Residents Meet County Manager Finalists

Locals turned out Wednesday to meet the two finalists for Lewis County’s newly created county manager position, both of whom are familiar faces in the area.

About 35 residents showed up for a meet-and-greet with Erik Martin, Lewis County’s Public Works Director, and Dave Campbell, the former city manager of Longview. Campbell has also served as city manager in Chehalis.

“You want someone who can be talking to the public and engaging, and I saw both of them doing that,” said county commissioner Edna Fund. “It can be a bit of a nerve-wracking situation when you have three or four or five citizens asking questions, and I thought they handled that well.”

Attendees were given the opportunity to provide written feedback on the candidates, but Fund wouldn’t offer up any hints about who residents may have favored. She said the feedback will be a factor as the board makes its decision. Commissioners will be conducting interviews with both candidates Tuesday and hope to reach a decision by the second week in June.

“People had really good questions,” Martin said. “We talked about a lot of things. … I felt like the people there had the pulse of the county.”

Martin said he talked about what he would do as county manager, which would involve some strategic planning and guiding the county’s budget from a business perspective.

Campbell said the meet-and-greet was valuable not just for introducing himself to residents and officials, but in getting to know them as well.

“It was a good opportunity to have an informal discussion with people who might or might not be a part of the formal interview process,” he said. “It was a chance to meet people who I didn’t know or had only heard of. … That was helpful to me.”

After working for the local government in Springfield, Campbell served 17 years as Chehalis city manager, raising his family there. He spent the next 12 years in Longview, working as assistant city manager and then city manager, but he said he still feels like Lewis County is home.

Prior to working for Lewis County, Martin had his own engineering firm, as well as stints of municipal work in Tumwater and Pierce County. His familiarity with Lewis County would be an asset for the county manager role, he said.

“My relationship with the commissioners, the directors that are here now and the other elected officials, I could hit the ground running,” Martin said. “The connections I've made over that time will definitely help me.”

Campbell too cited his long history in the area as beneficial.

“I think that does play a positive for me in terms of my ability to become effective as quickly as I can,” he said. He joked that his days as a cyclist made him familiar with the area’s back roads. “I know how to get around Lewis County.”

In November, Campbell resigned as Longview city manager amid conflicting reviews over his job performance. He called it a “mutual decision” in which the city council found a better fit and he realized the time commitments of the job were causing mental stress.

“I’ve had the ability to reflect on the separation,” he said. “While I wouldn’t want to have go through that separation, I’ve learned from it. That’s still the profession, that’s still the place I want to spend my working life, in service to a community.”

Both candidates said they’re eager for the opportunity to interview on Tuesday.

“I'm trying to prepare for as many different questions and scenarios as I can,” Martin said. “I want to make sure my answers reflect who I am and what I've done.”

Added Campbell: “This will be a new experience for them and for me. … It’ll be new regardless of who they appoint. … I trust their commitment to going ahead with that.”