Meet the four candidates for Scappoose city manager

Four candidates are up to become the new Scappoose city manager, and residents are invited to meet them next week.

From 6-8 p.m. Tuesday, June 11, the city will host a meet and greet with the candidates at Scappoose High School.

The four finalists were chosen after a nationwide search to find someone to fill the role vacated by former city manager Alexandra Rains , who left in January to serve as the assistant city manager in Oregon City. Since then, Larry Lehman has served as the interim city manager.

The candidates are:

Jake Boone, a former firefighter with La Grande Rural Fire Protection District in Island City and Personnel Information Systems Management Specialist with the U.S. Army. After serving as the interim city manager for the City of Sutherlin and the Cottage Grove Council President, Boone took over as the assistant city manager for Cottage Grove, and currently serves in that role. A graduate of the University of Oregon, Boone holds a master’s of arts degree in public administration.Peter Boyce, who has been employed in the public service sector for over 27 years in a variety of roles, including as clerk and recorder/election administrator, chief executive officer in Anaconda, Montana, county administrator for the Wabasha County, Minnesota, as well as assistant city administrator and city administrator in Gladstone. He then served as the city administrator in Woodland, Washington, for seven years. He holds a bachelor’s of science in technology and business development from Montana Technological UniversityBenjamin Burgener, the current city manager of Stanfield. Bergener began his career in public service in 2017 as the finance and administrative services manager with the Department of Transportation for the state of Utah, and then became the city administrator for Ada, Minnesota. He holds a master’s of public administration degree from Brigham Young University.W. Scott Jorgensen, who was formerly the chief of staff with the Oregon State Senate, as well as the city recorder in Aurora. Since 2020, he has been the city administrator in Rainier and holds an executive master’s degree in public administration from Portland State University. Jorgensen also has a background in news media at a variety of local Oregon newspapers, including at the Lund Report and Pamplin Media Group.

The candidates will be interviewed the following day, Wednesday, June 12, by Scappoose Mayor Joe Backus and the rest of the city council, as well as a variety of panels of city staff and community members.