Washoe County commissioners appoint Kate Thomas as county manager after interviews

The Washoe County Board of County Commissioners voted unanimously Oct. 27 to appoint Assistant County Manager Kate Thomas as the county manager following a day of public interviews with four finalists and a public comment period.

The board chose Thomas after interviewing James (Jim) Dorr, Laura Fried, Tyler Stone and Thomas in a public process that the board said followed the county—s recruiting plan and state statute. Chair Alexis Hill and Commissioners Mike Clark, Marie Luz Garcia and Claire Andreella were present for the vote; Vice Chair Jean Herman was absent. Commissioner Marie Luz Garcia made the motion to appoint Thomas and Commissioner Claire Andreella seconded it; the motion passed 4-0.

The vote closed a weeks-long national recruitment led by human resources and the executive recruiting firm CPS. Human Resources Director Patricia Hurley and recruiter Pam Derby described a four-week nationwide outreach that produced more than 100 applications and multiple rounds of vetting that produced the finalists seated for public interviews.

The interviews focused on organizational culture, regional collaboration, fiscal sustainability and service delivery. Commissioners repeatedly referenced the Raftelis organizational review commissioned earlier this year, saying its findings helped shape expectations for both the manager—s office and the county—s next steps. Chair Hill said the report provided a "road map" for the relationship between the board and the manager—s office.

Public speakers at the meeting expressed sharply divided views. Paul White of Education Crusade urged commissioners to reopen the search and not appoint any candidate, saying, "I would hope that you'd pray for the moral courage to do the right thing this morning, which would be to not vote for anyone, to cancel it, reopen the search, go nationwide." Several other commenters echoed concerns about past county management and the Raftelis findings. Supporters also spoke for Thomas. Community member Erston Whitton told the board he supported Thomas and praised her ability to collaborate with local governments and nonprofit partners.

During deliberations commissioners praised the vetting process and the candidates. Commissioner Mike Clark, while noting continuing fiscal challenges facing the county, thanked staff for outreach around the finalist presentations and said the position "controls a lot of departments, and this is a very, very, powerful job." Several commissioners said turnout at the candidate public forum had been lower than hoped and encouraged broader engagement going forward.

After the vote Chair Alexis Hill thanked all four finalists for participating and acknowledged the HR and recruitment teams for organizing the process. The board did not specify contract terms in the public motion; staff noted the item had included possible direction to staff regarding negotiation of an employment contract, but the formal motion recorded at the meeting was an appointment vote without a publicly stated contract direction.

Thomas, who has served as Washoe County assistant county manager since 2017 and described herself at the meeting as rooted in the community, said she would be "honored to continue to work for Washoe County in any capacity." The board indicated it expects staff to follow up on implementing recommendations from the Raftelis review and to brief the board on next steps for onboarding the new manager.

What the board did - Motion: Approve Kate Thomas as Washoe County manager. - Mover: Commissioner Marie Luz Garcia. - Second: Commissioner Claire Andreella. - Vote: 4 yes (Alexis Hill, Mike Clark, Marie Luz Garcia, Claire Andreella); 0 no; 0 abstain. Vice Chair Jean Herman absent.

Implementation notes: The public record at the meeting did not include a finalized employment contract or a specific, publicly announced direction to staff to begin contract negotiations; such steps are typically handled by county staff following the appointment and are expected to appear in administrative records or at a future public meeting.