Sean O'Day Appointed Salem's Deputy City Manager

Before joining the City, O'Day served on Governor John A. Kitzhaber's staff as Deputy Legal Counsel, and was previously an associate attorney for Stoel Rives, LLP, in Portland, Oregon.

Sean O'Day in Kabul, Afghanistan where he filled the role of JAG officer for the Oregon National Guard. Photo by Tim King Salem-News.com

(SALEM, Ore.) - Salem City Manager Linda Norris has announced that Sean O'Day has been appointed Deputy City Manager. "I am very pleased to appoint Sean to fill this position" states Norris. "His legal and policy background and his deep knowledge of city operations are extremely beneficial to the entire City in this role."

Sean O'Day joined the City of Salem as an Assistant City Attorney in April 2004 and was subsequently promoted to Deputy City Attorney in May 2006. O'Day was appointed Interim Assistant City Manager in February 2008 and filled the position since that time.

O'Day says he is very excited about the new position. "It is an honor and privilege to fill this role in local government. The City is staffed with exceptional employees and I am excited about our future challenges and opportunities."

After graduating from Central Washington University with a BA in Geography in August 1994, he worked for the Association of Washington Cities as a Municipal Government Analyst, focusing in the areas of energy, telecommunications, and natural resources.

O'Day earned his law degree from the Northwestern School of Law at Lewis and Clark College in May 2000. Following law school, he clerked for Oregon Supreme Court Chief Justice Wallace P. Carson, Jr. who inspired him among other things to join the Oregon National Guard, where he serves as a Judge Advocate.

His deployments with the Oregon National Guard have included New Orleans in 2005 in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, and Afghanistan in 2006-07.

Before joining the City, O'Day served on Governor John A. Kitzhaber's staff as Deputy Legal Counsel, and was previously an associate attorney for Stoel Rives, LLP, in Portland, Oregon.

O'Day lives in Salem with his wife Christine, who is currently attending Western Oregon University, and their two children, Kennedy age 7 and Colin age 5.

Salem-News.com's Tim King traveled to Afghanistan with JAG officers Sean O'Day and Nick Paulas of Portland, Oregon in November, 2006. To see Tim's report on O'Day's work as a JAG officer at war, visit this link: Oregon Officers Join the JAG Corps at Camp Phoenix in Afghanistan