Myers was a well-regarded chief with decades of firefighting experience when he left his city post to lead emergency management in Cannon Beach. At the time, Myers cited as his reason a desire to be closer to his wife, who had moved to Gearhart.
On Monday, Myers said he was settling into his Cannon Beach job when he received a call from Hardesty, who asked him to return and run the Portland Bureau of Emergency Management. He told The Oregonian/OregonLive Monday that he accepted that offer and has moved back to Portland, though he and his wife will also keep their Oregon Coast home.
Hardesty, the fire and emergency management commissioner, said she offered the job to Myers because the ex-chief brings what she said is the right outlook to emergency preparedness. An initial recruitment also produced no suitable candidates, she said.
The commissioner in particular praised Myers’ effort to be mindful of how disasters disproportionately affect people of color and low-income residents, saying that approach “puts my mind so at ease.”
— Gordon R. Friedman
GFriedman@Oregonian.com
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