Woodburn Independent Online

New Woodburn city recorder has ‘big shoes’ to fill

• By: Lindsay Keefer  
• Published: 1/3/2010 6:55:32 PM

Photo By: Lindsay KeeferChristina Shearer
Christina Shearer was the city of Woodburn’s interim finance director before applying for, and getting, the city recorder job vacated after Mary Tennant retired Dec. 31, 2009.

WOODBURN — A new face can be found in the city recorder’s office and became a permanent fixture in the city of Woodburn on Jan. 1.
 
Christina Shearer replaced city recorder Mary Tennant, who retired after 30 years of working for the city in various capacities.
 
“Mary is leaving me big shoes to fill and I’m not sure she could pass on it all if she tried,” Shearer said. “She’s finishing projects, making sure the slate’s clean.”
 
She said Tennant has taught her a lot already.
 
“I’m soaking up as much as I can from Mary,” Shearer said.
 
“(I learned) you have to be flexible, be ready for anything and keep your eye on the ball and keep juggling.”
 
Shearer’s primary focus will be on records and risk management, the city council and its activities as well as personnel affairs.
 
“(Finance Director) Ignacio (Palacios) and I will start to work it out,” she said, adding that Palacios will be taking over payroll.
 
Shearer said she worked with Palacios, who is also new to the city, when she worked for the city of Sherwood and he was an auditor.
 
Before coming to Woodburn, the certified public accountant, who has a bachelor’s degree in accounting from Portland State University, worked for the state in various positions for nearly 20 years, followed by a three-year tenure as finance director for the city of Sherwood. She left that position in 2008.
 
“I was just looking for something different,” she said, adding she took a year off.
“Then this opportunity came up.”
 
Shearer said Sherwood and Woodburn are different.
 
“Sherwood is a suburb with a lot of rapid growth,” she said.
 
“Woodburn is more self-contained. The breadth of service here is different.”
 
But she prefers municipal government to working for the state.
 
“In municipal government you see what’s going on around you all the time,” she said. “With the state, we didn’t get to see the work in a tangible way.”
 
Shearer started working in Woodburn through a temp agency Sept. 1, 2009 as the interim finance director, moving into the city recorder’s office Nov. 30, 2009.
 
The Sherwood resident and her husband, Terry, spend most of their free time attending sporting events and extracurricular activities involving their daughters, ages 16 and 14, who are students at Sherwood High School.
 
“It’s pretty much a lifestyle,” she joked.
 
Other interests include camping on family property in Washington and watching the Portland Trail Blazers.
 
While Woodburn is new territory for her, Shearer said she likes the community and gets along well with her co-workers.
 
“Everyone seems to know where we’re going and supports us getting there,” she said. “It’s a congenial atmosphere to work in.”
 
Shearer may be qualified in finance but she said she’s not sure what to expect in Woodburn.
 
“I’m taking it one day at a time,” she said.
 
“This really is a completely different position for me, just learning about everything.
 
“Looking from this perspective gives me a fuller appreciation for how government works.”

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