Oak Harbor’s former city administrator may have found a new job on South Whidbey.

After negotiations reportedly “broke down” with the Port of South Whidbey’s top choice for a new executive director, the board of commissioners voted Thursday to extend an offer of employment to Blaine Oborn.

The commissioners’ first choice, Randy Mueller, has extensive experience in other port districts in the state, including Ridgefield and Chehalis. The salary range posted in the Port of South Whidbey’s job description for the new executive director was listed as $80,000 to $105,000 per year, which the commissioners agreed to stick with in regard to hiring Mueller.

The port convened a special meeting this week, during which an executive session was held to discuss the qualifications of the executive director candidates. Besides Mueller, Oborn and Stan Reeves, the port’s former executive director, applied and interviewed for the role last week.

In his interview, Oborn highlighted his 30 years of experience in the public sector, including at the federal, state and local government levels. The Coupeville resident served as the Oak Harbor city administrator from 2018, when he was hired by former Mayor Bob Severns, to 2024, when he was terminated by current Mayor Ronnie Wright. Oborn remarked that this seems to be a tradition when there is turnover in city administration.

Oborn said he has a passion for public service and that he might be a little overqualified for the Port of South Whidbey’s top role.

“I lead by example,” he said during his interview. “I’m a highly driven individual. I really believe in continuous learning and being innovative and being a change agent.”

Commissioner Curt Gordon commended Oborn for being really sharp and doing his own homework.

Negotiations with Oborn about the job are still ongoing, however.

“If we get far enough that we discuss terms of salary, we’ll let everybody know,” Gordon said during the meeting this week. “But for now that’s not where we’re gonna go yet.”