“There’s a lot to be proud of here,” said Medford’s new City Manager, Rob Field.
Rob’s first day on the job was September 16. He brings over 30 years of experience in local government and the private sector, most recently serving as the City Manager for the City of San Bernardino, California. He has a strong background in capital project planning, economic development, community engagement, and negotiating complex agreements.
“We talked about relocating to the Pacific Northwest, did some research, visited, and concluded that Medford was an obvious choice. It’s a great place to raise a family,” said Rob. He and his wife have two middle school age children.
Rob sees Medford as a “high functioning city” with good leadership in all departments. He wants to add several positions to the City Manager’s staff, one of which is an Economic Development Manager. “This will be an important position with a lot of focus on downtown,” said Rob.
Rob has worked to improve several different downtowns and learned about how important downtowns are. “Now is the time to bring in new energy to downtown,” said Rob. He went on to say that he wants to convey the feeling that Medford is business friendly, and that Downtown Medford is a good place to do business.
He is hoping that MURA (Medford Urban Renewal Agency) can be reinstated to help plan and fund downtown improvements.
“We need to be very deliberate in what we do and have community support as we look at reinventing and reimagining downtown. You want to both honor the past and look to the future to make downtown what we want it to be and what it can be. The potential is great, and, of course, DMA has to be a part of the planning process,” said Rob.
Rob considers residential to be a very important element in downtown and increasing the availability of downtown housing a key to our downtown’s growth and vitality. There are over 1000 people employed downtown in either the public or private sector. When people live downtown they walk to work, shop, and visit restaurants, bars, and other attractions, and create a climate that encourages more businesses to locate in downtown.
In conclusion, Rob said, “I will put in a plug for how successful MPD and all of our partners, including Access, Rogue Retreat, and Jackson County Housing Authority, have been in addressing homelessness.* Medford is doing as good a job as anywhere in the country . . . and, of course, we are still working on the situation. There’s a lot to be proud of here.”
*MPD Livability team’s most recent survey, conducted on September 25, 2024, recorded 11 active illegal encampments – down from 17 in March 2024, 56 in September 2023, and significantly reduced from the 186 encampments recorded in March 2023.
