Gov. Kate Brown Names New Director of Oregon Department of Administrative Services

Longtime Department of Agriculture director takes over key state agency.

Gov. Kate Brown today filled an opening atop a key state agency, naming Katy Coba director of the Oregon Department of Administrative Services.

Coba is one of Salem's longest-serving agency heads, having led the Oregon Department of Agriculture since 2003.

She takes over the agency that provides numerous services to other state agencies, from information technology to payroll to human resources and information technology. Former Gov. John Kitzhaber elevated the profile of the agency, making then-director Michael Jordan the state's chief operating officer.

If confirmed by the Senate in the fall, Coba will be the agency's second permanent director since Jordan's resignation last year in the wake of Kitzhaber's departure from office. Clyde Salki briefly held the job before Brown named him last year to head the troubled Oregon Department of Human Services. George Naughton, DAS' budget expert, has been serving as interim director since then.

Related: Michael Jordan resigns after ordering criminal investigation into the lead of Gov. John Kitzhaber's emails.

Coba, grew up on a Pendleton wheat farm and was once named queen of the Pendleton Round-up, but she's got deep roots in Salem. She started working in state government in 1985. Her father, former State Sen. Mike Thorne (D-Pendleton) served as co-chair of the Legislature's Joint Ways and Means Committee and served as the executive director of the Port of Portland from 1991 to 2001. Her mother served in the administration of former Gov. Neil Goldschmidt and her husband, Marshall Coba, is a longtime Salem lobbyist.

"I look forward to welcoming Katy Coba as COO and DAS Director," Gov. Brown said in a statement. "Katy brings to this critical role on my team a proven record of effective and innovative leadership and extensive knowledge of state government. She is committed to making government work better for all Oregonians."

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