Clatsop County Courthouse in Astoria, Oregon
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Clatsop County Manager Don Bohn will retire in April

ByDana Whitcomb

Photo: Visitor7, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Clatsop County will spend the next five months looking for a new chief executive. County Manager Don Bohn plans to retire on April 2, 2027, closing out seven and a half years running the county’s day-to-day operations and a 37-year career in public service. The Board of Commissioners formally accepted his retirement letter at its Sept. 23 meeting.

“It’s always a bittersweet time when you’re thinking about a 37-year career and coming to the end of it,” Bohn said at that meeting, according to The Astorian.

The job, and the man in it

Clatsop County is run under a commission-manager system. Five elected commissioners set policy and the budget. The county manager, whom they hire, is responsible for carrying it out, overseeing departments from public health and public works to land use planning.

Commissioners hired Bohn in 2019. He came from Washington County, where he had spent roughly three decades in local government. Board Chair Mark Kujala’s praise in the county’s Sept. 18 announcement was unusually blunt for a press release. “Hiring Don Bohn in 2019 was the best decision we ever made as a Board of Commissioners,” Kujala said. “Don brought three decades of wisdom from Washington County and has guided us with a calm, steady and balanced approach.”

Kujala also credited Bohn with building relationships with regional partners. “He has always been strategic, intentional and unafraid to face challenges head-on,” he said.

In his retirement letter, Bohn kept the focus on staff. “I am continually inspired by the public employees and elected officials that daily serve our community with humility, passion and grace,” he wrote, describing the county’s work during his tenure as a team effort.

Praise from the dais

Commissioners took turns thanking him on Sept. 23. “We thank you for the incredible difference you’ve made in this County,” said Commissioner Pamala Wev, who added that Bohn’s family would probably be happy to see more of him.

Commissioner Courtney Bangs said she was grateful for his help as she learned the job after her first election in 2020. “I’m glad you will be here to help us transition to the next individual to fill these shoes,” she said.

Bohn returned the thanks. “More than anything I want to reiterate how much I’ve appreciated ending my career here in Clatsop County,” he said. “It’s been an honor to work with this amazing staff.”

A search that overlaps with an election

The timeline for replacing him is already set in broad strokes. The county expects to start the first phase in November by choosing a professional recruitment firm to help run the search. The manager job is expected to open for applications in 2027, before Bohn’s last day on April 2.

The search gets underway right after the Nov. 3 election, in which one of the commissioners is on the ballot for another office. Bangs is the Republican candidate for Oregon’s 16th Senate District, the seat Sen. Suzanne Weber can’t seek again.

Choosing a county manager is one of the most consequential decisions a board of commissioners makes. The manager prepares the budget commissioners vote on, hires department heads and carries out the policies the board adopts on everything from housing and short-term rentals to emergency preparedness on a coast that plans for a Cascadia earthquake.

What happens next

The county has said it will share details about the recruitment and transition as they become available. Residents who want to follow the process can watch the Board of Commissioners’ regular meetings, and check the county’s news page at clatsopcounty.gov.

Bohn, for his part, has promised to keep working until the end. “Until my final day I will do my part in service to the organization and community,” he wrote. Kujala’s statement closed with good wishes for Bohn and his wife, Stacee, in the next phase of their lives.

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