Thurston County Manager Cliff Moore tapped for Yakima post

Thurston County Manager Cliff Moore has been offered the opportunity to become the next manager for the city of Yakima.

Moore, 60, who has led the county since 2013, was selected unanimously by the Yakima City Council on Tuesday, according to a news release from the city.

But as of late Wednesday, Moore said he hadn’t yet accepted the offer.

“We’ve talked a couple of times, and they’re putting together a written offer; I just haven’t seen it yet,” he said. “It sounds very kind and very doable. … I think we’ll probably get there.”

The advertised salary range was $165,000 to $190,000, according to the city’s news release.

If he accepts the job, Moore will replace Tony O’Rourke, who left in December.

Thurston County Commission Chairwoman Sandra Romero, who is retiring at the end of the year, said Moore has been a great county manager, and he’ll be missed.

She said he’s collaborative, upbeat and a hard worker. “If I were going to be here, I would do everything in the world (to keep him).”

Thurston County Commissioner Cathy Wolfe, who also is retiring at the end of the year, said she feels the same way. Wolfe said Moore has helped promote “good relations throughout the county.”

“He’s an expert at helping us make good decisions, working through thorny and difficult issues,” she said.

Romero and Wolfe said the County Commission hasn’t met yet to determine how to replace Moore permanently or in the interim.

Moore said he is interested in the Yakima job because that city is “emerging from some significant changes” following a major lawsuit that changed how its council is elected. The former system was an at-large system, which allowed every voter to cast a vote for every council member, regardless of which district they lived in. The American Civil Liberties Union challenged the system, saying it diluted the Latino community’s voting strength.

After a court decision, the city created voting districts, including ones with majority Latino population.

“For the first time ever, they’ve elected Latinos to the City Council,” Moore said. “I think it’s going to be an opportunity to bring the greater community together. … I just think it’s going to be a very interesting and fascinating and rewarding opportunity.”

Moore said his career has been largely dedicated to social justice issues. He was in the Peace Corps in West Africa from 1980 to 1982. He and his wife, Mea Moore, who is director of migrant and bilingual education at the state Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction, also worked abroad in Kenya, Sudan and Honduras.

Before being named interim county manager in August 2013, and being named the permanent one later that year, Moore was director of Thurston County’s Resource Stewardship Department for  4 1/2 years. Before that, he was director of the WSU Thurston County Extension Office for six years.

“I work with some of the smartest, most dedicated public servants you can imagine,” Moore said. “I love these people. They are fantastic, and it will be real hard to leave them.”

This story was originally published May 11, 2016 at 6:02 PM with the headline "Thurston County Manager Cliff Moore tapped for Yakima post."