duty with homeland defense in 2017. After leaving MCLB-Albany in 2015, he was chief of strategy and campaign plans for NORAD and USNORTHCOM in Colorado Springs for two years.

“I’d done similar work during my career with the Corps, so I decided to toss my hat in the ring for the position to see if I was qualified for that kind of work,” Davis said. “I guess I was; they hired me.”

Jefferson County is worlds apart from Albany and Dougherty County in southwest Georgia. The Colorado county has more than 600,000 citizens, and Davis oversees more than 3,000 employees and an annual budget near $700 million. But that has not kept him from staying attuned to goings-on in Albany..

“The issues here are nothing like what the people in southwest Georgia deal with on a daily basis,” he said. “And while this is certainly a great job, I have always found greater satisfaction and greater challenge in helping people improve their lives.”

Davis was one of the primary drivers behind public/private biomass, landfill gas, solar and geothermal energy projects in Albany that allowed the base here to become the first net-surplus energy installation in the U.S. Department of Defense. And, rare for the “temporary” leadership that rotates through Marine Corps installations, Davis became actively involved in the community while in Albany, a regular at meetings and events that impacted the community.

His education includes a master’s of public administration degree from Webster University at Camp Lejeune, N.C.; a bachelor of science degree in Management from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute’s Lally School of Management and Technology in Troy, N.Y., and completion of the Executive Leadership Program at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill’s Kenan-Flagler Business School.

Davis’ name quickly surfaced as a possible contender for the city of Albany’s now open city manager’s position shortly after Subadan announced her plans to take the county manager’s position in north Georgia’s Douglas County. That the retired Marine might be interested in a return to the city is something city leaders might be well-advised to think about as they ponder their next move … which should be made soon.