8 Questions for Dan Dible, Gallup’s City Manager
by Fowler Roberts
Q. What got you interested in applying for the vacant city manager’s job?
A. My wife Lisa and I really wanted to come back to New Mexico and, initially, we wanted to go somewhere closer to our grandkids in Lubbock, but the pull of Gallup was very strong. We know so many people here and we enjoyed our time here before so much.
Q. What do you enjoy most about your job?
A. The variety, opportunity to make a positive impact, and the challenge.
Q. What is the biggest challenge of your job?
A. I would say doing my duties in a way that maintains trust and good will among the reasonable people involved.
Q. What is your number one priority coming into this job?
A. To ascertain what the mayor and council want done and to do it well.
Q. What do you see Gallup’s highest potential as being?
A. Given where we are in our country’s history and our economy, I think now is a time to build on our strengths and I think Gallup’s strengths are Native American trade, culture and all the opportunities that I-40 and the railroad present.
Q. What do you enjoy doing in your off time?
A. I got tremendous enjoyment my first week here from just hiking. I love the new trails. After spending the last eight years in Hobbs, NM and Tulia, Texas, I have an incredible appreciation for natural beauty. I appreciate the natural beauty of Gallup and just being out in it.
Q. What is your favorite movie?
A. My favorite movie of all time is Chariots of Fire, because it combines the importance of faith, perseverance, and the glories of competition.
Q. If you could trade places with one famous person, who would it be and why?
A. C.S. Lewis, because I would love to have the incredible intellectual and communication gifts that he had and I would love to be in a situation where I had the time and the ideal setting to use those gifts along with his writing companions: J.R.R. Tolkien, Dorothy Sayers and Charles Williams. He was a uniquely gifted person who lived at a critical time in history.
