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The candidates for the new chief operating officer of the Portland Metro Council were today whittled down to one with Metro president Tom Hughes‘ nomination of Martha Bennett.

If Bennett wins the majority in a Metro Council vote scheduled for Sept. 8, she will begin the new position on Oct. 31. Bennett would be the second chief operating officer, a position created in 2003 in a restructuring of the agency’s charter.

Fifty-six people applied for the position from around the country, but the four finalists were all Oregonians. Each finalist was put through a series of interviews – both with Metro staff and stakeholders in the region, according to Metro spokesman Ken Ray.

Bennett has served as Ashland’s city administrator for six years, and prior to that was executive director of the Columbia River Gorge Commission, which manages land use decisions and works with several federal agencies to protect the area.

The position opened in March when Gov. John Kitzhaber appointed the agency’s first COO, Michael Jordan, to a similar role at the state level.