DAVID TYSON CELEBRATES LAST DAY AS CITY MANAGER

 
David Tyson says goodbye today after twelve years of serving as Eureka City Manager.
 
“I’ve had a good experience and I’m very sad,” Tyson said. “People have been asking me how I feel, and I’m prepared for this.”
 
Tyson started his career right after graduating from Humboldt State University in 1980.
 
"I took the job as an accountant for the City of Arcata," he said.

He said he never imagined that he would be offered the position of finance director for the city of Arcata.
 
"It gave me a huge head start in my career in public service,” Tyson said. “It definitely made a change in where I was headed as a professional.”
 
He said his goal was to work his way to Eureka.
 
"In 1990 the City of Eureka opened the position of Finance Director, it was a new position and I applied."
 
At age 32, Tyson was appointed the Finance Director position. Ten years later, he would become City Manager.
 
"He brought a certain institutional knowledge about the position," said former Eureka Council Member Michael Jones.
 
Jones said Tyson not only brought stability to a position that had a high turnover rate, but also brought life to it.
 
"Just his presence in a room,” Jones said. “He has the ability to make friends and to understand both sides."
 
City Clerk Pam Powell said his humor is what she’s going to miss most.
 
"No matter what the situation is, or how serious, we can always find a bright side," Powell said.
 
Tyson says that while his time may be up as City Manager, he'll continue to work on projects around the city to make eureka a better place to live.
 
"The next chapter of my life is to bring an economy to the area," he said.
 
And encourage elected officials and members of the public to work together to improve the community.
 
"We can diversify our economy and be a vital economic resource in the state of California," Tyson said.