PORT TOWNSEND — Jefferson County has narrowed its national search for the next county administrator to four candidates.
They are county commissioner Greg Brotherton, former Pierce County parks director Roxanne Miles, Hood River County (Ore.) finance director Sheri Patterson and Josh Peters, the county’s current director of the department of community development.
The search saw 19 candidates apply from five states, stated a press release from the county’s human resources department. The search was led by Prothman, an executive recruiting firm.
The county will host an opportunity for the public to engage with the candidates from 5 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. April 29 at the Jefferson County Library, 620 Cedar Ave. Attendees will be able to submit questions for consideration and take part in a moderated question-and-answer session, according to a press release.
Brotherton has served as a county commissioner since 2019. He said he’s been thinking about the county administrator position for a while.
“I started a master’s of public administration program as I recognized that more and more I wanted to get to the back of house,” Brotherton said. “I thought that’s where my interest was in Jefferson County, which is a place that I love and I want to keep serving. My dream job would be to help the systems work even better and continue to do more with less.”
Brotherton expects to graduate from his master’s program at The Evergreen State College in Olympia in June.
Brotherton said his areas of focus in his studies were chosen to strengthen what he saw as his weaknesses.
“I’ve had a diverse career, but I haven’t done a lot of hardcore financial analysis, financial-decision analysis and cost-benefit analysis,” he said. “That’s been a real focus of my studies at Evergreen, trying to bone up on those skills.”
Brotherton expressed confidence in his capacity for the role.
“I’m about as familiar with the duties of the county administrator and the interfaces that that role needs to make strong as anyone,” he said. “I see myself as someone that would be both the voice of stability and change.”
Brotherton named a capable county staff and leadership team as strengths at the county.
“(They) really put their all out for the institution of Jefferson County,” he said. “Coming in and knowing that I don’t have to fix what isn’t broken is what makes me feel like it’s possible for me to thrive in this job.”
Brotherton said his first focus, if hired, will be to get to know the county’s systems to greater levels of granularity than he currently does.
He said he sees a need to get more done with less, as public work often faces budgeting challenges.
One method he put forward is to implement artificial intelligence pilot programs that will help staff accomplish more while reducing the need to hire consultants.
Prior to his work in public office, Brotherton owned four retail businesses in south Jefferson County.
Miles served as the director of parks and recreation for Pierce County from 2017 to this past January, according to a Pierce County webpage. Prior to that, she was the Pierce County’s business and financial operations manager, according to the Jefferson County press release.
From 2001-2016, she served as business and strategic planning/recreation services manager with Metro Parks Tacoma. Earlier in her career, she also worked with the Pierce County Juvenile Court.
Miles holds a master of business administration from Corban University and a bachelor’s degree in Sociology from Pacific Lutheran University.
Patterson has served as the budget and finance director for Hood River County since 2022, according to the release.
Previously, she was the chief financial and operating officer for the Boys & Girls Club of Salem, Marion and Polk counties in Oregon, according to the release.
Before that, she was the director of finance and administration for the National Indian Health Board in Washington, D.C., and Controller for the National Children’s Center, the release said.
Patterson holds a master of business administration from the University of Phoenix and a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Western Carolina University, according to the release.
Peters said his initial goal was to become the director of the department of community of development (DCD), a position he has held at Jefferson County since 2023.
He said his interest in the county administrator position was initiated when the soon-to-retire county administrator Mark McCauley asked him if he would consider applying for the position.
Peters was a planning manager and the DCD’s deputy director before he started in his current role, he said.
Peters also worked for the county from 2000-2013 as a senior planner and principal transportation planner, according to the press release.
From 2013-2022, Peters worked for King County, the state Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW), and the state Department of Natural Resources (DNR).
“King County is just a much bigger county. I learned a lot being in the big city,” Peters said. “With DNR, I was doing aquatic resources, doing leases and easements on state-owned aquatic land.”
Peters said his work with WDFW included work with jurisdictions around the state, other state agencies and tribes.
“I feel like I’m poised to be at this next level with Jefferson County, just bring it all to bear,” Peters said. “Bringing what I’ve learned working with other organizations and for other organizations back into sort of my hometown organization.”
Peters said he moved to Jefferson County in the 1990s and hasn’t left since.
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Reporter Elijah Sussman can be reached by email at elijah.sussman@sequimgazette.com.
