Some, though not all, propose increasing the number of board members from 3 to 5, elected by area.
BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) — The 4 applicants for Deschutes County commissioner in the May 21 number one poll shared their perspectives on a variety of issues at their first candidate forum Thursday night at the Larkspur Community Center, with Phil Chang’s 3 challengers in the sharpest focus. about problems and less about complaints from the sitting president or the county.
From the location of the county’s new landfill and whether the board of commissioners deserves to expand from 3 to five, as well as the difficult roads to travel for water desires and new “solutions” to Measure 110, challengers Judy Trego, Rob Imhoff, and Brian Huntamer shared their travels, their reports and reviews and have demonstrated extensive knowledge, even if they’re not as deeply involved in day-to-day life as Chang.
At a forum hosted through Connect Central Oregon, the four applicants for the position in the first campaign since the board went nonpartisan began getting a chance to run: Trego, executive director of the Sisters Are Chamber of Commerce and a county budget committee. The member, among other existing roles and beyond, made no mention of her failed bid as the Republican candidate for Oregon’s House District 54 to try to unseat Democratic Rep. Jeff Kropf.
“I feel like I have the qualifications, the temperament and the qualifications to do the job,” he said.
Chang said he had lived in the region for 20 years and had worked on water issues for much of that time, and of course cited “a lot of progress” in his three years on the commission, despite (as he didn’t mention) common conflicts with fellow Republicans Patti Adair and Tony DeBone.
Imhoff, an Oregon native, said, “There’s a lot going on in our county, and a lot of things that are right. He spoke as one would expect about the overwhelming disorders of homelessness and substance abuse, but said, “I’m not a fighter by nature, but I’m also a negotiator. “
Navy veteran Huntamer, sidelined from work due to ‘long Covid’ and injuries, said, “I have a very clever ability to pay attention to other people’s needs. “
Imhoff said he needs “worthy partners, personal answers to public problems” and to be less dependent on federal and state taxes. Trego spoke of the need for more public-people partnerships, as neither sector “can do it alone. “
When asked about the existing petition drive to expand the commission from 3 to five, Imhoff responded first, but he wasn’t alone in saying that if it expanded, he would hold zonal elections to “represent every single corner of the county. “But Huntamer isn’t in favor of raising prices, when it comes to lowering them: “I think we can be really effective with what we have now. “
Trego also supported the concept of a zonal election, if the number of members exceeds five, but said he is not in favor of an expansion of the board, noting that “I haven’t heard other people in rural spaces say they feel underrepresented. Although he joked, “Others would say they don’t need any commissioners. “
Chang supports a larger board, saying, “For me, it’s about access and representation. I can tell you that other people are not as well represented as they could be if we had more commissioners. He noted that Hood River County is “very well governed,” with five commissioners for a population of 40,000, four elected from districts and the fifth an ordinary president. Each has about 10,000 citizens to whom it would possibly be more available.
“I just can’t communicate with 210,000 people a year; I’m doing the best I can,” Chang said.
He also referred to the fact that his two colleagues “voted last year for a pretty significant pay increase” of $14,000, which he did not settle for and which he called “really inappropriate” at a time of “severe austerity. “He said a larger board “could do a much bigger job” in managing the county’s $400 million budget, which “could yield big benefits. “
Next: where the applicants deserve to locate the new landfill, as the two finalist sites are located in the eastern part of the county.
Huntamer said she had not yet seen how many personal owners would be affected, while Trego said she was “not an expert” but that the Moon Pit location “looked better. . . unless an expert told me otherwise. “
Chang said he wanted from the beginning for the county to have “done more to divert waste from our landfill, so we have a little more time” and “work a little bit on sites closer to where we produce waste. “spending a lot of money on a lot of trucks. “
While possibly one of the decision-makers, Chang said Moon Pit, from an existing aggregate mine, is his “personal favorite” and appears to be “pretty smart” where “there’s already a very big hole in the ground. “
He said the Roth East site, further east, has a number of concerns, adding nearby landowners and a conceivable risk to the greater grouse, which could become an endangered species. He said it was also “very close to Pine Mountain,” the site of a popular observatory that can be affected by dust, noise and lights.
Imhoff agreed that Moon Pit “probably makes the most sense” and said that the friends of Rickard Road are involved that an earthwork between the federal state and the existing state could lead to their structure there. “I know some counties have introduced us and asked us to send them their waste,” but he agreed with Chang about the need to send the waste to landfills.
After a break, the issue of groundwater is discussed.
Trego said the state Department of Water Resources had “reversed its strategy” and testified at a recent town hall in Bend opposing new regulations that may hamper cities’ ability to cope with sprawl. He said 80% of surface water is diverted into the region. It would only be necessary for reasons of expansion. Agriculture and that it is essential to help farmers and ranchers conserve water and be able to share it by renting or selling it without wasting their rights.
Chang, a “trained water resources professional,” noted the need for channeling, but said groundwater is a “completely different story,” where “the main users are households, businesses and cities. “
And with “at least 200” domestic wells drying up in just 3 years, the state will have to stop granting entry permits without knowing if the groundwater is there. But he added that the state now “uses an axe, whenever it wants. “”A scalpel. He said groundwater would continue to decline even if the new accesses were removed, and that the real key was conservation.
Imhoff said, “The first thing we want to do is reject the narrative of fear. He spoke of the emphasis on helping other people drill in ways that are not consistent with wells and the fact that confluences with trees use 50 to 70 gallons of water per day: “There is a direct correlation between bonding and reducing and expanding surface and groundwater flow. Hunter agreed that they want to find water-saving tactics.
Then came the discussion of Measure 110, and Chang was the first to talk about further disruption and hope that the new “special crimes” and diversion systems evolved across many county departments, adding that the sheriff’s workplace and behavioral health “will push other people toward treatment. “
While Chang said he was looking for the county to adhere to the policy proposal of prosecutors, sheriffs, police chiefs and cities, “my fellow commissioners were looking for something different. “
Imhoff, for his part, said, “I think it was a mistake” that Chang didn’t join his colleagues in pointing to the fentanyl state of emergency. He said the courts wish they could impose treatment: “Many won’t admit (their addiction) until they touch their butts. They’ve got to find that ass in court. . . As long as other people don’t want to change, they won’t.
Huntamer, who has worked as an addiction counselor, echoed those sentiments: “It’s hard to just advise them to stop. They’ll have to need it. . . Array. . . I also believe that incarceration in the early stages of its remedy is important.
Trego said, “Our county jail is ultimately the first line of treatment” and expressed considerations about the stability of funding, also stating that it has replaced his brain and now believes marijuana “is a gateway drug. “We are in crisis.
A candidate will have to get more than 50% of the vote on May 21 to win the four-year term. Otherwise, the two most sensible electors will qualify for the autumn elections.
Barney is the director of digital content for NewsChannel 21. Learn more about Barney here.
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