Sam Brentano
Vice Chair Sam Brentano was appointed to the Marion County Board of Commissioners in November 2003. He was elected in November 2004, 2008 and 2012. As a commissioner, Sam focuses on emergency management, transportation, and children and family issues. He helped mobilize county resources to replace a washed out bridge in Turner after flooding a year ago, and he continues to push for improvements at the Interstate 5 - Woodburn interchange, a third bridge in Salem, and expanded access to Cordon Road. Sam also led the development of the Community Hall inside the Marion County Courthouse, a project that now features colorful, attractive artwork from all twenty cities in the county. He serves this year as chair of the Oregon Garden Foundation Board.
Commissioner Brentano served as mayor of the City of Sublimity in Marion County from 1982 to 1993. A businessman in the solid waste disposal industry for more than 30 years, he retired in 2001 from his position as president and general manager of United Disposal Service.
Commissioner Brentano holds a bachelor’s degree in business from Oregon State University and attended Kennedy and Woodburn High Schools. For 20 years he served as a volunteer firefighter/EMT with Sublimity, Woodburn and Harrisburg Rural Fire Districts. He was a long-time member of the Regis High School Foundation and Saint Boniface Parish Council and is a supporter of Silverton Hospital and the Stayton Library foundations. Sam is a past president and long time member of the Stayton area Rotary.