Kyle Gorman took the oath of office on Oct. 25 at the Sunset Empire Park and Recreation District Board of Directors meeting. He replaces Erika Hamer-Marshall as District 4 director. Hamer-Marshall resigned in August.

After interviews on Oct. 20 with board members, Gorman was selected from five candidates, which included John Huismann, Patricia Love, Bill Montero and Anthony Runkle.

Gorman trained as a paramedic before becoming the executive officer for Clackamas County Fire. He designed emergency medical systems and served as an advisor to three secretaries of the U.S. Department of Transportation, including Mary Peters, Ray LaHood and Anthony Foxx.

Now retired, Gorman is a member of Seaside’s Community Emergency Response Team.

Gorman said the notion of a recreation district expands beyond the facilities and to new programs.

“I have a pretty solid understanding of recreation and what it means, not necessarily just for the education or for the district, but for the community,” Gorman told board members at the interview.

The park district board position has a June term expiration. When asked if he intended to run at that time, Gorman said he would run with the support of the rest of the board. “If the board felt that their options were better if I didn’t run, I would not run based on consensus,” he added.

The board unanimously approved Gorman as the District 4 director.