Town Manager Breaks Longevity Record

Dave Clark says he’s not in it for the record. But to the residents of St. Johnsbury, the record is a reflection of the man.

More than 100 residents of the town piled into a city hall meeting room just as the sun rose on a recent day to pay tribute to the longest-serving manager of a single Vermont town.

“I ain’t no hero,” Clark told his admirers. “It’s all part of the game. You gotta make a living somehow.”

Clark, 73, broke the record Feb. 1 by doing his job for 35 years and six months. He first occupied his post in August 1960--24 days before Cal Ripken Jr.--baseball’s “iron man”--was even born.

He has made his life’s work in a profession that traditionally offers little stability. Town managers and selectmen often bicker, and there’s usually a contingent of dissident residents who are set on getting rid of the appointed town manager.

But through every year of tough budget choices and social change, Clark has endured.

“He’s got to be doing something right,” said Steven Jeffrey, executive director of the Vermont League of Cities and Towns, who pointed out that the median length of a town manager’s term nationally is 4 1/2 years. “His longevity speaks to his success.”

Zoning and planning administrator Priscilla Messier said Clark has a way about him that deflects bad feelings. A resident might get upset over potholes in the town’s roads, and march into his office “with daggers coming out of their eyes”--and walk out smiling, problem solved, Messier said.

This tall, lanky flannel-clad town manager resembles an older version of Kramer from TV’s “Seinfeld.” Friends say he’s pleasantly blunt, makes people laugh and gets things done.

Aides say Clark will go to great lengths to make sure the town keeps ticking. One brutal winter’s morning about 15 years ago, a thick layer of ice froze over the roads.

But Clark wouldn’t let a steep, ice-slicked mile drive keep him from his job. He found a piece of cardboard, sat on it and coasted most of the way downhill to work.

When he started in 1960, he earned $8,400 a year; now he earns $54,000 for supervising the 51 employees who serve the town of 7,400 people.

The previous record for a single run as town manager in Vermont was held by Hartford City Manager Ralph Lehman. He held the job for 35 years and five months before retiring at the end of 1994. Now, he serves as a state representative.

Lehman says he tips his hat to Clark.

“He’s trying to break my record,” Lehman said with a chuckle. “No--I think it’s great. Any man who can stay in a job as long as he has is commendable.”

Clark too will soon find himself at the end of the line. He announced in October that his last day as town manager will be June 15. State Rep. John Hall will then take over.

Clark’s wife, Joan, said she can’t imagine her husband apart from his work as town manager. She said he will probably do more with his business, an apple orchard.

Some say Clark still isn’t ready to say goodbye to public life.

“I don’t think he wants to leave,” said Sidney Achilles, who as a district transportation manager works closely with Clark. “He thinks it’s time to leave, but he’d rather stay. He’d rather be here until they carry him away.”

Don’t expect Clark to just fade away from public life, however. He said he is considering running for Hall’s seat in the state House of Representatives.