Williams named interim city administrator in Othello
CHERYL SCHWEIZER | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 8 months AGO
Othello Finance Director Spencer Williams will be the interim city administrator while city officials search for a permanent replacement
FILE PHOTO
Senior Reporter Cheryl Schweizer is a journalist with more than 30 years of experience serving small communities in the Pacific Northwest. She began her post-high-school education at Treasure Valley Community College and enerned her journalism degree at Oregon State University. After working for multiple publications, she has settled down at the Columbia Basin Herald and has been a staple of the newsroom for more than a decade. Schweizer’s dedication to her communities and profession has earned her the nickname “The Baroness of Bylines.” She covers a variety of beats including health, business and various municipalities. | January 8, 2026 3:47 PM
OTHELLO — Finance Director Spencer Williams will be appointed as interim city administrator while Othello city officials look for a permanent replacement. Mayor Ken Johnson said the search is just getting started.
“I hope it’s a quick and easy process, but we’ll know that very shortly,” Johnson said.
Williams said his role will be to carry out the direction of the mayor and council.
“The administrator is the executive branch, where the mayor and council are the legislative branch,” he said.
The council and mayor determine policy, he said, and the city administrator is responsible for seeing it is carried out.
“They supervise and coordinate all the activities of each department,” Williams said.
Former mayor Shawn Logan also worked as city administrator; he took over the job in 2018, when then-administrator Wade Ferris resigned. Logan was defeated by Johnson in the mayoral election last November. Johnson said he was not interested in combining the two jobs.
“I believe those two offices need to be separated,” Johnson said.
In an earlier interview, Johnson said he thought combining the two jobs led to inadequate accountability and led to what he considered some poor decisions.
“The mayor is supposed to oversee the administrator, but there’s no oversight for that, except for the council,” Johnson said.
He hopes to find a qualified candidate in the Othello area, he said.
“We have a lot of really good talent in the city,” Johnson said.
The first council meeting of the year is scheduled for Monday, and Johnson said the city administrator position would be one of the subjects for discussion.
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