City of Lawrence announces City Manager finalists

The City of Lawrence is seeking its next City Manager to succeed Craig Owens, who retired on May 1 following his service as City Manager since 2019. To support this search, the City engaged Strategic Government Resources (SGR), a Texas-based executive recruitment firm that specializes in identifying, assessing, and developing innovative, collaborative, and authentic leaders for local governments.

Using its proprietary recruitment and vetting process, SGR assembled an exceptionally strong candidate pool of 60 municipal government professionals representing 23 states. There were no internal candidates. Five City Manager finalists will be participating in a two-day onsite interview process on May 20—21, 2026. .

The onsite interview process will include community tours, panel sessions with the City’s senior leadership team and community stakeholders, one-on-one meetings with the Mayor and City Commissioners, and a Community Meet and Greet. The Community Meet and Greet is scheduled for 6—7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, May 20, at the Carnegie Building, 200 W 9th St. All Lawrence community members are invited to join.

“I am extremely pleased with how the search has progressed and with the quality of the candidates that have applied for the City Manager position,” said Lawrence Mayor Brad Finkeldei. “The recruitment has generated an exceptional number of quality candidates, and the City Commission looks forward to learning more about our five finalists when they are in town for their interviews. We are excited to welcome the candidates to Lawrence, where they will experience our wonderful community firsthand and have the opportunity to meet with senior staff members, community stakeholders, our residents, and our intergovernmental partners. On behalf of the City Commission, we look forward to getting to know each candidate better throughout the process and identifying the best candidate to become our next City Manager.”

More information on the five finalists is included below.

David Vela is an accomplished local government executive with over two decades of municipal leadership experience in Texas. Most recently, he served as City Manager for the City of Odessa, Texas, from June through October 2025. Before Odessa, he served as City Manager of Sweetwater, Texas, from 2016 to 2025.

Earlier in his career, Vela held several leadership positions with the City of Abilene, Texas, including Deputy City Manager from 2006 to 2015, including work as Interim City Manager from 2014 to 2015. Other local government positions include service as City Manager of Alice, Texas from 2015-2016, having previously served as their Assistant City Manager from 2003-2006. Vela holds a Master’s degree in Public Administration from Texas State University and a Bachelor’s degree in Government from the University of Texas at Austin. He is a Credentialed Manager through the International City/County Management Association (ICMA-CM), and also is a graduate of ICMA’s High-Performance Leadership Academy.

Joe Fivas has served as City Manager for the City of Cleveland, Tennessee, since 2016. His previous local government service include positions as Town Manager for the Town of Indian Trails, North Carolina, from 2010-2015, City Manager with the City of Owosso, Michigan, from 2007-2010, and Assistant Director of State Affairs with the Michigan Municipal League (MML), Ann Arbor, Michigan from 2004-2007, having previously served as MML’s Manager of Transportation & Environmental Affairs from 2002-2004. Fivas has also served in a variety of capacities in the Michigan State Legislature as Policy Advisor to Speaker of the House Larry DeVuyst from 1999-2002, and as a Legislative Assistant from 1996-1999.

Joe holds a Juris Doctor from Western Michigan Law School, and both a Master of Public Administration and a Bachelor of Science in Biology from Central Michigan University.

Joseph (Joe) Lessard currently serves as an Independent Consultant working on public-private partnerships for affordable housing projects, and previously served as Ashland, Oregon’s first City Manager from 2022-2023. Before this, he served as the Assistant City Manager for the City of Austin, Texas, from 1989-1998, and Assistant to the City Manager and Management Assistant for the City of Dallas, Texas, from 1981-1985. He also served in the private sector for several firms located in the Austin, Texas area as a consultant for Strategic Initiatives, Senior Planner for Knudson, LP, and Senior Vice President – Land Development for Kucera Management, Inc. Lessard’s current consultant work is focused on working with a real estate investment firm to pursue public-private partnerships for affordable housing.

Joe has a Master’s degree in Public Affairs from Indiana University, a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, and a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science from Washington State University in Pullman, WA.

Majed Al-Ghafry has been serving as City Manager for the City of DeSoto, Texas, since 2024. He has previously served in a variety of local government positions, including Assistant City Manager/Chief Economic Development Officer with the City of Dallas, Texas, from 2022-2024, and the city’s Assistant City Manager-Infrastructure from 2017-2022. Other local government posts included service as Assistant City Manager for the City of El Cajon, California from 2013-2017, Director of Public Works with the City of San Antonio, Texas from 2008-2013, Director of Public Works with the City of Las Vegas, Nevada, from 2007-2008, and Public Works Director/City Engineer with the City of Lemon Grove, California, from 2004-2007.

Majed holds a Master of Public Administration from the University of North Texas and a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering from Northeastern University in Boston, Massachusetts. He also serves as an Adjunct Professor in the College of Engineering at the University of Texas at Arlington, is a Registered Texas Civil Engineer, a Registered California Traffic Engineer, a Professional Traffic Operations Engineer, and is a Credentialed Manager (ICMA-CM) with the International City/County Management Association.

Michael Kovacs has served as City Manager with the City of Fate, Texas, since 2014. Previous local government positions have included City Manager for the City of Galveston, Texas, from 2012-2014, Assistant City Manager for the Park City Municipal Corporation, Utah, from 2009-2012, City Manager for Port Aransas, Texas, from 2004-2009, Town Administrator for Surfside Beach, South Carolina, from 2000-2004, and City Administrator for Presidio, Texas, from 1998-2000.

Michael holds a Master of Public Administration and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Texas A&M University.