Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Portales City Manager Sammy Standefer is retiring May 28.
Standefer, 47, began his career with the city of Portales in September 1992, mowing grass at the Portales Cemetery and in the city parks. Over the years, he has been planning and zoning director and city building inspector, with the last six years spent as city manager.
The Eastern New Mexico News asked Standefer about his time with the city and his future plans.
What made you decide to retire?
A lot of factors. When I started my career with the city, I was 18 years old, and I wanted something where I could retire a little early. The thing that really sparked the change - there’s always changes coming down for state retirement and there are some changes coming that would impact my retirement, and I got to looking at those. That is not the only factor, but once I got to looking at it, it just solidified that it was time for me to look at retiring. And the job can be stressful at times, and I’ve been doing it a long time. Hopefully, I can continue to serve the community in a different capacity.
You started out mowing lawns for the city and moved up from there. Would you have guessed 10 years ago that you would have the opportunity to be city manager?
Certainly, when I started, I would have never realized I’d have that opportunity, but 10 years ago, I probably realized it could be a possibility for me. But 20 years ago, I never would have imagined. I think it is possible for any employee to work their way up through the ranks and be able to do the exact thing that I do.
Tell me a little about your time with the city. What accomplishments are you most proud of? What was most rewarding about your time with the city?
There’s many, many things that I’m very proud of, but I don’t want to name specific things, because really, it takes an entire team to accomplish any of these things. I was able to create a team and keep that team flowing. And really, that’s what a city manager does. You create a great team that flows. So, I hate to take credit for anything, because it took everyone to make these things happen - city staff, city councilors, and the citizens.
What will you miss most about working for the city of Portales?
I’m not 100 % sure what I will miss most. There’s great friendships and camaraderie that you make with coworkers and citizens. There’s daily challenges with the job. I think I’ll miss all those things - the people I work with and work for and the day-to-day challenges that come with it. I don’t think I will miss the loss of sleep that comes with the job (chuckles).
What advice would give to the incoming city manager?
In my opinion, just like I mentioned earlier, creating a team and feeding that team information and giving them the tools they need to create projects is really what a city manager does. Create an open communication and determine what your staff needs. I think the most important thing anyone can do is keep people working together as a team.
What is next for you?
I really struggled with this a lot. I really wanted to have something on my plate before I ever made a decision, but I don’t. But I realized that’s OK. I probably need to take a little time to decompress. I hope to serve the community in some capacity, whether I serve on a community board or maybe in an elected position. Career-wise, there are things I could tackle, but my first goal will be to decompress and just wait for the right opportunity. I’m just not going to commit to anything until I’ve had some time to decompress.
— Compiled by Correspondent Alisa Boswell-Gore
