Jay Trost at Wednesday's Curry County Board of Commissioners meeting. | Screenshot

Fat Irish Pub owner Jay Trost will assume the Curry County commissioner seat Court Boice vacated earlier this month when he became Oregon’s State 1 District representative.

Trost will be the third commissioner with ties to Brookings. In addition to owning a business in Brookings, Trost is also the city’s deputy public works director. He was also the Curry County Juvenile Justice Director for about eight years and program director for Canyon State Academy, an Arizona-based residential facility for at-risk boys.

“This room is filled with incredibly knowledgeable and experienced individuals. I know there is a lot I don’t know, so I can’t say I am uniquely qualified in any one way,” Trost told the remaining two commissioners Wednesday. “I will say my experiences have shaped my knowledge and those experiences come from my involvement in county government, city government, school board governance, being the director of a large private organization and a small business owner.”

Trost was one of 12 people vying for the vacant Position 3 seat. Other candidates included David Womack, David Gauntlett, Glenn Falls, Val Early, Bret Cecil, Teri Hughes, Mary Pat Luetke-Stahlman, David Mednansky, James MacDonald, former Gold Beach mayor Karl Popoff and former Curry County commissioner Christopher Paasch.

After spending about 90 minutes hearing from each candidate, commissioners John Herzog and Brad Alcorn thanked them and lamented about the tough decision they both have to make.

Alcorn, a Brookings City Councilor and the newest commissioner, said he hoped those who applied for the vacant commissioner position would consider helping fill vacancies on other county committees.

“We have budget committee openings — we’re taking applications through the end of the month,” he said. “I think there may even be some other positions in the county that need to be filled. I would encourage you to take a look at those because we need diversity and we need input on those.”

Alcorn said he relied on community input, including text messages and emails he was receiving during Wednesday’s meeting, when deciding who the best candidate for the commissioner job would be. He said he also put a lot of weight into letters of recommendation and his own personal observations and interactions.

Alcorn said he was considering Paasch because of his prior experience on the Board of Commissioners and Trost because of the letters of recommendation he and Herzog received. Alcorn said he was also familiar with Trost when he was a Brookings City Councilor.

Herzog said he also liked Popoff and Falls.

Alcorn said he worked with Falls as a law enforcement officer in the Fresno area and viewed him as a man of integrity.

“This is why this is so hard,” Alcorn said of the decision he and Herzog needed to make.

It was Herzog who made the motion to appoint Trost as county commissioner. Trost will serve out Boice’s term, which ends Dec. 31, 2024.

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