Port Townsend City Manager John Mauro to Step Down, Accepts Bainbridge Island Position

PORT TOWNSEND, WA — After nearly seven years of service, Port Townsend City Manager John Mauro has accepted the position of City Manager for Bainbridge Island, effective September 8. The Bainbridge Island City Council approved an employment agreement with Mauro on July 14, with a base annual salary of $295,000. His new salary will be $43,360 more than his recent raise in Port Townsend. Mauro has served as Port Townsend's city manager since November 2019, shortly after he and his family returned to the Pacific Northwest from New Zealand. While Mauro is not without criticisms, including community perception of how he handled the encampment sweep last November, his accomplishments aided him as a qualified candidate for his new position. 

A decision born of possibility, not escape

In an interview on July 17, Mauro described the decision-making process as unfolding gradually rather than as a calculated career move.

"I don't think I was necessarily looking for a different role," Mauro said. "It kind of happened over quite a long time."

When longtime Bainbridge Island City Manager Blair King announced his retirement last November, Mauro began receiving calls and correspondence from Bainbridge staff, council members and former officials who wanted to put the opportunity on his radar.

"It just kind of slowly became like, 'I wonder what it'd be like,'" he said. "I've been here for six or seven years. It's pretty long for a city manager tenure. I feel relatively proud of building a great team and getting a lot of things done. But I think it's healthy for an organization to see some degree of shift and change in leadership."

Family considerations also played a significant role. Mauro noted that his wife, a former tenured professor, writer and author, has faced limited professional opportunities in Port Townsend. His 11-year-old daughter, who will soon enter junior high, is "a high achiever" who "literally loves to write and read and wants to be challenged."

"You know, it's not far away," he said of the move. "We really love this place and some of the people in Port Townsend. It's agonizing to think of leaving. But maybe it's easier not to leave very far away."

A legacy of infrastructure and financial reform

Mauro's nearly seven-year tenure began just months before the COVID-19 pandemic, which shaped the early days of his role and required vigilant balancing of finances, staff and community safety and creative service delivery. Those challenges became a catalyst for renewed institutional partnerships and deepened commitments to fiscal responsibility through the Financial Sustainability Initiative.

Today, Port Townsend residents are seeing tangible results. After decades of deferred maintenance, the city is experiencing a wave of infrastructure progress with road projects actively underway throughout the community. Through aggressive grant-seeking and the voter-approved Transportation Benefit District (TBD), Mauro's team has secured nearly $80 million in state and federal grant funding for street projects over the next five years.

The TBD mechanism, which dedicates 0.3% of sales tax to local road improvements or matching grants, has become a powerful tool for building community trust. Voters approved the measure by roughly 78-79%, and it went into effect in April of 2024. 

"Every single penny from sales tax that goes to TBD has to be spent on local road improvements," Mauro said. "We can give you down to the penny what we're spending it on."

He noted that the grant funding has created a virtuous cycle: "To have the state say, 'Oh yeah, we see that you've got plenty of match-funding now because you've got a TBD. Here's another $3 million for Lawrence Street.' It's a good problem to have—we had to hire new project managers and engineering staff."

The city's Financial Sustainability Initiative, which Mauro launched, has become a statewide model for municipal fiscal discipline, and has transformed Port Townsend's budget from one weighed down by debt to a more resilient financial structure. 

The work has garnered national recognition, including a 2024 ICMA Local Government Excellence Award for Community Sustainability. Mauro has also taught classes on the model at the Evans School of Public Policy at UW.

Building an award-winning team

According to Councilmember David Faber, Mauro's three key accomplishments include hiring a "very competent and cohesive collection of department heads" that has won multiple awards, launching the financial sustainability program now used as a model across Washington and securing record-breaking grant funding for street repairs.

Mauro has recruited all eight City Department Directors during his tenure, building what he describes as "the best people I've ever had the joy to work with."

"It's not me barking orders," he said of his meetings with the department director team. "It's a magical sharing because there's so much trust and so much know-how in the room. We're so good at working together that we walk out of the room with solutions we never came in thinking about. It's such a cool creative process of problem solving."

The city has received numerous awards under Mauro's leadership, including ICMA Local Government Excellence Awards in 2021 and 2024, the WCMA Excellence Award in 2024 and the GFOA Distinguished Budget Presentation Award in 2026.

Bainbridge Island's perspective

Bainbridge Island Councilmember Lara Lant noted that the city has been without permanent leadership for seven months following the retirement of former city manager Blair King in January. Lant highlighted Mauro's experience and ability to provide the stability and leadership the city needs.

"We began with a strong and diverse group of candidates. Some withdrew after accepting other positions, but Mr. Mauro was among the strongest candidates throughout the process," Lant stated on social media. "Bainbridge Island has been without permanent leadership for seven months. Key positions remain unfilled, important decisions are waiting, and city employees have been carrying the extra load."

Lant expressed confidence in Mauro's abilities: "I believe Mr. Mauro has the experience and ability to provide the leadership the City needs. I expect him to listen, understand the history and complexity of the issues, support employees, hire capable directors, follow Council direction and build strong relationships with the community."

What comes next in Port Townsend

The City Council has scheduled a special meeting for July 27 at 6pm to discuss transition planning, including the process of recruiting and hiring a new city manager and what an interim manager arrangement may look like. In Port Townsend's Council/Manager form of government—shared by 53 other Washington cities—the City Council appoints the City Manager, who oversees staff and operations and implements policy direction from the Council.

In a press release, Mayor Amy Howard expressed confidence that Mauro leaves the city in a strong position. "It has been a pleasure working alongside John these past years, and I'm grateful for the steady leadership he brought to Port Townsend, from fiscal sustainability planning to increasing our grant income and building a stable, award-winning city team. I wish him the very best in his new role. He leaves us in a strong position to keep moving forward. I'm hopeful and excited about what comes next for Port Townsend and confident that the foundation that John helped build will carry us well into the future."

Advice for a successor

When asked what advice he would give to his successor, Mauro emphasized both openness to new ideas and continuity with the city's trajectory.

"I think a successor is inevitably going to see things that I don't," he said. "Bring your own experience, expertise, and perspective into it. Trust the process. Trust the next person knows what they're doing and can add a next level—can take it where I couldn't take it."

He also noted the importance of staying the course on key initiatives: "We've actually made great gains. There are initiatives we started several years ago that need time to play out. If you want to change direction every year, what's the point of planning for the long term? From the council, community partners and staff in the theme of financial stability, it seems like a non-negotiable."

What he'll miss most

When asked what he'll miss most about Port Townsend, Mauro's response was deeply personal.

"Oh man," he said, his voice reflecting the weight of the question. "I thought about that word 'love,' and it's true. I really do love my team. It's hard not to get emotional about it. These people have influenced my perspective and my life. They've inspired me. I feel like I've given a lot to Port Townsend, but I'm also taking a lot with me. It breaks my heart, actually."

He described the unique character of the community: "It's funky. It's gorgeous. There's no place like it. I pinch myself every day that I live here and feel tremendously grateful to serve this community."

Mauro also reflected on the tension many communities face: "It's so unfair how increasingly only those who are cashed up can live here. I have some real fears for what it might become if we don't make space in our community for diversity, make space in our town for sensible density, and see the big picture."

He noted that even those who disagree with the city's direction are motivated by a deep care for the place: "They know this place is unique. They know this place is special. And sometimes that manifests as anger, bullying or online rancor. But I think at the core, almost all of it's based on a recognition that this is a place worth protecting."

A call for unity

As he prepares to leave, Mauro offered a final reflection on the importance of community collaboration.

"If all that care manifests in fighting and drawing lines and not hearing each other, we spend a lot of time battling as a community, and that breaks my heart too," he said. "If there was a way to channel all the care and concern and passion for this place in some general direction together, there's nothing that's not possible."

He pointed to institutional partnerships like the Intergovernmental Collaborative Group as examples of what can be achieved: "For years, we just fought like cats and dogs. We disagreed, and we were like, 'Let's just duke it out.' And the loss was our community. It distracted us from doing the things that were our core responsibilities."

Mauro encouraged the community to move beyond binary opposition: "If we can drain out the binary opposition stuff and hear each other and maybe refine our perspectives, we can do great things. We just need to be a little more emotionally in tune with hearing things that make us uncomfortable and being open to changing our minds."

Mauro remains active with the International City/County Management Association, presenting at annual conferences and serving on the Sustainable Communities Committee. He is also active on the board of the Washington City/County Management Association, where he serves on multiple committees and as vice president until August, when he becomes the incoming president.

"My family and I are excited to embark on a new adventure in Bainbridge Island where there are opportunities for each of us to learn, grow, and give back," Mauro said. "I'm confident the City of PT team will work together to ensure a smooth and stable leadership transition, and we will keep residents informed through our regular channels as the transition progresses. And you can bet that since it's a relatively short drive, bike or paddle away, I'll be sure to keep in touch."