In a unanimous decision Monday evening, Eugene City Councilors voted to appoint Sarah Medary as City Manager. Medary has served in an interim role for the position since October 2019, following Jon Ruiz's retirement.
At a virtual work session meeting, councilors and Mayor Lucy Vinis praised Medary’s leadership during the COVID-19 pandemic and her actions on recent George Floyd protests.
"Sarah has endured the hardest interview process known to human beings in public office and now is probably having the swiftest affirmation and confirmation meeting ever," Vinis said.
After the 8-0 vote, Medary expressed her gratitude and noted the difficulty of the past several weeks.
“We have so much opportunity ahead of us that even though things feel bad now, I really do believe that the intersection of all these hard challenges is actually going to create lasting, meaningful change," she said. "I’m really committed to leading that."
Medary had previously been the Public Works Director before serving as City Manager Pro Tem. She has 24 years of experience working with the City of Eugene, starting as a maintainace employee with Parks and Open Space in 1996.
Her career includes serving as the assistant city manager for nine years and spending six years as the Director of the Planning and Development Department.
A committee, that was also unanimously approved of, including councilors Jennifer Yeh, Emily Semple and Alan Zelenka will oversee the development of contract negotiations.
Copyright 2020 KLCC
