PRESS RELEASE - Port Townsend City Manager to Step Down From Position After Nearly 7 Years

City Manager John Mauro has accepted a role as City Manager of Bainbridge Island

July 17, 2026 - PORT TOWNSEND – City Manager John Mauro has stepped down from his role to accept a position as the City Manager of Bainbridge Island, effective September 8. Mauro has served as Port Townsend City Manager since November 2019, soon after he and his family returned to the Pacific Northwest from New Zealand.

Mauro’s nearly seven-year tenure as Port Townsend City Manager started a few months before the Covid pandemic began. The pandemic shaped the early days of his role, requiring vigilant balancing of financial position, staff and community safety, and creative delivery of services. While the pandemic posed deep challenges for the City team and community, it became a catalyst for renewed institutional partnerships like the Intergovernmental Collaborative Group (ICG) and deepened commitments to fiscal responsibility through the Financial Sustainability Initiative. Both initiatives are International City/County Management (ICMA) award-winners.

Mauro leaves a legacy of investment in the City team, in infrastructure, in partnerships, and in creative approaches to community engagement and communication. Gradually over the past 6 years, Mauro has recruited all 8 City Department Directors, built team cohesion and high performance, and measurably enhanced organizational culture. With the support and at the direction of the City Council, he and his team have delivered historic changes to the Water Use Agreement with the Port Townsend Paper Company to invest in long-term repair and replacement of the water line, delivered major transportation improvements through grant-funded projects and the voter-approved Transportation Benefit District, and overhauled the City’s financial philosophy and financial position to one of greater fiscal prudence and responsibility, stability, and strength.

He and his team have also overhauled the annual workplan and budget processes, delivered a major comprehensive plan update, brought the City directly into supporting artists and the PT Creative District, achieved state accreditation for the Police Department, agreed community vision and a long-term lease for multi-use of the Port Townsend Golf Park, significantly broadened communications and engagement channels, advanced the Evans Vista neighborhood development, and received tens of millions of dollars of state and federal grant funding for projects in almost all City departments from sewer repair to cybersecurity, from digital permitting videos to street projects. His approach to city management was recognized by the Washington City/County Management Association (WCMA), earning him the 2024 WMCA Excellence Award.

Mayor Amy Howard says, “It has been a pleasure working alongside John these past years and I'm grateful for the steady leadership he brought to Port Townsend, from fiscal sustainability planning to increasing our grant income and building a stable, award-winning city team. I wish him the very best in his new role. He leaves us in a strong position to keep moving forward. I'm hopeful and excited about what comes next for Port Townsend and confident that the foundation that John helped build will carry us well into the future.”

Mauro is known for being regularly accessible to the community he serves, including through his weekly radio show on KPTZ, regular community coffee meetings that rotate around local businesses, production of short videos and a “How Your City Works” video series, presence at the PT Farmers Market and community events, monthly e-news pieces and OpEds, a new Annual Report and Cityscape magazine mailed to all residents, and community-facing workshops.

Mauro is also active with the International City/County Management Association, presenting at annual conferences and has served on the Sustainable Communities Committee. He is also active on the board of the Washington City/County Management Association, where he serves on multiple committees and as vice president until August, at which time he becomes the incoming president.

Says Mauro, “I’m tremendously grateful to my team for their service-minded work ethic, their creative minds, their collaborative spirit, and their deep care and love. They are the best people I’ve ever had the joy to work with, and they make every challenge possible and every day meaningful. I’m also deeply appreciative for the enduring trust, support, and confidence offered to me by the Port Townsend City Council – both current members and those I had the pleasure of serving since 2019. Their dedication to this community’s long-term success is profound. They show up day after day to serve and to lead, and do so courageously and with respect and civility through exceedingly difficult decisions and in very challenging times. Finally, to the community partners and community members who have helped make our successes something greater than any one of us could ever achieve alone, who offer camaraderie and humor, tough critical feedback, and a spirit of togetherness: I am forever humbled and grateful. I will always love these special people and this special place.”

The City Council has scheduled a special meeting for July 27 at 6pm to discuss transition planning.In Port Townsend’s “Council/Manager” form of government, as in 53 other Washington cities, the City Council appoints the City Manager who oversees staff and operations, and implements the policy direction from the Council.

About the journey ahead, Mauro continues: “My family and I are excited to embark on a new adventure in Bainbridge Island where there are opportunities for each of us to learn, grow, and give back. In my next role, I’m eager to dive into new challenges and complexity with the strength of a highly capable team, inspired and inspiring community members and agency partners, and the steady governance and leadership of the current Bainbridge Island City Council. Meanwhile, I am confident the City of PT team will work together to ensure a smooth and stable leadership transition and we will keep residents informed through our regular channels as the transition progresses. And you can bet that since it’s a relatively short drive, bike, or paddle away, I’ll be sure to keep in touch.”

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Major Projects and Initiatives of the Past 6 Years:
• Water Supply Agreement: https://cityofpt.us/engagept/page/water-supply-mill-agreement
• Financial Sustainability Initiative: https://cityofpt.us/engagept/page/financial-sustainability-initiative
• Transportation Benefit District and Comprehensive Streets Plan: https://cityofpt.us/engagept/page/comprehensive-streets-program
• Port Townsend Golf Park: https://cityofpt.us/parksrec/page/envision-port-townsend-golf-course
• Comprehensive Plan 2025-2045: https://www.pt2045planning.org/
• Evans Vista Neighborhood Master Plan: https://cityofpt.us/engagept/page/evans-vista-neighborhood-master-plan
• New Community Services Department and Incorporation of the PT Creative District: https://cityofpt.us/administration/page/press-release-city-launches-new-integrated-community-services-department
• Police Accreditation: https://cityofpt.us/police/page/press-release-port-townsend-police-department-earns-accreditation
• General Sewer Plan: https://ptpubliclibrary.org/engagept/page/general-sewer-plan