The Lewis County Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) is inviting the public to a meet-and-greet with four candidates vying for the position of Lewis County manager from 5 to 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, July 11, at the courthouse, 351 NW North St., Chehalis.
The reception-style public meeting will include comment cards so attendees can share opinions of the finalists with the commissioners.
The commissioners and other county officials and staff members will hold private interviews with the finalists July 12.
The previous county manager, Erik Martin, was the first to hold the role. After several years with Lewis County, he announced in March his departure for a new opportunity with a private engineering firm. The county commissioners then appointed Lewis County Chief of Internal Services Steve Wohld as interim county manager until a permanent manager is hired.
The following information about the four candidates was submitted in a county news release on Friday. Candidates appear in alphabetical order by last name:
• Ryan Barrett has more than 19 years of public service in Lewis and King counties. He is currently employed as a captain for South Correctional Entity, a regional correctional facility in Des Moines. Barrett, who spent more than seven years with the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office working as a corrections deputy and lieutenant, has a master’s of business administration from Western Governors University in Millcreek, Utah, and a bachelor’s degree in business communication from Evergreen State College in Olympia.
• Gun-Sam Kim began his public service career with the U.S. Navy from 1985 to 1987. After a tour in the Navy, he became chief IT operations officer with Santa Clara County, California. He has been the chief information officer for Washington County in Hillsboro, Oregon, since 2020. Kim holds a master’s in science in engineering and master of mathematical finance. He is currently studying for a doctorate in workforce development and organizational leadership from the University of Nevada in Las Vegas.
• Todd Mielke has 37 years of public service experience, with several years in a variety of municipal management positions. Since 2019, he has been the chief administrative officer with the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office. He was the CEO for three years with Greater Spokane Inc., a nonprofit business development organization. Mielke earned his master’s in business administration from the Foster School of Business at the University of Washington in Seattle.
• Amber Smith is Lewis County’s director of Human Resources and Risk Management. She is responsible for assisting and advising county management in various aspects of employee hiring, satisfaction and retention. She began in public service in Lewis County in 2018. Prior to her current appointment, she was a deputy prosecuting attorney. Smith holds a juris doctorate and master’s in business administration from Willamette University in Salem, Oregon.
