Asson has Hat in Ring for Council Seat

(This article appeared in the 8/31/10 issue of the Nugget Newspaper)

David Asson.photo by Bill Mintiens By Bill Mintiens David Asson is one of six candidates running for a seat on the Sisters City Council in the November 2 election. Asson, 73, has lived in Sisters for the past four years. Prior to moving here, the Assons lived for 43 years in Beaverton. David and his wife of fifty years, Carolyn, have four married children and thirteen grandchildren. Two of their married children live in Sisters Country. The pull of family and the natural beauty of Sisters Country motivated David and Carolyn to relocate to Sisters. "We had been visiting our kids in Sisters for years and finally decided that it would be a great place to live," said Asson. Originally from Rupert, Idaho (population 4,000), Asson grew up on a farm but knew that agriculture was not going to be his career path. "I enjoyed the work but frankly I didn't relate to the industry. I enjoyed accounting and bookkeeping in high school and eventually went down that career road," said Asson. David earned a BBA from the University of Portland and an MBA (business management & accounting) from UCLA. He also served in the U.S. Army Reserve. A Certified Public Accountant, Asson's career was spent with national CPA firms as well as running his own management and consulting practice for over 20 years. "Most of my professional days were in management consulting, CFO-type positions, and business systems/computer system consulting for medium-sized firms around the U.S. I spoke with my last client just a few days ago so, for the most part, I'm mostly retired," said Asson. Not one to sit around, Asson has been involved in many volunteer efforts since moving to Sisters. He is a director of the Sisters Historical Society, treasurer of the Timber Creek Homeowner's Association, and served as a member of the 2009 Sisters Budget Committee. Asson is also a published author. He's written two books in recent years. "Bringing in the Hay," a nostalgic history of the old hay stacking era and "Forty Years to Idaho," a historical account of the epic journey of European immigrants through western coal mines to Idaho homesteads. These days David enjoys woodworking in his shop, working on his computer, and playing with his grandkids. "I like to have variety in my days and, now that I'm retired, I have the time to devote to city council issues if I'm lucky enough to get elected," said Asson. When asked what qualifies him to become a city councilor, Asson spoke to his extensive business experience, financial perspective on Sisters, and desire to recruit companies with jobs. "I'm mostly retired and I served on the (Sisters) budget committee recently," he said. "I bring reasoning and research to the council. I see so many assets that just need to be coordinated. Talented people, good cash reserves; we don't have to add a lot of infrastructure, we just need to market what we've got. "I think if we had more people (in the community) working we'd be in much better shape. We need more - and better - jobs. In my business, our clients were all small manufacturing or services-oriented companies so, much of the time, I was going out and knocking on doors (to keep new business coming). We have to get out and talk with the retired professionals here in town, asking them 'don't you know some companies that might be interested in Sisters?' If you keep looking, keep talking, you'll eventually get companies; you have to move cautiously, methodically keep asking for business." Asson feels that the council could use his financial expertise. "In the few meetings I've been in with the council I felt that, at times, there wasn't enough knowledge about interpreting financial statements, financial results. I'm not sure they always understood what the statements said." Along those lines, Asson feels that his attention to detail and ability to plan are needed on the council. "The handling (hiring process) of the economic development manager position is a good example. (Councilor) Bill Merrill asked a lot of good questions, wanted more details about the position in writing and it never happened," he said. "I would have had everything written down and detailed before we agreed to the position, before we essentially wrote the $30,000 check. I'm a stickler for details. I'm not sure that, if there is a plan for the position, that everyone (councilors) agrees. We haven't set the policy very well for EDCO to follow," said Asson. Regarding the issue of urban growth, Asson said, "I advocate planned growth that's in harmony with nature. We need to target the kinds of businesses we want. At the council work meetings, twice a month; we should be establishing the goals we want to see three to five years from now." Asked about the state-designated "severely distressed community" listing, Asson said, "I don't think we're a severely distressed community personally. There are a lot of people out of work for sure, but it's not because of the City of Sisters; they've done a good job of controlling costs within the city." Asson believes the present council could function better as a team. "I was impressed in the budget meetings with the council," he said. "But I sense there's conflict within the present council; three councilors seem to be controlling the voting. I don't like that. If I was a councilor I may vote their way sometimes but not always. I believe the disharmony could be smoothed-out by more deliberate, fact-based discussions versus emotion-based discussions. Unfortunately I don't think our present councilors share their thoughts among themselves as well as they could." Asson was originally running as one of three candidates - including Jerry Bogart and Virginia Lindsey - supported by the Citizens for Sisters political action committee (PAC). This past July Asson became treasurer of the PAC as the group began meeting weekly about campaign strategy. Citizens for Sisters was formed in the 2008 campaign and raised more than $11,000 to support the slate of Lon Kellstrom, Jerry Bogart, and Pat Thompson. All three were elected. (See related story, page 1.) Last week Asson decided to leave the PAC and his position as treasurer. "Late this past Friday afternoon I notified the sponsors of the PAC that I wished to run independently and would be resigning the treasurership as of Monday, August 30," Asson told The Nugget. "I want to give myself more flexibility in presenting my message to the community. While I share many, if not most of the PAC candidates' views, I feel it may be more advantageous to me and the community, if I take my own path and do my own marketing," said Asson. Asson says he received some pushback about his decision but still feels it was the right thing to do. "The mayor was disappointed, but he's still supportive of my decision. And a few community members encouraged me to do this as well," said Asson. Three city councilor positions are up for election - those currently held by Bill Merrill, council president, Sharlene Weed and Jerry Bogart. The Sisters City Charter states that in any election the top two finishers receive four-year terms, the third-place finisher receives a two-year term.