Arne Mortensen moved from San Diego, California to Kelso in 2005 after driving around the country to find the right place for him and his wife, Jonalee, to start a new adventure. Even coming from San Diego the splendor of the Pacific Northwest was a draw, but it was the people, with a personal touch, intrinsic kindness, and family values, that settled the question of where to land.  
Arne, with degrees in physics and oceanography, worked as a scientist, an engineer, and an executive, retiring from Qualcomm, Inc. in 2003.  Throughout his career, he has worked on classified projects, environmental studies, and software development.  He also has managed both white collar and blue collar departments, dealing with budgets, deadlines, contracts, and personnel. He helped setup and subsequently managed a software development entity in Chennai, India.
Arne is driven to look for improvements at every level in nearly everything he touches. This drive led him to start a bicycle shop in San Diego, which was donated to the students of the University of California, San Diego.  That bicycle shop still exists today.  
He hopes he will have an opportunity to bring this level of dedication and experience to make the Cowlitz County Commissioners’ office more efficient and more responsive to the people of the county.