NEWPORT — Casey Miller, Lincoln County’s former public information officer, was sworn in Tuesday as the county’s newest commissioner.
Lincoln County Circuit Court Judge Sheryl Bachart administered the oath of office to several officials elected in November, including Miller, incumbent commissioner Kaety Jacobson, first-time county clerk Amy Southwell and returning treasurer Jayne Welch.
Miller earned a plurality in his five-candidate May race and decisively beat Carter McEntee in a November run-off. He was the county’s public information officer for 14 years. He replaces commissioner Doug Hunt, who held the office for 10 years before announcing his retirement prior to the May primary.
Born in Newport to a multi-generation Lincoln County family, Miller attended high school and some college in California, returning in 1997 to work in public relations and marketing until hired by the county in 2008.
Miller joins Jacobson, who handily won a majority against three opponents in the May election and skipped the November runoff, and commissioner Claire Hall, whose term expires at the end of 2024.
Historically, commissioners divided among them supervision of departments not led by an elected official. But a 2021 ordinance gave direct supervision of department heads to the newly created county administrator position filled by Tim Johnson last April.
During their first regular meeting of the year Wednesday, commissioners elected Jacobson chair and Miller as vice chair. Jacobson said they would soon make appointments among them to the various organizations, such as the Oregon Cascades West Council of Governments and the Oregon Coast Aquarium, that have bylaws giving a commissioner a seat on their boards.