Chandler’s new City Manager Jason Orr has been in his position going on three weeks now and says, “I love it. It’s one of the most hospitable towns I’ve been in.
“You can hear it in people’s voices. I really like small town charm and I think it’s a good fit for me,” he added.
Orr, originally from Tennessee, took the reins as Chandler’s new city manager May 2.
“I am extremely blessed to have this opportunity to serve the Chandler community. I look forward to assisting the Council in their efforts to make Chandler a special place that citizens can be proud to call home,” Orr said.
Orr explained he has 12 years in local government experience.
He noted the Chandler city manager job opening was posted for a long time when he applied.
“I was in the Air Force and was stationed at Tinker Air Force Base. I liked Central Oklahoma and Chandler is really close too. I didn’t want to leave the central part of the state, and I lucked out,” Orr related.
Other city manager jobs he’s had include a short stint at Lexington, three years at Newkirk and before coming to Chandler he was the city manager at Piedmont for five years.
Orr said he earned a degree in Public Administration from the University of Oklahoma. “I’m working on my Master’s De gree in Community and Economic Development from Penn State University, online of course. All I have left is my Master’s paper and I will graduate in December.”
He began working with the city of Edmond in 2010 making minimum wage. “That was my first job in municipal govern ment, what a humbling experience,” he commented.
Orr related, “I accepted an internship at Enid working with Eric Benson. I was working at Arcadia Lake for the city of Edmond and on days off working in Enid. “He later gave me the
“He later gave me the opportunity working in Code Enforcement and I got some really good experience. I worked my work up to Operations Manager in Public Works,” Orr stated, before taking his first city manager’s job at Lex ington.
“I am extremely blessed to have this opportunity to serve the Chandler community. I look forward to assisting the Council in their efforts to make Chandler a special place that citizens can be proud to call home,” he said.