After nine years at the helm of Tofino’s district office, Bob MacPherson is ready to trade council meetings for beach walks.
The district’s Chief Administrative Officer has announced his retirement and plans to wrap up a successful 30-year career in municipal government in May, the same month it began in 1992.
“My immediate plans are to enjoy some summer days in Tofino with no particular schedule,” he told the Westerly News. “I want to see what it’s like living here without reporting to work everyday.”
MacPherson became Tofino’s CAO in June, 2013, arriving to the community from Whistler where he had served in a variety of municipal roles.
“He brought a tremendous amount to the district. I really can’t overstate how important Bob has been to helping create what we have now,” Mayor Dan Law told the Westerly. “He had a tremendous impact on the staff and council. He brought wisdom, knowledge and professionalism. He focused on really supporting and caring for the staff, especially his management team and they are now a very supportive and supported, high-level, functioning team doing really great work and a lot of that is due to Bob’s mentoring.”
Law also expressed gratitude for MacPherson’s guidance as he moved from a councillor to the mayor’s seat in 2019’s byelection.
“The CAO is really the critical connection between the elected officials and the management and staff,” Law said. “As a new mayor, I found Bob invaluable…I just can’t say enough about how Bob made being a new mayor in Tofino a pleasure.”
MacPherson said he dropped “some pretty good hints” to Tofino’s municipal council that he would likely not be around for the entire duration of their term and made those hints official in November, announcing he would be retiring in the spring.
He added his colleagues and the community capped off a fulfilling and rewarding professional journey.
“There’s no shortage of challenges, some of which we’ve made some good headway with and some of which there’s still work to do. That’s always the dilemma leaving a job, there’s always more you wish you had time for,” he said.
“I’ve been so fortunate to have a supportive council and just great staff to work with. The work has been great, of course not without frustrations from time to time, but the people I’ve had the privilege of working with here have really made this a good experience for me.”
Law said the district has hired a search firm to help find a new boss for the municipal hall, adding though MacPherson’s Tofitian tenure will be tough to replicate.
“That is going to be a very interesting process. Bob’s going to be hard to replace. But, at the same time, it’s also an opportunity,” he said. “There’s going to be a great opportunity to see another great candidate come and take the district forward.”
MacPherson said he’s leaving a team of “tremendous people” behind and is confident his departure won’t leave a void.
“My experience with my staff here and their commitment to the community has really been second to none,” he said. “I hope I’ve done some good work, but I have no fears that things won’t continue on just fine without me.”
MacPherson’s commitment to Tofino broke a trend of high turnover at the town’s CAO position as he served the community longer than the town’s past three CAO’s combined.
“It’s been a great nine years,” he said. “I hope that whoever my successor is enjoys being here as much as I have and decides to stay for a good long while too.”
andrew.bailey@westerlynews.ca
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