San Juan County Administrator Pete Rose is staying put.

But it’s not because he hasn’t sought employment elsewhere.

In fact, Rose, who joined the county as its first-ever administrator in 2006, nearly landed a job with the city of Milwaukie, Ore., which was seeking to fill a vacant managerial post several months ago.

More recently, he was among five finalists vying for a similar soon-to-be vacant position in the city of Issaquah. Rose said that landing either position would have put him back in familiar territory of managing a city, rather than a county, such as San Juan, and been a good career move as well.

“Issaquah is a top-notch high-end posting,” he said. “I thought it certainly was worth my time to give it a shot.”

In the end, Milwaukie selected someone other than Rose, who said late last week that it appears he’s out of the running for the job in Issaquah, where long-time city manager Leon Kros is retiring after 33 years on the job. Rose added that Milwaukie and Issaquah are each unique in professional challenges and rewards, and that his pursuit of a job outside the county is over for the time being.

“I’m fully engaged and enjoy serving here,” he said of his position with the county.

Rose joined the county following a 8-year tenure as city manager of Woodinville, where he supervised seven departments, about 64 full-time employees and an annual operating budget of roughly $9.5 million. Located in King County and near Issaquah, Woodinville has a population of almost 10,000 and covers roughly six square miles.

In San Juan, Rose manages as many as 25 separate departments, roughly 150 full-time employees and an annual budget that totaled $37.2 million in 2010.

County Council Chairman Richard Fralick said it’s a fact of life for any organization, whether public or private, to have high-level executives seeking to better themselves professionally or personally. That Rose would do so shouldn’t come as a surprise or cause much disruption within the county ranks, Fralick said.

Still, Fralick added he’s relieved that Rose will be sticking around.

“Pete from Day one has been committed to county,” he said. “I understand his need to look around personally, and it’s a perfectly normal thing to do. Personally though, it stresses me because I hate very much to see him go.”