A familiar face in Oregon municipal government is returning to Southern Oregon, this time to lead the largest city in the region.
The Medford City Council has selected Martha Bennett as its next city manager, concluding a nationwide recruitment that drew nearly 40 applicants and ultimately brought the search back to an administrator with deep Oregon experience and previous ties to the Rogue Valley.
Bennett is scheduled to begin Nov. 30, succeeding Interim City Manager John Vial, who will continue overseeing city operations through the transition. Her appointment places her at the administrative helm of a city serving more than 90,000 residents while functioning as a commercial, medical, transportation and employment center for communities throughout Southern Oregon.
For Rogue Valley residents, Bennett is hardly a newcomer.
She previously spent five years as Ashland city administrator, managing municipal operations in a community only a few miles south of Medford. Her career later took her north, where she spent nearly eight years as chief operating officer for Metro, the regional government serving the Portland metropolitan area. Bennett subsequently became Lake Oswego city manager in 2019, remaining in that position until February 2026.
Her public-sector career spans more than 25 years and includes additional government leadership experience involving the Columbia River Gorge Commission and work connected with Milwaukie, Albany and Portland in Oregon, as well as Pinole, California. Bennett holds a Master of Public Policy from the University of California, Berkeley, and a bachelor’s degree from Willamette University.
The selection follows months of work by Medford officials to find permanent leadership for City Hall. Former City Manager Rob Field resigned in November 2025, and Vial stepped into the interim position while the city prepared a national search. The field was eventually narrowed to three finalists, who participated in a public meet-and-greet before proceeding through interviews with the City Council.
Bennett will assume responsibility for an extensive municipal operation. Medford uses a council-manager form of government in which the mayor and eight-member City Council establish policy and community priorities while the city manager directs daily operations and puts those decisions into practice.
That makes the manager Medford’s chief executive officer, overseeing an organization of approximately 750 employees across police, fire, public works, planning, parks and recreation, finance, building safety, human resources, economic development, technology and other municipal services. The manager also works with the city’s executive leadership team while directing budget administration, organizational performance and relationships with other government agencies.
Medford enters the leadership transition with several large projects already occupying City Hall’s agenda.
Implementation of the Medford 2040 Community Vision remains part of the city’s long-range planning, accompanied by downtown redevelopment efforts, housing development and business recruitment. Creekside Quarter, conference center development and other downtown proposals are among projects expected to remain before city officials.
Infrastructure will occupy another substantial portion of the incoming manager’s workload. Medford has identified the Regional Water Reclamation Facility upgrade, the South Stage Road Interchange and implementation of its Transportation System Plan among projects requiring continued administrative oversight and coordination.
Bennett will also take charge of city operations during the 2025-27 biennium, for which Medford adopted a budget of approximately $679.5 million covering municipal services, infrastructure and other city priorities.
Although the city manager works for Medford, the position carries a broader regional presence. Medford’s size and role within Jackson County regularly place the city alongside neighboring communities, state agencies and regional organizations on transportation, housing, economic development, emergency services and infrastructure matters.
Bennett’s previous tenure in Ashland gives the incoming manager experience with many of the governmental and community relationships that extend throughout the Rogue Valley. Her later work in larger Oregon governmental organizations adds another layer of administrative experience as Medford continues managing population growth, development and major capital investments.
Under the city charter, Bennett will also be required to establish residency within Medford within one year of her appointment and maintain city residency while serving as manager.
When Bennett arrives Nov. 30, Medford’s yearlong period of interim administrative leadership will close with someone who has traveled a considerable distance through Oregon government since her earlier years in the Rogue Valley.
This time, she returns to Southern Oregon with responsibility for running Medford City Hall and managing the municipal operation behind the region’s largest city.