After being installed last fall as interim director of the state Department of Administrative Services, Berri Leslie now has the permanent job. The Oregon Senate last week confirmed Gov. Tina Kotek’s appointments of Leslie as DAS director and Casey Codding as state police superintendent. Leslie was Gov. Kate Brown’s deputy chief of staff when Brown appointed her as acting chief operating officer and DAS director following Katy Coba’s Sept. 30 retirement.

Jeff Shambaugh has been promoted to state pavement engineer at the Oregon Department of Transportation. He will oversee pavement management, design, construction and materials. He also will serve as program manager for the interstate maintenance program and other statewide maintenance and preservation programs. Shambaugh most recently was north operations chief of the Oregon Debris Management Task Force for fire cleanup. 

ODOT has named Tova Peltz as deputy administrator for the Delivery and Operations Division, effective May 1. She will report to division Administrator Mac Lynde. Peltz, who serves as the Region 1 (Portland metro area) project delivery manager, joined ODOT in 2007 as a geotechnical engineer.

Adrienne Nelson’s ascension to the U.S. District Court in Portland created a vacancy on the Oregon Supreme Court. Gov. Kotek announced last week that she was accepting applications for the position until April 27. The U.S. Senate on Feb. 15 confirmed President Joe Biden’s nomination of Nelson as a federal judge.

Dan Field, who was an aide for Oregon Senate President John Kitzhaber and chief of staff for House Speaker Vera Katz, will lead Portland and Multnomah County’s Joint Office of Homeless Services. Field is a longtime Kaiser Permanente executive.

State Rep. Kevin Mannix, R-Salem, was hospitalized Thursday for what he called “a viral infection with a rapid onset of symptoms” but which was neither COVID-19 nor flu. In a statement Friday afternoon, Mannix said all symptoms had resolved.

The Salem Area Chamber of Commerce honored retired Senate President Peter Courtney, D-Salem, with its Legacy of Leadership award. Former mayoral candidate Chane Griggs, who retired from the Oregon Department of Corrections as assistant director after earlier roles with the Legislature and DAS, was named First Citizen at the chamber banquet on Saturday.

Oregon State Police are hiring recruit troopers for positions throughout Oregon. The job announcement states: “Oregon’s geographic diversity calls for a wide variety of duty assignments. Troopers may find themselves conducting enforcement not only in our standard police cruisers but also by airplane, pickup, ATV, snowmobile, horseback, and an assortment of watercraft, from white water rafts to ocean-going craft.” Applications are due May 10.