Josephine County officials on Thursday appointed two interim commissioners after recalls left the three-member board without a working majority.
A temporary board of Josephine County elected officials interviewed nine finalists this week, selecting Gary Richardson and Colene Martin to fill the vacant seats through the end of the year. The pair will join Commissioner Ron Smith.
The vacancies followed a series of recalls that stalled county business. Commissioner Andreas Blech chose to resign in December after a recall petition was submitted, and voters removed Commissioner Chris Barnett in a January recall election.
Martin, a businesswoman, real estate agent and former CEO of the Grants Pass and Josephine County Chamber of Commerce, said she believes this new board will be able to work together.
“All of us are not going to agree all the time," she said. "But our county deserves a governing body that is respectful and fiscally responsible and committed to transparent decision making.”
Martin unsuccessfully ran against Barnett for the seat in 2024 and said she plans to run again in the May primary. Former Commissioner Simon Hare, one of the other finalists for the interim appointment, has also filed to run.
Richardson, the longest-serving member on the board of the Grants Pass School District, said his career will guide how he approaches the board.
"My career was in engineering," he said. "You do lots of preparation, lots of research, lots of conversations, so things aren't a surprise when you finally get to the decision points."
During his interview, Richardson and several other finalists mentioned the abrupt termination of the Grants Pass Library lease last year as a failure by the board. He said he would have taken a less adversarial approach with the library district.
Richardson, who ran for County Commission in 2022 and lost to John West, said he plans to remain on the school board. County Counsel Wally Hicks said he does not believe state law prohibits holding both offices. Richardson said he hasn't made up his mind but is leaning toward not running for the commissioner's seat in May.
Three people have applied to run for Richardson's seat, including Blech and former Commissioner West, who were both recalled from the position. Blech had been appointed in January 2025 after West's recall the previous month.
Several finalists criticized the previous board's decision to grant Blech sole hiring and firing authority.
"It doesn't seem that one individual having that level of governance is healthy for an institution such as ours," finalist Matthew Moser said. "Good governance depends on shared responsibility. It has clear procedures, and it has collective oversight, especially when personnel decisions are involved."
The other candidate for the seat is Tracy Thompson, a farmer and former biochemist who previously ran for State Senate District 2 in 2024 and lost to Republican Noah Robinson.
Members of the temporary panel gave themselves a pat on the back at the end of their meeting Thursday.
"Our choices represent the voters of Josephine County as a whole to create that stability and get us back on a track," said Sheriff Dave Daniel.
The two new commissioners will be sworn in on Monday, pending a county background check.
