The Vancouver City Council selected Deputy City Manager Lon Pluckhahn to replace outgoing City Manager Eric Holmes, who announced earlier this year he would retire effective Oct. 11.
“We thought Lon would be a good fit to move the community forward with the work that Eric Holmes has already started,” Mayor Anne McEnerny-Ogle said on Thursday.
Holmes, 54, served as city manager for 14 years.
The Vancouver City Council conducted a nationwide search and solicited community feedback to fill the role. The council selected three finalists: Nancy Newton, current city manager of Springfield, Ore.; Jonathan Young, Vancouver city attorney and Pluckhahn.
The city council will vote on Pluckhahn’s contract Monday. The city manager’s annual base salary is $324,000, and adjustments will depend on periodic performance evaluations.
Pluckhahn has served as deputy city manager of Vancouver since 2021. As the deputy city manager, he oversees the city’s community development, parks, recreation and cultural services, economic development and policy and program management teams.
Before joining Vancouver, he worked as the city manager of Marion, Iowa, for 14 years, the city manager of Platteville, Wis., from 2003 to 2007 and the city manager of West Liberty, Iowa, from 1998 to 2003.
Overall, he has 30 years of local government experience.
Pluckhahn holds master’s degrees in community and regional planning and public administration, and a bachelor’s degree in political science with a public administration emphasis.
He is also a credentialed manager through the International City Manager’s Association.
“Lon has been out and about throughout not just the United States, but other countries to see how other communities solve similar problems with different approaches,” McEnerny-Ogle said.
Since Pluckhahn has worked with the council for years, McEnerny-Ogle said the transition should be seamless. He’ll work alongside Holmes and slowly take over the city manager’s responsibilities, such as hiring a new police chief, in this transition period before he officially fills the role.
“People should feel confident that the city is in good hands,” McEnerny-Ogle said.
