An enthusiastic IT tech, a quiet, hard-working lawyer, an experienced former politician-turned-government worker and a local sheriff’s office deputy who went to work in King County.
If this sounds like the start of a mystery movie, you’d be close to correct.
Likely by the end of the week, the Lewis County commissioners will choose between one of these four candidates to fill the position of county manager. The commissioners were set to spend nearly all of Wednesday in executive session conducting interviews.
The candidates are the finalists out of a pool, and each is very different from the last.
Nonetheless, Commissioner Scott Brummer said, each of them seems highly competent and charismatic. Whichever direction they go, he felt the board will be in good hands.
The county manager reports to the Board of County Commissioners, but takes their place as managers of county staff. As the previous and only other Lewis County manager, Erik Martin, said, the board can therefore focus on community policy issues and evaluate both what they “can” and “need” to influence.
On Tuesday night in Chehalis, the public was welcomed into the county courthouse to meet the four candidates and provide written feedback on each. In alphabetical order by last name, here are the candidates:
Ryan Barrett previously worked for the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office, he said in an interview with The Chronicle on Tuesday. He lives in Centralia, was married there and has three children who were born in the area.
“My heart is in Lewis County,” Barrett said when asked why he chose to apply for the county manager spot.
Currently, he works as a public safety executive for South Correctional Entity, a regional correctional facility in King County. He aims to bring his public safety background, from a “high-liability,” dynamic job such as law enforcement, to the policy challenges in Lewis County.
“I left for professional reasons and came back for professional reasons,” Barrett said. “This is like, my dream job. I know that sounds a little corny, but I’m a Centralia boy.”
Starting as a deputy for the sheriff’s office, Barrett was promoted to sergeant and later lieutenant. The operations part of the position and the ability to lead a team, he said, were his favorite aspects.
According to a county news release, Barrett 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 is also a local guy. At age 10, Kim and his family fled from South Korea as refugees. His parents worked and he attended school in Centralia.
Kim served in the U.S. Navy and worked as an IT operations officer. He served 16 years on the school board in Battle Ground during a teacher strike, where, despite political differences, the district was able to earn the state’s highest scores in standardized testing.
“We were chosen as school board of the year,” Kim said, later adding, “We found it wasn’t about the money. It was about the political will to collaborate, to work together, to not be antagonistic.”
Asked why he applied for the position of county manager, Kim said after years of traveling across the United States and across the world, he decided “Lewis County represents the very best of what America has to offer.”
He also said he loves how passionate the county commissioners are.
According to a county news release, Kim holds a master’s in science in engineering and master’s in 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 is a hot commodity. In late June, he was offered a position as the Clallam County administrator and he’s still courting a city in Oregon, he said.
Asked why Lewis County specifically interests him, Mielke said it seems to be the perfect blend of outdoor recreation opportunities.
Mielke recently left his post as the administrative officer for the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office. “This is a culmination of my professional career,” Mielke said.
He’s been a state legislator, lobbyist, county commissioner and has held various positions on the staff side of local government. Mielke said he’s worked with people of all political stripes to “negotiate compromises and solutions.”
Outside of Washington voters repealing the food tax, under a Democratic governor and Republican House majority, Mielke negotiated the largest tax reduction in the state’s history, he said.
“I think the biggest thing is the county administrator, county manager is not the fourth commissioner,” he said. “Their job is to know the process so well that they can make the commissioners successful.”
According to a news release from the county, Mielke earned his master’s in business administration from the Foster School of Business at the University of Washington in Seattle.
Amber Smith is the only one of the four candidates who currently works for Lewis County.
Currently, she’s the county’s HR director. Before that, she worked for the prosecuting attorney’s office.
Smith holds a juris doctorate and master’s in business administration from Willamette University in Salem, Oregon, she said, which she studied for during several years as a custodian at Lower Columbia Community College.
“I’ve never been too good for any type of job,” Smith said.
In her role as deputy prosecuting attorney, Smith advised the county commissioners on legal matters. As the manager of Lewis County government staff, she said, she’ll have to be less blunt.
In the role, she said her goal would be to make the commissioners as successful as possible.
“The biggest challenge I see is making sure that I’m actively working every day to find how best to support them,” Smith said.
She earned her bachelor’s in history from Western Washington University and has been employed by the county since 2018. In her current role, according to a news release from the county, she is responsible for assisting and advising county management in various aspects of employee hiring, satisfaction and retention.
