Lose there, Work here

As I blogged earlier, the county had an opening for a senior policy analyst.

The new guy starts Monday.

Suffice to say, he understands what county commissioners face.

Because he’s been one.

Commissioners voted to give the job to Axel Swanson.

Swanson, 31, lost his job in Cowlitz County after voters there last year favored James Misner, an independent, over the one-term Democrat who took office shortly after earning a law degree.

Swanson’s starting salary will be $72,000, said County Administrator Bill Barron.

Swanson is not the first former Cowlitz County commissioner to go to work for Clark County after losing an election. Joel Rupley, the county’s Endangered Species Act coordinator, lost in a 2000 primary.

Commissioner Marc Boldt joked Thursday he hopes that no one has scrawled on the wall of the men’s room in the Cowlitz County Administration Building in Kelso: Need a job? Call 360-397-2232.