Metro Council President Tom Hughes is likely to make his choice for the agency's next chief operating officer in the coming weeks, following an intense interview process last week for the four candidates.
Hughes, who is leaving for a trade mission to Asia in mid-September, will consult with the rest of the Metro Council this afternoon in a closed-door session. There, he's expected to hear feedback from the myriad interviews, meetings and social gatherings the four candidates participated in last week.
Ashland city manager Martha Bennett, Metro Sustainability Center director Jim Desmond, Albany city manager Wes Hare and Sandy city manager Scott Lazenby are the finalists for the position.
While Hughes has the primary responsibility for picking Metro's new staff chief, he must get the support of the rest of the council for his appointment.
Still, this is Metro, and the candidates have been tested on their collaborative skills. They've had breakfast with the region's city managers, forums with Metro staff, panel interviews and social events with councilors and senior management and tours of the Oregon Zoo and Oregon Convention Center.
Hughes hasn't been at many of the candidates' events. He had one-on-one interviews with the candidates, and his chief of staff, Andy Shaw, has been compiling information from the forums, interviews and stakeholder meetings.
This is Hughes' third top-level manager search, having guided the League of Oregon Cities through its search for an executive director and Hillsboro in its search for a new city manager while Hughes was mayor.
"We've got four really, really good candidates," Hughes said Monday afternoon. His two prior searches "had good candidates, but this is a truly amazing group of folks."
Once Hughes makes a selection, he'll need to ensure he has support of at least three other councilors and that the selected candidate is still available for the position. Once those ducks are lined up, the council will vote to confirm the candidate, almost certainly on Sept. 8.
"I don't think we can make a big mistake," Hughes said, "and we will obviously leave some skill and talent on the table."