Kent Wyatt '00 and his father, Ed Wyatt, were featured in the quarterly newsletter of the Oregon City/County Management Association about their family's legacy municipal government.
Ed Wyatt served as the manager of several North Carolina cities over the course of his nearly 35 year career. After serving as an intern with the towns of Elon and Hillsborough, Kent Wyatt completed his Master of Public Administration degree at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2004 and today serves as a senior management analyst for Tigard, Ore., and has his sights set on following in his father’s footsteps as a city manager. Meantime, he has worked to develop an organization, Emerging Local Government Leaders, that fosters relationships between organizations in the public and private sector.
The newsletter includes question-and-answer articles with both men who talk about their experiences in local government and how it has played a role in their familial relationship.
“My dad was less than excited,” Kent Wyatt said in the article, recalling the moment he told his father his career plans. “He’d seen the warts of local government from angry citizens interrupting a family dinner to moving our family based on his job security concerns. I think he’s come around to the idea of his son being in local government, but like any parent, I’m sure he worries for me in the challenges that may be ahead. I have fewer concerns about these challenges knowing that I will have him as an advisor.”
“I probably tend to do more of the talking by providing my war stories,” Ed Wyatt said when asked if he “talks shop” with his son and Kent’s wife, Kirsten, who also works in city government. “It’s interesting to hear him talk about the various responsibilities he has been asked to carry out.