by Mark Smiley
Changing Of The Guard: The City of Glendale transitions from outgoing, retiring City Manager Linda Cassady, to incoming, Council appointed City Manager Chuck Line.
Outgoing City Manager: Linda Cassaday started her career with the city in 2003 and has been City Manager since 2019. She retired from the City, effective March 31, 2023.
After Glendale City Manager Linda Cassaday announced her retirement, the Glendale City Council appointed longtime city executive Chuck Line to succeed her. Line came to the city in 1999 where he served as the Community Development Director until 2004. He then assumed the role of Deputy City Manager in August 2004, a title he has kept until now.
Chuck Line has worked under four city managers during his tenure. Veggo Larsen, Cliff Dodge, Jerry Peters, and Linda Cassaday have been instrumental in Line’s career. “Veggo Larsen taught me if I knew where I was going to die, I would never go there, and he also taught me what not to do as a city manager,” said Line, incoming City Manager, City of Glendale. “Cliff Dodge taught me a lot about the inner workings, especially of the state and the legislature, because he had spent so much time in the legislature, and understanding how the impacts of the different legislation comes down.”
“Jerry [Peters] taught me about interpersonal relationships with different people. He was probably one of the most intuitive people that I’ve known on understanding people and having empathy and understanding people’s motivations and thoughts. And then, Linda [Cassaday] has taught me how to manage the inner workings of the city and how to properly manage projects and to implement them. I would say I have some really good examples. And also, all of those city managers, outside of Veggo, had good relationships with the city council.”
Chuck Line assumes the position of City Manager during a time of stability and growth. For example, the 4 Mile District, a 10-acre entertainment district, located in the heart of downtown Glendale, which has been envisioned for over 20 years, is expected to be completed on his watch.
“I am making this transition with a Mayor [Mayor Mike Dunafon] that has been around a long time, who has the same policy objectives as staff, and the rest of the council,” said Line. “Everyone gets along and we have a very stable council and Mayor during this whole time period.”
Linda Cassaday, outgoing City Manager of Glendale, gives a glowing endorsement for Mr. Line. “Chuck is incredibly bright and has been at the city longer than I have,” said Cassaday. “Chuck and I have worked really closely, especially over the last four years. This is a natural progression and it is going to be great for the city.”
Cassaday started her career with the City of Glendale as a consultant in November 2003. Previously, she was a CPA and in public accounting, mostly on the audit side of things. She specialized in governments, non-profits, and low-income housing tax credits. She became Finance Director in May 2004. Cassaday escalated to Deputy City Manager, and has been City Manager since 2019. Her last day with the city was March 31, 2023.
New City Manager: Chuck Line has been with the City of Glendale since 1999. He became City Manager on April 1, 2023.
Cassaday had a hand in many projects in her nearly 20 years at the City of Glendale. What is she proud of the most? “The whole transformation of the city with the building of Infinity Park,” said Cassaday. “It wasn’t my vision . . . but it was fun to be part of the team who built the stadium, event center, and sports center. All of that has transformed Glendale.”
The most challenging time during her tenure was when the COVID-19 pandemic hit. “I would say that 2020 was the most challenging timeframe because the new rules were coming out so quickly and unfortunately the Governor’s office did not involve the municipalities with communication,” said Cassaday. “Often we would find things out from our businesses and residents first. That was challenging.”
“The biggest thing during COVID was we wanted to be a resource for our businesses,” said Line. “It is hands down the hardest external thing that businesses ever had to deal with. They were burdened and we didn’t want to create additional burdens on them. We wanted to be that bridge between all of the different agencies that were putting out requirements.”
Cassaday will have an adjustment as she moves to the warmer climate of Florida. Cassaday was born in Denver and has never lived outside of Colorado. She has lived in Colorado Springs, Greeley, and Denver. “It is a little daunting to move from Colorado to some place different,” said Cassaday. “I can’t imagine a Christmas at 75 degrees but it will be a fun new adventure. It is going to be a huge adjustment. I am used to getting up early in the morning. It will be nice to wake up when I wake up.”
“Linda is probably one of the hardest workers I have ever known,” said Line. “She intimately understands not only the finances of the city but also has a really good sense of how to diplomatically talk to the different department heads about the interactions that they have with the inner workings of the city.”
Chuck Line grew up in Nebraska, and graduated from the University of Nebraska Omaha in May 1993 with a Bachelor of Science in Marketing. He then received a Master’s in Business Administration from the University of Nebraska in 1996. He graduated from the University of Denver School of Law in 2004 while working at the City of Glendale.
Cassaday admits that the team she has been surrounded by has helped her achieve, “In terms of what I can take away, it is just all of the people that I have worked with,” said Cassaday. “We have such a great team in Glendale. It is unusual in city government to find staff that cares as much as they do and works as well together as they do. It has truly been an honor to work there.”
Part of that team is Public Works Director Josh Bertrand who started at the city in 2007. He will now serve as Deputy City Manager under Line. “Josh has been great,” said Cassaday. “He came to us as the first turf manager when we built the stadium. He was involved in what kind of grass we needed to plant and what kind of maintenance and equipment we needed. Josh has been an integral part of this since he started in 2007. He has been a great team player not just in public works. Josh has always felt that he was a part of the bigger circle of people in the city. That is what made him an ideal choice as Deputy City Manager.”
Also promoted is Kieran Nelson, who will now serve as Director of Infinity Park Operations. Line looks forward to working with his new team. “It is my opportunity to create those same relationships with Keiran [Nelson], Josh Bertrand, Ken Lecrone [Finance Director], Chief Haskins [Chief of Police], and to have that same type of interaction where we can bounce things off of each other,” said Line. “We can make decisions as a group. All of these people are incredibly talented and they are knowledgeable and they make good decisions and it is important for me to utilize them.”
“All of these pieces are covered,” said Cassaday. “Infinity Park is a huge part of the city’s operations between the stadium, the events center, and the sports center. And Kieran takes on all of the facilities. It is a really good team that has worked together for the last several years.”
“The metropolitan area is undergoing challenging times,” said Mayor Mike Dunafon. “We have a great team in Glendale to meet those challenges and prosper.”