Mayor of almost eight years, Frank Bubenik, thanked city staff, councilors and residents in an emotional speech at Tualatin’s State of the City event on May 19.
“As I prepare to step away from this role, I do so with great gratitude,” Bubenik said. “To the residents of Tualatin, thank you for your trust. That trust is something I have never taken lightly and has meant more to me than I can fully express. It has been an incredible privilege to serve you, to work alongside you and to be a part of this chapter in Tualatin’s history.”
While Bubenik’s final term won’t expire until 2027, it was his final State of the City event, and various members of Tualatin’s municipal government took the opportunity to thank and commemorate the mayor for his many feats while in office.
The event kicked off at 6 p.m. and, in addition to celebrating the tenure of the current mayor, it also highlighted recent city accomplishments spanning parks, schools and public works. The evening’s audience included city personnel, Washington County Commissioners, former mayors and Oregon State Representatives.
“The state of Tualatin is incredibly strong,” Tualatin City Manager Sherilyn Lombos said in her speech. “Tonight is a little bittersweet, as it is Mayor Bubnik’s last at bat…I will miss working with you.”
Bubenik wove his speech around his memorable accomplishments, the challenges he faced and his future goals for the city, stopping twice to hand out bouquets of flowers to Lombos and his wife.
“You smiled through Zoom calls and in-person meetings that disrupted dinner, kept the peace when my schedule turned plans upside down, and never once made me feel guilty for answering the call of service from our community,” Bubenik said to his wife, Donna, during his speech. “Your support has been the quiet foundation beneath everything I’ve tried to do for this community.”
In his speech, Bubenik said that he and his wife moved to Tualatin after honeymooning in Portland in 1993 and falling in love with the area. He chronicled the beginning of his admission into Tualatin’s local government, saying that he predicted he would be mayor shortly after he and his wife arrived.
“Donna recalls that we sat in a McDonald’s parking lot by the newly opened Tualatin Commons, that I said I would be mayor of this town one day,” Bubenik said. “We loved living in Tualatin since day one.”
Bubenik initially served on various committees for Tualatin and Washington County and, in his speech, discussed how the Tualatin area has changed over the course of his career, noting that city government has effectively handled industry evolution and a steadily increasing population.
“Today, we are a major employment hub in the region. Advanced manufacturing, semiconductor-related industries and logistics play a central role in our economy,” Bubenik said. “Over the past decade, we’ve introduced more townhomes, apartments and mixed-use development. We’ve begun planning for a more vibrant downtown.”
He also reviewed the city’s commitment to bettering public infrastructure, staying engaged with residents and keeping Tualatin’s future in mind.
“Together these efforts reflect a city that prioritizes safety, creativity, compassion and community connection, values that continue to guide who we are today and who will become tomorrow,” Bubenik said. “When you look at Tualatin today, you’re not just seeing a city that has grown. You’re seeing a city that invested wisely.”
The event also featured a slideshow presentation which reviewed upcoming projects like the Sidewalk Maintenance Backlog Program as well as initiatives already underway or completed like the city’s three-part approach to addressing homelessness and housing capacity, and the Tualatin Transportation System Plan.
The presentation also covered Tualatin’s significant investments in advantageous business endeavors, with City Councilor Valerie Pratt reporting, in a pre-recorded video, that “2025 was a landmark year for economic development.”
“A major highlight has been our work on the downtown revitalization project,” Pratt said. “There is much more to come, and we look forward to building this future together.”
At the tail end of the event, Bubenik took questions from audience members and told those in attendance that his proudest moment as mayor was establishing the 116-unit affordable apartment complex, Plambeck Gardens.
“Doug Plambeck lived three doors down from me, and Doug was in my ear as a councilor about Tualatin needing affordable housing,” Bubenik recounted. “It took several years, but now we have Plambeck Gardens.”
Bubenik said that housing was the biggest challenge moving forward, explaining that the city was out of space and needed to continue working with developers and state officials to lower housing costs for residents. He vowed to continue collaborating with the city after retiring, saying he would be “the major pain in the ass to the next mayor and city council.”
