Since separating from the Port of Astoria late last year, Mike Weston has kept his local home and popped up at various planning meetings.

Most recently, he provided testimony at a Clatsop County Planning Commission hearing Tuesday as the consultant on Richard Krueger’s proposed 168-unit Bella Ridge Apartments in Miles Crossing.

Krueger’s project is one of several Weston and his wife, Crystal, advise on through their company Frog Consulting LLC.

In his day job, though, Weston is the new city manager for King City, a small planned community southwest of Tualatin.

“I’ve always kind of been interested in city administration, in county administration, port administration along the same line,” Weston said. “When I was in college, I first ran across a professor who said, ‘You know, you should look into city administration, because in five to six years, there’s going to be a huge turnover and no one’s going to be there to kind of take it on.’”

Weston, 39, took over in March in King City, which he described as a less intensive, smaller community where he could get his feet wet and learn city operations. “And also, the way that the council worked together, and the unity that they had, and the vision they had for the city, was something that I admired and looked forward to participating in,” he said.

After four years as a U.S. Navy SEAL, Weston went back to school, ultimately earning a master’s in public administration from the University of Oregon.

Weston came to Astoria in 2006 as a planner for Clatsop County. He joined the Port as a property manager in 2010 and worked his way up to director of business development and operations by 2012. When Hank Bynaker resigned as Port director in 2013, Weston was appointed the interim replacement and asked to take on several other positions amid staffing shortages and a hiring freeze.

Late last year, Weston signed a separation agreement with the Port after becoming embroiled in a lawsuit during his stint as interim director with two former employees who accused him of abuse of power.

“I really liked the Port realm,” he said. “I might make an entry back in there someday in my career. I don’t know. But it was definitely one of the better experiences in my life, and it definitely furthered my career for what it was.”

Weston said he and his wife took part in several projects in December and January that are now coming to fruition. He hopes to have his project for Krueger wrapped up next month.

“By then, I’ll probably have one or two more in the hopper for public hearings,” he said. “So my hope is, that here in the near future, I can get those all done.”

While Weston and his family still live in Astoria, they plan on transitioning to the Portland metro area. “It’s the lessons I’ve learned here that I will take with me for a long time, and hopefully I’ll use to the betterment of my career, and hopefully to society,” he said.