Portland officials have announced a trio of finalists vying to become the permanent city administrator, a position that wields substantial power and influence within the city’s new form of government.

Maurice Henderson, a one-time chief of staff to former Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler, Raymond Lee, the longtime city manager of Greeley, Colorado, and Valerie Washington, an assistant city administrator for Fort Worth, Texas, emerged as the top contenders to succeed Michael Jordan , who city leaders tapped earlier this year to temporarily serve as the top bureaucrat.

The city said more than 100 people nationwide applied for the position, which controls the day-to-day operations of Portland’s vast bureaucracy and oversees its $8.6 billion budget and 6,800-person workforce.

The trio of fin

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