Sharply divided Franklin commission votes to hire a new administrator from Tri-Cities

Franklin County may have found its next administrator.

The county commissioners voted 2-1 to offer the job to Pasco Economic Development Manager Mike Gonzalez at their regular Tuesday meeting. Commissioner Brad Peck voted against the move.

They also indicated that current interim county Administrator Duane Davidson is willing to stay on in a part-time capacity to help guide Gonzalez in the transition to the new role.

Davidson is a former elected treasurer for Benton County and Washington state. He agreed to come out of retirement to help the county until they found a replacement for former Administrator Keith Johnson, who left in October.

Peck said that the county received just nine applicants for the position, and he said that only one was qualified — Rick Rudometkin.

Rudometkin has served as a city manager in Sammamish, city administrator in Snoqualmie and in various leadership positions in California, New Mexico and Colorado, according to a 2020 news release from the city of Snoqualmie. Peck told the Herald that Rudometkin has 25 years of experience as an administrator, and 7 years at the county level in Eddy County, New Mexico, which has a budget that ranged from a similar size as Franklin County to as much as three times as large.

Peck said Rudometkin was the only candidate that met the criteria set forth in their job description.

The county chose to forego the traditional route of using a search firm in an effort to save money. They conducted all of the interviews themselves, and had a meet and greet last week with candidates.

“If we’re so concerned about the cost of hiring a professional search firm, why are we hiring 1.5 people when Mr. Rudometkin can do the job just fine?” Peck told the Herald.

Peck suggested that if the county was not going to hire the most qualified candidate, that they either put the task to a search firm or promote the person who currently works as an assistant to the county administrator, Shirley Jones.

He said that Jones has far more experience with the administrative duties required for the job.

“If the board is insistent on hiring someone local, then let’s promote someone local ... ,” Peck said. “If she’s not the candidate, fine. Let’s go out and advertise the criteria you intend to use and see how many candidates we get out of our own 365,000 person commuting area.”

Peck also questioned whether the offer to Gonzalez was related to his political involvement in the local Republican Party and said the offer strains credulity.

The county would not release the names of the other candidates to the public. It’s unclear what their qualifications were or how many of them were local.

Commissioners Clint Didier and Rocky Mullen are Republicans and are listed as Republican precinct committee officers, as is Gonzalez. Didier is the immediate past president of the Franklin County Republican Central Committee. Peck is no longer involved with the Franklin County Republican Party.

Split vote

Commissioner Rocky Mullen made the motion to vote to offer Gonzalez the job, praising his leadership in the community.

“I believe that Mike Gonzalez has been shown to be a leader in the community,” Mullen said. “He has a set of skills that Franklin County can use to solve a set of issues that the county (has faced).”

Mullen said that with interim Administrator Duane Davidson’s guidance, he believes the two can help Franklin County overcome recent setbacks.

Chairman Didier said hiring Gonzalez and keeping Davidson on part time will help the county shape a new administrator for the challenges unique to the community.

“I think Mr. Gonzalez would be an incredible opportunity for Franklin County to groom an administrator up under Mr. Davidson to possibly be one of the best administrators in the state,” Didier said. “I would much prefer to have someone who knows the area, in particular the city of Pasco, and no reason to move. He has roots here.”

With the vote to extend an offer to Gonzalez, the county will move forward with the hiring process. If Gonzalez accepts the job offer, it is unclear when he would start.

The salary for former Franklin County Administrator Keith Johnson and the current interim administrator was set at about $145,000 a year.

Moving the needle

Gonzalez told the Herald on Tuesday that he really appreciated the support he’s been shown by the commissioners and the community, and he’s ready to get started as soon as possible.

“I’m really excited about the support that I’ve received from the commissioners. I’m really excited to move the county forward,” he said. “What I lack in government experience I think I’ll make up with the relationships I’ve built in the community. I’m a quick learner.”

Gonzalez said he’s ready for the challenge, and is looking forward to helping the county move the needle forward.

“This seems like a natural fit, it’s another challenge. Through my lens, I really think I’m going to do some great things here at the county,” he said. “I really can’t wait. I’m going to hit the ground running and I’m just really looking forward to making this community a better place.”

“I think that’s an important message to this community, almost 60% Latino, having someone with Latino blood in this position. What’s good for the Latino community is good for everybody,” he added.

He hopes to get started in the new role by early April.

About Gonzalez

Gonzalez has served as Pasco’s Economic Development Manager since June 2021. Last year he was appointed by Gov. Jay Inslee to represent the Tri-Cities on the Washington State Commission on Hispanic Affairs.

Before coming to the city of Pasco he served as the public relations and government affairs director for the Franklin PUD, according to his LinkedIn profile.

Gonzalez has a bachelor’s in communication from North Carolina State University and attended graduate school at the University of Missouri-Columbia’s renowned Missouri School of Journalism. He is a longtime former journalist, including as the news director and evening anchor for the Tri-Cities’ ABC station KAPP/KVEW.

He serves on several community boards, such as the Pasco Chamber of Commerce, the Franklin County Republican Party, the Tri-Cities Legislative Council and others.

Read Peck’s full comments in this PDF.

Editor’s Note: A previous version of this article incorrectly listed the name of the administrator’s assistant.