Meet the Candidates, Wasco County May 2022 Election
Wasco County Special Election Ballots begin arriving in mailboxes soon!
With 7 races and 15 candidates to research, there is much to weigh before the election on May 17th.
But just because we’re not voting in a new president … don’t think this election doesn’t matter.
At times, these leaders hold immense power and are able to put our communities on the path to success or failure.
To help you select our future community leaders, CCCNews has reached out local candidates to get the inside scoop on who is best suited to serve our communities. In the interest of fairness, all candidates were given an equal opportunity to respond via email or in equally timed interviews. We also provided them a courtesy phone call, reminding them of our request. If information comes in after the deadline, we will update this story with their profiles. In those cases, we have given those folks a placeholder.
We have made your work easier by breaking up the races into user-friendly categories below. Simply find the race you’re interested in and start clicking candidate photos to read more about them.
Election Deadlines
April 27th, 2022 Main ballot mailing
May 17th, 2022 ELECTION DAY (Ballots Due by 8 PM) The County office will be open from 7 am to 8 pm.
May 20, 2022 Interim results that include postmarked ballots will be posted
June 7, 2022 Last day to resolve ballot challenges
State Senator, 26th District, Pay $33,000
State Representative, 52nd District, Pay about $33,000
Judge of the Circuit Court, 7th District, Pay $142,000
Wasco County Commissioners, Position 1, Pay $47,680
This is the main election for the position because it is a nonpartisan. Voters in Wasco County will decide between incumbent Scott Hege and Challenger Cynthia Bearss.
Wasco County Commissioner, Position 3, Pay $47,680
This is the main election for the position because it is a nonpartisan. Voters in Wasco County will decide between Phil Brady and Rod Runyon as current County Commissioner Kathy Scwartz is not running for re-election.
State Senator, 26th District
Raz Mason, Democrat, State Senator 26th District
Age: 52
What skills, education, qualifications, experience do you bring relevant to this position?
Senate District 26 is the “Mt. Hood District,” which now includes The Dalles, goes west through all of Hood River County, and takes in large parts of eastern Multnomah and Clackamas Counties. It’s a rural district, so it might be surprising to learn Republicans have only a 1% advantage in numbers. There is a real chance I, as the only Democrat in the race, will be elected. That’s important because in this district we are especially vulnerable to the effects of climate change - drought, heat waves, wildfires. We need to transition our lifestyles and businesses to remove or use less carbon - for the sake of younger generations and resilient natural systems. I’ve led a climate change education foundation. I’ve worked as a chaplain to veterans and in two domestic abuse shelters. I’m an educator who’s taught in The Dalles and Hood River - we face big, complex challenges that require ongoing learning. More about my background and approach is at MasonforOregon.com.
I have faced and overcome many challenges, and can help the people of this district do the same. We'll benefit from becoming more energy independent and sharing in well-paying jobs based on innovative technologies and sustainable practices. I want this district to lead, rather than follow.
Tell us something about yourself, relevant to this position, that most people might not know about you.
Earlier in my career I was a long-haul truck driver. I’ve worked hard for a living. Even today, I miss the no-nonsense talk of truck drivers as we sat in a truck stop lounge after a 14-hour workday. Respect for working people makes me committed to representing rural working people well as a legislator.
Why do you want this job?
My dad, an engineer, helped build the Boardman coal plant. I spent the happiest years of my childhood in Hermiston, where I came to love the big, wide-open of Eastern Oregon and the mountain forests. On the day we moved to Hermiston, we stopped for lunch at the restaurant in what is now the Shilo Inn. I looked out at the abandoned Indian Shaker village next to the Columbia River and was moved by the history in those buildings. That was the late '70's. I've loved The Dalles since then, and looked for a way to move back. I did in 2014.
I have the heart of a civil servant. I care about people, am deeply interested in many subjects, and want to leave the world better than I found it.
What are the 3 main concerns/issues facing Wasco County and how do you plan to address them?
Civic mistrust and anger about how difficult people’s lives have become. Much of that is because of unfair economic arrangements that make it harder for people to get by, much less get ahead. Government employees and elected leaders must do better communicating how government contributes to people’s lives, while still allowing people the dignity of work, and privacy and personal choice wherever those choices do not harm others. To address this issue I will improve the flow of information to/from government: more transparency, more inclusion of diverse voices in legislation - especially working-class and rural viewpoints.
I’m committed to bridge-building and representing ALL people in the district, not just those who vote for me. I’m a caring, reasonable Democrat who understands the importance of business (I have a math degree and have worked in businesses large and small). I’m a responsible gun owner who works in public safety. I understand and respect the diversity of our senate district.Housing is a huge issue - discussed in #5 below.
Climate change. I suspect many of us are living through grief from seeing places we love burn and are worrying about fires coming close to our homes and communities. For those of us who grew up in what looks now like a stable post-World War II period, this doesn’t seem “the way the world is supposed to be.” So, there are practical challenges, like protecting agriculture, improving forestry practices, transitioning to less polluting energy sources and abundant battery technologies, while still making sure regular people can afford transportation, healthcare, and housing.
But there is also the sense for many that the coming world looks less familiar than we expected. Some are unhelpfully responding with distrust and anger towards people who seem different and a world that is changing, leading to divisive “us” vs “them” mentalities. Sometimes we may doubt our own ability to adapt to so many changes. We may not be able to fix everything but I’ve seen the value of staying busy doing good. Despite the challenges we can be energized and inspired by the truth Margaret Mead expressed in her famous quote: “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has.”
Do you think we should allow big corporations Such as Google to continue to get property tax abatements in Oregon?
Google has/is going to pay out $3.5 million (abatement expires next year), $13.5 million, and $40 million+ for their Free Enterprise Zone projects instead of taxes. They've progressed in paying more and more. They want to stay here; they like cheap power. Google 4 is going to be worth about $120 million and is under the SIP program, where the first $100M is taxable and goes to taxing entities here. That boosts important public services. Also, for no cost to the city, they're going to seal the nearby aquifer for $3.5M, then fill the aquifer and buy the water from the city - basically boosting the city's water security.
Overall when it comes to allowing tax abatements, it really depends on the company and each needs to be evaluated independently so a community benefits much more than it loses. Both Free Enterprise Zones and SIP were statutory arrangements developed by majority-Democratic legislatures. For example in negotiating with Google, our city and county had access to the State of Oregon's best tax appraisers, lawyers, and accountants - so were in a position to demand transparency and accountability that benefited the community.
What will you do to add to housing stocks in Oregon with an eye toward affordable housing for service workers?
People who work full-time should be able to afford a place to live. Government can offer incentives and make it easier for builders and landlords to meet regulations (ex. easy-to-use online dashboards; smoother permitting), while still protecting the environment. Here are some other ways to boost housing stock:
Expand “medium zoning” housing (duplexes, triplexes); add more boarding houses and “mother-in-law” apartments.
Promote home-shares (HomeshareOregon.org) and allow on-driveway RV rentals that expand affordable housing and increase owners’ income.
Increase taxes on short-term rentals; tax empty houses.
Develop more public-private partnerships to build apartments; increase mixed-use density in our small-town downtowns (stores below, apartments above).
Overall, we need a fairer match between any rent increases and increases to people’s salaries. If salaries had kept up with increases in productivity over the past 40 years, the average worker would be making much more per hour. In that time, worker productivity has grown 3.5 times faster than pay. Where did the excess money go, if not to workers? To executive salaries and shareholder payouts (www.epi.org/productivity-pay-gap). So, in addition to having more housing choices, we need many types of wages to go up.
Visit this candidates website to learn more.
Michael J Nugent, Republican, State Senator 26th District
Age: 38
What skills, education, qualifications, experience do you bring relevant to this position?
I have a diverse professional background, one that positions me to be accountable for the wide spectrum of policies and issues necessary to effectively pass legislation. After graduating with a Political Science degree from Santa Clara University, my first job was at the NASA Ames Research Center. This experience taught me outcomes are based in process, quality assurance and accountability. NASA further grounded me in the value of public service and lit a fire that burns today. After additional graduate education I went on to become a licensed Nursing Home Administrator, running facilities in: Northwest Montana, Littleton, Colorado, as well as El Cajon and Escondido, California. This experience showed me the challenges facing our elderly and vulnerable populations and helped me develop an empathetic approach to leadership. In 2015 our family moved to Oregon, where I began working as Vice President of Operations for an innovative population health company that aspired to improve health outcomes for Medicare and Medicaid populations. Currently, I am completing my Masters in Population Health Management remotely at Johns Hopkins University. I have spent the last 18 months as the respiratory pathogen program manager at the Oregon Health Authority. I was compelled to join our public health workforce out of a sense of civic duty during the onset of the pandemic. This experience has given me a depth of understanding of the challenges and lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic. I believe in power of individual choice and have the knowledge and skills to help Oregon forge a path that protects our liberty, heath and economy that is based in honesty, consistency and accountability.
Tell us something about yourself, relevant to this position, that most people might not know about you.
I am a strong believer in the US Constitution, the Oregon Constitution and the intention of our founding fathers. It is my experience from working with and within government that nothing is more critical than a healthy system of checks and balances between branches of government. I believe that we need to trust our judicial process and that executive overreach at all levels has contributed to many of our most intractable policy problems.
Why do you want this job?
I am driven to run for State Senate in District 26 out of a sense of civic duty. I am confident that my diverse professional background and my specific government experience positions me to drive meaningful change for the constituents of District 26. I am further motivated to run out of a sense of desperation that I feel in our communities. In addition, as a beginning farmer, I know that food and fuel cost are affecting everyone. Some fields are remaining fallow at a time when we need more food production. Rising food and gas prices are real and will likely get worse. We need to suspend the gas tax and get serious about local food economies. These problems are exacerbated by policy priorities coming from Salem directed at protecting Portland Metro priorities. I believe that Oregonians need tax relief, and that constituents of District 26 deserve equal access to healthcare and resources commiserate with those in Portland. Further, I know the legislative process in Oregon well and am positioned to effectively pass legislation.
What are the 3 main concerns/issues facing Wasco County and how do you plan to address them?
Three main issues facing Wasco County include:
Housing
Home prices in Wasco County have increased by over 20% in the last year, at a rate that exceeds other parts of the state and country. Twenty-six percent of households in Wasco County are spending more than 30% of their income on housing costs. This is happening at a time when most businesses are unable to increase wages due to inflationary pressure. Further, Wasco County residents are spending more on food, gas, energy (heating fuel!). We need to think about solutions to zoning that favor new construction and encourage building through incentivization.
Inflation
Fighting the rising cost of food and gasoline is a priority. The cost of Diesel is limiting local agriculture and food is becoming more expensive quickly. Suspending the gas tax could help alleviate some of that strain.
Forest Management / Preparedness
The threat of catastrophic wildfire and drought need to be managed proactively. This requires a statewide approach that coordinates closely with our federal and local partners. Legislation that is action-oriented around protecting our communities and forests, instead of response-based measures are critical.
Do you think we should allow big corporations Such as Google to continue to get property tax abatements in Oregon?
Yes, I believe that incentivizing economic development through partnerships is good for the local economy and prosperity.
What will you do to add to housing stocks in Oregon with an eye toward affordable housing for service workers?
I believe that as a state we need to find a path to streamlining zoning, reducing fees and bureaucratic limitations to building new housing. Incentivizing construction through a favorable regulatory environment will help development the housing units needed.
Visit this candidates website to learn more.
Daniel G Bonham, Republican, State Senator 26th District
Age: 44
What skills, education, qualifications, and experience do you bring relevant to this position?
I have a bachelor’s degree in Business from Linfield College. I’ve served the past 4.5 years as State Representative for House District 59. Two of the years in office I served as Deputy House Republican Leader- taking on roles in campaign activity and leading policy efforts in the Capitol. I’m currently the Vice Chair of the Business and Labor Committee and am the Co-Chair of the Conduct Committee, and serve on the Economic Prosperity & Recovery Committee. I have also served on the following committees during my time in office: Energy & Environment, Education, Economic Development, Carbon Reduction, Early Child Development & Family Supports, Rules, and Ways & Means: General Government. I’ve gained significant experience and understanding of the state budget, policy process and have established strong relationships with my fellow legislators.
Tell us something about yourself, relevant to this position, that most people might not know about you. (What should people know about you?)
I was a student body officer when I was in school and found the experience rewarding. That experience prepared me to engage in government affairs while working as Director of Sales and Marketing at Evergreen International Aviation - advocating on behalf of our global aviation services company. My wife and I have owned a small business in The Dalles for the past 15 years offering quality and affordable home hearing options for residence of the gorge and beyond.
Why do you want this job?
I grew up in Oregon, and this state has provided me everything I love. I met my wife at Linfield College, we’ve raised our kids here, we run our business, attend church and engage in our community, and explore the natural beauty of this land. Oregon has always been a state that has embraced a balanced approach to its policy making. Lately though, our state has taken a hyper-partisan approach in the legislature - resulting in a detrimental impact on the lives of Oregonians. I’m running for Senate District 26 to continue the quest to restore balance to the process and put Oregonians above a partisan political agenda.
What are the 3 main concerns/issues facing your district and how do you plan to address them?
Economic Recovery
Policies imposed by the legislature under one-party rule have disincentivized small business development, and have motivated people to move to other states. We have to change this trajectory immediately. If not, Oregon will continue falling behind, even when the US economy begins to rebound.
Rule of Law/Justice
Decriminalizing drug use, removing police officers' ability to enforce traffic offenses, and our Governor commuting sentences of violent criminals has led to only more crime and increased the number of people living on the streets. We need to return authority and invest in our law enforcement community.
Affordability/Inflation
The state has already played a detrimental role in the current market. Increased taxation in the form of regulation, licensing, fees and direct taxes- specifically the CAT- the Oregon legislature has made life significantly more expensive. We need to roll back the burden on tax payers and limit the size and scope of government.
Do you think we should allow big corporations such as Google to continue to get property tax abatements in Oregon? Does there need to be changes to the Business Oregon system, abolition or what?
In terms of economic development - Oregon’s enterprise zones have been one tool that has relatively worked. The fee en lieu of tax structure has allowed local jurisdictions to negotiate investment in the community during the early years of the tax abatement. This program in particular has been utilized with success, but as with any economic development incentive - it ought to be reviewed and evaluated every Legislative session to ensure the results meet the expectations.
What will you do to add to housing stocks in Oregon with an eye toward affordable housing for service workers?
Again, we need to examine the role the state has already played in the current housing market. By restricting developable land and stacking layers of taxation - in the form of regulation, licensing, and development fees- government has made building houses expensive. Everyone wants more affordable housing- it's a non-partisan issue. I think the quickest and most effective method of easing the cost burden on the local market is to remove some of the state’s barriers to access and taxation. Oregon ought to offer tax incentives for workforce housing. Ultimately, we need a combination of public and private sector solutions.
Click here for his website.
Steve Bates, Republican, State Senator 26th District
Age: 69
What skills, education, qualifications, and experience do you bring relevant to this position?
I am running for Senate District 26 at the urging of Retired Senator Alan Olsen. Senator Olsen and I worked on several bills together. Most of them benefited our military veterans. Senator Olsen has said I can do the job better than most.
Tell us something about yourself, relevant to this position, that most people might not know about you. I have been active with the state legislature over the past 10 years as a citizen lobbyist. Almost 20 pieces of legislation have been introduced at my request by various legislators and committees with over half of them passing in a bi-partisan fashion.
Why do you want this job? (Tip: Make it personal, tell a good story: What is your personal connection/interest in your district/running for office?)
I have been a community leader in Boring for a dozen years. I have done a lot for my community and as I look at the other communities in District 26, I see a need for a community-minded legislator to stand for the issues that are important for each of our communities. Each community has different needs and issues. I intend to look for solutions that are not a one size fits all approach which has been a common approach by our state government.
What are the 3 main concerns/issues facing your district and how do you plan to address them?
There are more than three main issues, so, this list is not all-inclusive: A. For Clackamas County, the biggest issue is traffic congestion. I intend to work with ODOT and other legislatures to seek solutions to this problem that steals time from people and causes more pollution. B. Affordable housing is a big issue for all four counties in District 26. However, it is also a complicated one that requires a coalition approach. I will look to establish a coalition that will work on this issue. C. For Hood River and Wasco counties, we need to look for additional ways to increase tourism and create more family-wage jobs. As your Senator, I would be looking for ways the legislature can pursue policies that would help accomplish these goals.
Do you think we should allow big corporations such as Google to continue to get property tax abatements in Oregon?
I have never been in favor of government subsidies. After all, subsidies are basically our elected officials giving our tax money away. The corporate tax system is out of balance in Oregon. Intel and Google are exempted from various taxes, while our small businesses around Oregon are not exempted from any of them. We need tax reform, but this can only be accomplished if we have a legislature that is willing to work together. Again, a coalition approach is required. I am willing to pursue such an approach.
Click here for his website.
State Representative, 52nd District
Darcy Long, Democrat, State Representative 52nd District
Age: 51
What skills, education, qualifications, experience do you bring relevant to this position?
I’m on The Dalles City Council. I’ve served for six years, and I’ve learned a lot working for a non-partisan office. I have also been working for a number of years to establish relationships in the legislature and make connections with legislators across the state.
I’m also chair of the Urban Renewal Agency, which has given me experience managing tax dollars and taught me a lot about managing people representing multiple agencies and interests and how to make sure we get good return on our investments.
And I definitely have experience representing rural Oregon to people who are from the western half of the state and think differently than we do on many issues, and I have good working relationships with them and the ability to communicate with them about the unique strengths and struggles specific to rural Oregon.
Tell us something about yourself, relevant to this position, that most people might not know about you.
I think something people might not know about me is that I’m very passionate about the work due to the fact that I have a son with autism. And so many of the services he needs are affected by decisions that happen at the state level. The experience of being a mom of a son with special needs has taught me that a lot of state issues are deeply personal to many individuals seeking services. I’ve seen the many holes and gaps in service that need to be addressed, which has really driven me to get involved in government and try and make things better. I believe the government needs to do a better job of serving our families and our communities and making sure their needs are being met.
Why do you want this job?
I want this job because I think it’s the most efficient way to help a lot of people at the same time. And that’s really why I am involved in government and want to continue to be involved in government– because I want to make people’s lives better. I want to take the experience, abilities, passion and empathy that I have and use that to do more for the people in my district. People complain all the time about politics and politicians being self-serving, and I think we need more leaders in government who focus on serving and helping others. I will make things different because my focus is on helping people.
What are the 3 main concerns/issues facing Wasco County and how do you plan to address them?
Well my district actually encompasses western half of Wasco County, all of Hood River County, and parts of rural Multnomah and Clackamas County.
All of those districts are facing the same issues of a lack of affordable housing, homelessness, and lack of adequate mental health services.
I see all three of those issues as needing to be addressed at the state level, and those problems are bigger than any small city or rural area can deal with on their own. So, I see some need for changes in the law at the state level and increased funding for rural areas.
And there needs to be more debate at the state level about these issues, and what I’m hoping to be able to bring to those debates is the rural perspective because the reality is a lot of decisions have been made along party lines, for better or worse, and as I am a member of the current majority party I have their ear. So, I will be able to champion our needs at the state level.
It’s going to be more expensive per person to serve people in a rural area just because you don’t have the economy of scale that you have in a big city. We often don’t have the same resources as urban areas. In Portland, they took over hotels to house homeless people during the pandemic, but in our area, we didn’t have that same access to hotel stays. The state put up money to buy old hotels for shelter, but we didn’t even have one to buy in our area, so we were excluded from that possibility right from the beginning.
Right now we have a state-wide shortage of opportunity for people to enter mental and behavioral health treatment. People with mental health and addiction issues are present in every demographic; this is something that affects lots of people regardless of race, gender, sexuality, housing status, and income level, and it needs to be addressed. If more people who desired treatment could actually access it, I believe that would reduce our homeless population as well as reduce mental health calls received by law enforcement agencies. It would also help people maintain employment and housing.
What I’ve learned from my experience of working with our homeless population is that having help available when they’re ready for it makes all the difference.
Do you think we should allow big corporations such as Google to continue to get property tax abatements in Oregon?
Under certain circumstances it makes sense to allow big corporations to receive tax abatements but each opportunity needs to be considered on a case by case basis. It makes sense to incentivize companies to do business here through the use of tax abatements because it creates jobs, sets minimum salaries, and compensation standards that benefit employees in our area.
What will you do to add to housing stocks in Oregon with an eye toward affordable housing for service workers?
I think we need to continue to work with the local housing authority. They bring in resources from the federal and sometimes state level and are the experts in how to put together projects like this. But we can also work with local developers on creating a public-private partnership to increase affordable housing stock and, of course, what that looks like is going to be different for every community.
Britt Storkson, State Representative, District 52
Age: 67
What skills, education, qualifications, experience do you bring relevant to this position?
Earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Park (State, National and Local parks and facilities like golf courses). Current occupation: Computer controls developer and consultant. After losing my property to a government “taking,” I did considerable research into the laws governing property rights and the practical applications of such laws.
Tell us something about yourself, relevant to this position, that most people might not know about you.
I became much more interested in government when I went to work one day and returned to find power lines strung across my property. No easement, no permissions, no court order, nothing like that. And this government agency, the power company Wasco Electric Co-operative, refused to remove those power lines. To make sure that this scenario never happened again, it was suggested that I run for a seat on the board of Wasco Electric. For this, I was defamed, threatened, doxed, fined $1,800 and threatened with jail time. So far, about $250,000.00 in tax money has been used in an effort to “cancel” me.
Why do you want this job?
This is not the country most of us want. One definition of Tyranny is the ability of the ruling elites to take anything they want from you and do anything they want to you without consequence (for the ruling elites).
Our government is trending toward governing by threats and fear instead of governing as public servants and this must stop. This is not the country most of us want where the ruling elites own and run everything and the rest of us are locked into “just getting by”.
One cannot “pull themselves up by their own bootstraps” because the opportunity just isn’t there. Everything favors the ruling elites at the expense of the average citizen. I’ve appealed to several lawmakers about this issue, and it goes nowhere because they are getting money to make sure nothing changes.
What are the 3 main concerns/issues facing Wasco County and how do you plan to address them?
1. Convoluted tax policies that result in many empty buildings in downtown The Dalles. While I’m normally not in favor of government intervention, I do think that property owners should keep their properties occupied/maintained instead of allowing them to become a public nuisance.
2. If we’re going to have a tax, fee or regulation, it should be the same for everybody. No getting a “sweet deal” because one “knows someone” or has “connections”. That’s what third-world countries do. Rate schedules should be legally binding and any variance should require a vote of the people.
3. The Dalles has much to offer in regards to tourism, and that hasn’t been fully explored.
Do you think we should allow big corporations Such as Google to continue to get property tax abatements in Oregon?
There shouldn’t be “different strokes for different folks” anywhere in government. If private companies want to offer “discount prices” to their customers that’s fine, but public agencies have no business making “sweet deals”.
What will you do to add to housing stocks in Oregon with an eye toward affordable housing for service workers?
Regulation is a form of taxation, and if we reduce or remove regulation it would become more profitable to build affordable housing and the problem would take care of itself.
Visit this candidate’s website to learn more.
Jeff Helfrich, Republican, State Representative 52nd District
No information was available on this candidate at the time of publishing.
CCC News has reached out for more info but hasn’t received anything from this candidate yet.
Information on candidates will be uploaded to this story as we receive it.
Thank you for your patience.
Click here for his website.
James Born, Republican, State Representative 52nd District
No information was available on this candidate at the time of publishing.
CCC News has reached out for more info but hasn’t received anything from this candidate yet.
Information on candidates will be uploaded to this story as we receive it.
Thank you for your patience.
Click here for his website.
Judge of the Circuit Court, Position 2 / uncontested
This position is currently held by Judge Janet Stauffer. Stauffer has announced her retirement. Her term ends Dec. 31, 2022.
Marion T Weatherford, Judge of the Circuit Court, 7th District, Position 2
No information was available on this candidate at the time of publishing.
CCC News has reached out for more info but hasn’t received anything from this candidate yet.
Information on candidates will be uploaded to this story as we receive it.
Thank you for your patience.
Visit this candidates website to learn more.
Judge of the Circuit Court 7, Position 3
Incumbent, John A Wolf, Judge of the Circuit Court, Position 4
Age: 51
Visit this candidate’s website to learn more.
What skills, education, qualifications, experience do you bring that are applicable to being a circuit court judge?
I practiced law for 15 years representing clients in a wide variety of cases (family law, personal injury, criminal defense, property disputes, contract disputes, probate matters, landlord/tenant, protective orders, guardianships/conservatorships and others). I have done defense and plaintiffs’ work.
During that same time, I served as pro tem municipal court judge in The Dalles and presided over traffic tickets and misdemeanor criminal cases.
I have served as Circuit Court Judge for 11 years and have presided over cases in all five of the district's counties ranging from a multi-million-dollar class actions suit to serious felony criminal matters to small claims and traffic tickets. So, I’ve handled almost every kind of case you can think of. That includes family law matters, protective orders, probate matters, juvenile matters, personal injury cases, landlord/tenant cases and others. I have conducted judicial settlement conferences in a multitude of cases and helped parties resolve their cases short of going to trial.
And I’ve helped resolve a ton of cases. In the last five years, I have presided over nearly 700 trials. So that’s an average of 140 cases a year and so if you extend that average over my full-time on the bench it’s probably over 1,500 cases, and that doesn’t include anything I handled while working as an attorney and pro tem judge.
I have the experience, the knowledge, the temperament, and a proven track record to continue to serve our communities as a circuit court judge.
Tell us something about yourself, relevant to this position, that most people might not know about you.
I am a pretty open book and a known element I think, in terms of things relevant to the position. I don't think most people know I served on the Council for Court Procedure for about 7 years. The Council is an Oregon public body made up of lawyers and judges that is involved in creating, reviewing, and amending the Oregon Rules of Civil Procedure that govern procedure and practice in all Oregon circuit courts. In fact, those rules, are incorporated into the Oregon Revised Statutes and are Oregon Law.
People probably also don't know I interned in the state legislature, in college, so I got to follow several bills through the process of becoming a law. Having some insight into that process does help when it comes to interpreting laws.
The other thing people might not know about me is my personal take on the place the justice system has in society. To me justice is really the bedrock of society. People have to have a place where they can go to get their disputes resolved because if not you end up in chaos like the old wild west. If you don’t think our society as a system can work as well as it does without that, even as flawed as it is. I think it’s a crucial part of our system. So you end up with a civilized society instead of beating each other over the head with clubs to solve their disputes. If you have a landlord and a tenant and they don’t have a way to come to court to resolve their dispute, it’s really easy to imagine how that could escalate into a very bad situation.
Why do you want this job?
Well, I absolutely I love the job. It is rewarding even though it can be incredibly challenging at times. It provides the opportunity to use my legal training and experience to help people resolve their differences and let gives me a chance to make a positive impact on the community. I was born and raised in The Dalles and this position provides a way for me to give back to the communities that have supported me.
What are the 3 main challenges/issues facing the 7th District Circuit Court and how do you plan to address them?
First, I think it is important to remember the judiciary's role is not to make policy decisions those come from the legislative and executive branch and from the voters through the initiative process. It is the judicial branch's job to make sure those policy decisions stay within constitutional guidelines, and they are applied as intended. That said there are somethings we can do within those confines to address challenges or issues within our district.
1. Access to Justice
There are a significant number of people who come to court without an attorney. In family law cases somewhere between 70-85% (depending on the study) of cases involve unrepresentative parties. In eviction cases, most parties are not represented, and those cases can be complex and technical. The process is challenging for non-lawyers to navigate and while we have made steps in the right direction it is still difficult and hiring an attorney is just getting more expensive. We have developed more forms, including some that guide a party through completing them like TubroTax. We have a family law coordinator in our district who can also help self-represented parties with forms in family law matters. The legislature recently passed some legislation to clarify their authority and that should enable them to provide additional assistance. The state bar is pursuing a program to license paralegals to provide limited assistance to parties in family law and eviction cases, which should help as well. And we provide interpreters for folks who need an interpreter. We need to continue to take steps like those and to encourage and help others to make it easier for people to get to court, get the assistance they need, and to successfully resolve their cases.
2. Substance Abuse Treatment / Family Treatment Court
There is little doubt that substance abuse is a significant issue that impacts many different case types. With the change in Oregon's drug laws, it became more difficult to find candidates for some of our treatment courts. I would like to see us transition our family dependency court into a family treatment court. The change would eliminate the requirement that a participant has a criminal case pending and focus on parents with open juvenile dependency cases. That change would open up those resources to a much larger group of people and would likely help resolve those cases more quickly. There is some grant money available to assist us in making that change. We also need to continue to advocate for more resources to address substance abuse.
3. Mental health
Mental health is another area like substance abuse that we don't have sufficient resources to adequately address. But we can within our ethical limits support projects like the Columbia Gorge Resolution Center, which a variety of local agencies are working to set up to help provide a one-stop center of sorts to help address the multitude of issues that challenge folks with serious mental health and substance abuse issues.
Oregon's Supreme Court chief justice wants government leaders to come together to address systemic issues driving the state's deepening public defense crisis and state-wide shortage of public defenders that has led to many case dismissals because the state has not been able to provide criminal defendants with attorneys. Has there been a shortage of public defenders in our district?
Fortunately, we have not seen the same issues that have been seen in other places in the state because we have been able to keep our courts operating through COVID. So, we don't have a backlog of cases, where other courts had a much more difficult time.
We have seen some difficulties in complex juvenile dependency cases as a result of just needing more attorneys than we have available and ultimately needing to reach beyond our usual pool of attorneys, but that has mostly resulted in delays in getting counsel appointed not in any kind of dismissal.
That said; it is critical and constitutionally required for people to have access to defense counsel when they are facing criminal charges, and we need to work to ensure they are able to around the state not just in our district. As you mentioned this is a priority for the Chief Justice, and it needs to be a priority for the state.
What longer-term changes to our public defense and public safety systems would make for a stronger and more effective 7th District Circuit Court?
That is more of a legislative and executive branch decision, but additional resources toward treatment of substance abuse and mental health issues would likely go a long way to helping the communities in the 7th Judicial District. We can order people to get treatment, but if the resources are not available, they can't get it done.
As far as the public defense side of things, we need to take steps to ensure the problems they are seeing in some areas of the state don't spread to our area. We can do that by following the Chief Justice's lead and making it a priority. That means helping where we can encourage the legislature to adequately fund public defense, and we also need to help recruit attorneys to work in those positions.
You've been a Judge for 12 years. For ten years you've had conflict of interest which has rendered you unable to hear criminal matters in Wasco County. You now also have a conflict of interest in Hood River, and will have a conflict in Gilliam starting in 2023. How have these conflicts of interests impacted the district?
It hasn't impacted the district in a way that has affected people involved in the court system. We don't have a backlog of cases, and no one is being denied their day in court. We have four judges who are elected to serve all five counties in the district.
If you look at last year, I had 26% of the total time in the courtroom and Judge Stauffer had 25%. The remainder was split up between the two judges who are based primarily in Hood River. If we were splitting the caseload in a different fashion, we would still have about the same amount of time in the courtroom.
We have a significant number of non-criminal cases filed within the district that need to be heard. In the last five years (2017-2021) I presided over nearly 700 trials in all case types and Judge Stauffer presided over 125 trials. The impact is mostly internal scheduling as I don't just cover Judge Stauffer's cases. If she is out and we make other arrangements, either one of the other two judges or what we call a plan B judge who are retired judges who have agreed to work for 35 days a year for five years as part of their retirement benefit. It does not impact the general public as their cases are getting heard and resolved in an orderly fashion.
Caleb M Berthelsen, Judge of the Circuit Court, Position 4
Age: 36
What skills, education, qualifications, experience do you bring that are applicable to being a circuit court judge?
Well, I'm a former prosecutor; I'm a criminal defense attorney.
I have been practicing here in The Dalles since January of 2020. Before that, I briefly worked at the Polk County District Attorney's Office as a deputy. Then I clerked at the Marion County District Attorney's Office, the Oregon Department of Justice and the Marion County District Attorney’s Office. And before all the law schooling and everything, I did five years in the US Navy as a sonar technician, and then I did a tour in Guantanamo Bay Cuba. So, good times.
Tell us something about yourself, relevant to this position, that most people might not know about you.
I didn’t go straight into law school. I didn’t go straight through from kindergarten to law school, so it’s not like the only thing I’ve ever done was be a lawyer. I served on nuclear submarines. I did the tour in Guantanamo. And once I got out, I had a couple of years transitioning back into civilian life, and then I got a bachelor’s degree. And I had the standard kind of graduate student jobs for a couple years. Then I went and studied at a Master’s program in Northern Illinois University and studied sociology. Then I decided that wasn’t quite right for me and transitioned into law school.
When I got into law school I spent more time sitting in a courtroom than I did in a classroom because I made the conscious decision that I could either be a really good student or a really good lawyer. And I didn't care so much about grades. I wanted to be a really good lawyer. So, I went and I watched all the trials I could. And I clerked for a judge doing research and stuff. And it really gave me a good handle on how things work in the courtroom.
Then I went and did Child Support Enforcement in Polk County for a little bit before coming up here. And now I handle a caseload that includes a little bit of everything from DUIs all the way up to major Measure 11 crimes. I’ve got several robberies, a few sex abuse cases, and an assault 2 that was a prison stabbing. I handle a wide variety of cases. So, I have experience working a wide variety of cases, with the majority of them being criminal cases which is the bulk of what the court does.
And I have an interesting perspective, being from both the prosecution and defense side. Because, you know, I've sat in a room with both the victims of a brutal assault, as a prosecutor, and then on the flip side of that, as the person in the room defending the guy who committed the crime, and it gives me an interesting take on justice.
My real passion has been juvenile justice since I first started law school, and I've been a passionate advocate for it. There's a lot of places that let traffic crimes be charged in adult court if the person is 16 or up. It was one of the first things that I challenged when I started working here as a defender. And I had a very successful case where I actually got it relayed back to juvenile court.
There’s a reason we have a juvenile system, and we don’t need to try them as an adult just because they can drive a car.
Why do you want this job?
Well, I’ll tell you, I love the law. I really do. I was absolutely passionate about it from the moment I started law school. I love the law, every aspect of it. Being a lawyer is amazing, but the one downside is that you kind of have to practice one area of law and become an expert in that area. But as a judge, you get to touch on every area of law. You get to do the criminal stuff. You get to do the civil stuff. You get to do the juvenile work, and it gives you a broader understanding of the law. And with my passion for the law, it’s just not enough for me to just focus on one area of law. So, I want to be a judge.
But the main reason I’m running for this judge position right now is that we have a huge division of labor problem in our judiciary, and somebody needs to fix it.
What are the 3 main challenges/issues facing the 7th District Circuit Court, and how do you plan to address them?
Rebalancing the Workload Amongst Circuit Court Judges
At the very least, people should know what they're paying for when it comes to Judge Wolf. We have two sitting charges in Wasco County, one of which can't judge criminal matters, and that is unfair to the County, and it needs to change.
It used to be Judge Wolf would go over to Hood River for a week, and one of those judges would come over here, and while that was a logistical nightmare for the staff, from what I’m told, it still kind of worked, but now that he can't even do that.
Essentially it means we have one judge here in Wasco County who has to do two-thirds of the workload while the other judge does next to nothing. I think the case count this week, when I checked, was 116 cases for Judge Stauffer, and that includes a three-day trial, and Judge Wolf has 26 or 32 cases; I can’t remember the exact number off the top of my head, but 16 were traffic tickets.
It's a hugely disproportionate number of cases per judge. And the primary thing I can do is I can fix that.
If I can get in, we can rebalance the cases, and everybody can have a fair caseload, and everybody can get to act as a true circuit court judge rather than being what Judge Stauffers been for the past eleven years, which is hearing nothing but criminal matters all the time.
Overall it's not a bad circuit it’s just got a clog on the Wasco County side of things.
Starting Up a Juvenile Treatment Court and a Veterans Treatment Court.
We're starting up specialty courts, like drug court, mental health court, and treatment court, and that's great. But there are other ones we can be doing if we had the manpower to do it. And the courts that I would like to bring to the table are a Juvenile Treatment Court for juveniles with drug problems and mental health problems and a Veterans Treatment Court for individuals who've served their country and are having difficulties with transitioning back to civilian life. These specialty treatment courts can help reduce crime. And those are programs that I've seen more in Marion County specifically and in varying programs. But again, we can't do that with the workforce we have right now.
Ensuring the Enforcement of People’s Constitutional Rights
In general, especially on the criminal side, it gets questionable as to whether stuff is done right simply because of the amount of work one judge has to do and because of the delays in court proceedings due to the disproportionate workload. When you’re hearing 100 cases in one day like Judge Stauffer sometimes does, you can't have this long-winded colloquially with fifty people who want to plead guilty on a single day. But if we had more than one judge, we could split that workload, and we could make sure it’s being done right. It’s about making sure people’s constitutional rights are truly enforced.
I don’t want to knock Judge Stauffer, she does an amazing job, but there’s things we can do differently if I’m elected. For instance, we could have settlement conferences again.
What’s a settlement conference?
Let’s just say you have somebody that broke into your house; they damaged some of your property; stole some of your things, and they’re caught. Then the case has been dragging on for six months or maybe a year as the defense is doing their investigation. And then it comes down to the day they finally have to enter a plea. And the defense says, your honor, we’ve been going back and forth with the state. So, we think we’re close to a resolution, and we’d like to do a settlement conference. There’s three reasons they might want to have a settlement conference: they think they can get a better deal for their client, or they’ve done everything in their power to tell this client that a jury is going to find them guilty and maybe they just need the judge to tell them that in order for them to believe it, or there is some kind of breakdown between the defense and the prosecution, and they just need somebody to broker the deal.
When a judge does the settlement conference they're completely conflicted off that case. Because part of the deal is you can speak completely openly with that judge. The defendant could spill their guts to that judge like they do to their own lawyer. So, because now that judge has all that information, they can't be involved in the case anymore.
So, if we were to do settlement conferences here, Judge Stauffer would not be able to judge the case, and then a Hood River judge would have to do it, which doesn’t always work. So right now, the answer is sorry, we can't do that right now.
Back to the burglary, it might be this guy that just needs a judge to tell him that the evidence is, like, way against you; they caught you on camera. And you're gonna be convicted. You're gonna do tons of time, and when he hears it from a judge, he’ll plead guilty.
And what that can do is prevent a lot of extra trauma of testifying and cross-examining the victim, etc.
It’s a big thing if you're the person that has to come in and testify. It’s a tough thing to have a victim on the stand and have them relive that trauma. Because like I said the defense attorney’s job is not to be nice. It’s a defense attorney’s job to zealously represent their clients. But all that can be avoided by having a settlement conference.
Oregon’s Supreme Court chief justice wants government leaders to come together to address systemic issues driving the state’s deepening public defense crisis and state-wide shortage of public defenders that has led to many case dismissals because the state has not been able to provide criminal defendants with attorneys. Has there been a shortage of public defenders in our district?
No. In fact, several of the Measure 11 cases I have are in Marion County. So, we’re actually trying to be a part of the solution to that problem. I personally picked up six cases, major felonies, out of Marion County. I’ve still got three on my caseload.
But, every month I get an email from the state public defender services with the list of people that are still awaiting a lawyer. And every Monday, it has more and more cases highlighted in yellow, and what that means is this person has been sitting in custody without a lawyer for 60 days or more. But it’s really a problem that the legislature has to address.
What longer-term changes to our public defense and public safety systems would make for a stronger and more effective 7th District Circuit Court?
We’ve already touched on the big one for me which is keeping youth in juvenile courts. People want the judge the say they're going to be tough on crime. But it's one of those things where when you ask people what that means, sometimes they don't really have an answer for it. So, if we want to fix the problem with our public defense, if we want to fix the problem with crime in general, we need to address the underlying causes.
If we can address the root causes of why people are committing crimes that reduces crime overall, which will reduce the need for court and the backlog in the criminal defense system. And I think treatment courts are a great way of doing that because rather than sticking it to somebody who got caught with three ounces of methamphetamine, say, (which is still a criminal amount, that the amount hasn't been reduced for violation) put them in a treatment court get them into drug and alcohol treatment, make them do a mental health evaluation, find out if there’s something else going on there. Then you get them off the street, clean them again, get them on medication, and get them into housing. They stop committing crimes, and then that’s one less person that the defense service has to worry about.
Same with veterans, PTSD can make you do some crazy things. And I've seen it some of my cases where you get the person who needs a treatment program; you get them some medication; you get them some counseling; you get them stable; you help them with that transition into being a civilian, and then the problem goes away. And you never see them in the system again, reducing the number of people that need a public defender.
The best thing we can do from the bench is try and get people into treatment for whatever is causing them to commit crimes. But, on the other hand, there are people that are never going to do that and are just going to keep committing crimes. And that's a problem that really needs to be addressed by the legislature. Do we go the hard-on-crime route that we do right now with things like Measure 11 and the repeat property offender law? I don't know how effective that is. And I'm inclined to think it's probably not as effective as most people think it is. Because when people commit crime, they don't think about the consequences. They think they’re gonna get away with it.
But that's a problem for the legislature. As a judge, you impose those penalties as is required by the law. Judges aren’t legislatures; we can't make law. We can't ignore law that we don't like. And that's my stance on that.
For ten years, Judge Wolf has held a conflict of interest which has rendered him unable to hear criminal matters in Wasco, Hood River, and now potentially Gilliam as well starting in 2023. So how have these conflicts of interests impacted the district?
Well for one, you have a judge doing a hundred plus cases a week. While the other does between 15 and 40. And it really is one of those things where it's kind of a boon to defense attorneys. Knowing that Judge Wolf can't do criminal cases because we know all of our criminal stuff in Wasco County is going to be in front of Judge Stauffer.
We also know the district attorney in Wasco County has only one criminal judge to work with - meaning an attorney can create delays and drag stuff out. And at the end of day, a lot of defense attorneys end up getting a really good deal for our clients because the DA just needs to get it off the table.
A lot of the impact is that it takes longer for people to face justice in some cases. And it also means that if Judge Stauffer has a conflict, we literally have to deal with a judge and a prosecutor and a defense attorney in Hood River because we can’t go to Wolf. I had a case recently where Stauffer had a conflict and couldn’t judge the case. This means Judge Ostre has to come over here, or we have to do video, or at one point we all had to go over to Hood River. It just becomes a logistical nightmare.
Judge Stuaffer took Monday off two weeks ago or a week ago, and Judge Olson had to drive all the way out to Wasco County just to sit the Monday morning docket. And it's just problematic. It costs time, and it costs money that it shouldn't.
We have two judges in Wasco County and two judges in Hood River for a reason. They should all four be doing their full job, not having one at the Hood River judges having to cover for other county judges because the other Wasco County judge can’t do their job. It just bogs things down. It's an unfair distribution of caseload.
And for me, with my background, I've worked in small groups of people where everybody has to do their part, and everybody has to watch everybody's back. And I just look at this situation we have right now, and it's just wrong.
It's vastly unjust. I was actually really surprised with how many people actually agree with that fact, but at the same time, just don't want to ruffle feathers. But what it comes down to is it's not just. This isn't justice for anybody but especially not for victims of crimes. They shouldn't have to wait nine months to start getting restitution just because it gets dragged out.
So, in recent cases, you have the guy who steals a case of beer from Safeway, and it takes six months just to get restitution to Safeway because there's only one judge. And then you have one where a drunk driver knocked a house off the foundation, and the case is six to nine months old, and these people are living in a hotel and a rental property because they're waiting for this case to resolve to figure out how it’s going to pay to fix their house. Misdemeanor cases shouldn't be a year old, and a lot of them are right now. It’s not fair to anyone, and that’s the big impact of Judge Wolf not doing this job.
I mean, at the end of the day, this is a pretty cut and dry issue. The voters have two choices.
I can't hold a candle to Judge Wolf in experience. He's been a lawyer longer. He's been a judge. He's lived in this community longer. But at the same time, we're paying him an exorbitant salary to do a third of the job that he was hired to do. A judge makes around $150,000 a year. And I really don't care if it's $20,000 or $200,000; no one should hold a position of public trust that they can't perform in it’s entirety.
And it's unfortunate that Judge Wolf can't, but he can't, and he shouldn't have the job any longer.
To run against a judge who’s already been elected to two terms, as far as I can tell, is basically unheard of. It’s really something that doesn’t happen.
But if he didn't have these conflicts, if his wife hadn't gotten tangled in all of these problems and created these conflicts of interests, I wouldn’t be here. I wouldn’t be doing this. So, it's an unusual thing, but there's a reason for it. Nobody wants to take on a sitting judge, and the state has almost designed it so it’s impossible. It’s designed to keep judges in power. But sometimes, somebody just has to stand up and say this is not right, and I’m going to do something about it. And I’ve always been someone to stand up and say this isn’t right and I’m going to fight it.
Sometimes I win, sometimes I don’t, but I’ve never regretted standing up for what’s right.
Visit this candidates website to learn more.
Wasco County Commissioner, Position 1
Scott Hege, Wasco County Commissioner, Position 1
Age: 60
What skills, education, qualifications, experience do you bring relevant to this position?
In terms of my education, I have a degree in mechanical engineering.
I'm an engineer which is a big part of what I am because I'm fairly technical in that sense. And then I have a master's in Business Administration.
From an experience standpoint, I've been in the community for a long time. I was the director of the Port of The Dalles for almost 15 years. So, I’ve been on the County staff side and the Commissioner side. As the Director of the Port, I was staff and had a commission oversee me. So, I have experience as staff responding to elected officials, and now I’ve also been in the role of being that elected official. So, I think being on both sides of that coin.
I think elected officials play a certain role in running government, and it's not necessarily the day-to-day stuff. When I was at the Port, it was very clear to me that my board set policy, and then they basically expected me to carry it out. So, that has given me a unique perspective in my role now of setting policy, and so I'm more aware of that role of setting policy because I’ve seen both sides of the coin.
And I have served three terms as a commissioner. This term would be my fourth term which would make for 12 years of commissioner experience. So, I’ve been doing this job for a while.
Tell us something about yourself, relevant to this position, that most people might not know about you.
I’ve done a lot of things in my life. But one thing that most people might not know about me, but which has been very helpful for me in this position is that I worked in the orchard industry for a while. I had a friend who had an orchard, and I ended up having some time. So, I drove tractor for him for a few years, which I think was a really good thing because obviously cherries are a big part our industry around here. All my kids worked in that industry just like many of the kids around here, but I had never done it up to that point. And I think being able to immerse myself into the Ag industry was helpful and pretty insightful. And I’ve been pretty interested in that because it’s a big part of our economy. And I enjoyed being out there with our migrant workforce, and it was pretty cool to get connected with them. So, I drove a tractor for a long time, and I was pretty good at it. I drive a tractor a lot actually even now because we live in the sticks.
Why do you want this job?
When I started I didn’t really have an interest in government. I define myself as a politician that doesn't like politics. I think politics today are worse than ever; they’re so brutal and divisive. I just think we get further when we work together, and that often we have more in common than not, but we tend to focus on the things we disagree on, which is unfortunate and not very efficient. But I’ve done some mediation work, and I’ve got a thick skin, so I think that helps.
So my interest in being a commissioner was really in figuring out how we can continue to shape government so that it is efficient. I think it is important for government to be efficient. And my interest in this job is really about making sure government is done well, is performed on behalf of citizens, is efficient and is beneficial to the community.
And quite honestly, it’s mostly fun. I enjoy a lot of what we do. In fact, I really enjoy all of what we do. I like being efficient; I like asking questions, but I will admit that what I don’t like is campaigning. I mean I haven’t met too many people that really like the campaigning side of things because it’s so public. It’s like applying for a job, and the whole community is the hiring committee, which is cool, but it’s not something I enjoy very much.
What are the 3 main concerns/issues facing Wasco County and how do you plan to address them?
The first one is sustainability of our government.
And I say that because the reason counties exist is to provide essential services for the citizens. And if we can't do that, then all of these other things, which are super important like homelessness and affordability of housing, can’t be addressed because the first thing that has to happen for us as a County is having the resources to do our jobs.
And if we don't have the resources to do our job, then it's really really difficult. When I started, you know, 12 years ago, we were in a very different financial position. We didn't have much of any financial reserves to speak of, which means we didn't have much ability to be flexible or do things.
So, I think making sure that we have a long-term sustainability and maintaining an outlook focused on that long-term sustainability is super important. And what do our finance people need to continue doing it as they are looking at financing the County 10 years out and projecting what the revenues look like and what expenses look like. And asking how those revenues and expenses relate and where are they going to cross over and, of course, is the County going to be able to maintain or is it going to have a deficit?
The second thing would be staffing.
I would say that the current workforce situation is more of a challenge than it’s ever been.
We’ve got more than 20 open positions at the county right now. Usually, I look at that list, and we have 3-5 positions open. I’ve had a long discussion with staff about how we’re going to address that. It’s tough. The reality is that government has a somewhat limited ability to attract new staff. We had a person in one of our departments that was approached by an organization from the private sector about employment, and said they would pay them 20% more than what they were making with us. And they made them four different offers and by the fourth offer, they we’re like, hey, they’re paying me twice as much as I’m getting here; I’m leaving. And we as the County don’t have that same kind of financial flexibility to compete with that because of pay equity regulations and other state rules and regulations. So that is a challenge for us.
What we can do is we need to ensure that we have a good working environment that people want to work in. We need to treat people well. Some workers value the ability to work remotely pretty highly now, following COVID. So, we could continue to offer remote working as an option although sometimes that is a challenge for us.
The third thing would be working together.
Working together and collaboration is obviously very important to the County. We need good collaboration. The Dalles is a very important collaborator; it’s the economic engine of this County, and we need The Dalles to be successful. We need The Dalles to do well and provide the mass of employment for citizens. It’s important that we work well with all other governments in the County, especially with our biggest economic driver.
How will you address the loss of health care workers at MCMC and the resulting loss of valuable healthcare services in Wasco County?
I’m not that involved in that element. The County doesn't really have a role in that, but I will say that I want our community to have good health care because it is an important component to our ability to survive and drive economic development. From an economic development standpoint if you don’t have good healthcare it creates real problems, the same way that if you don’t have good schools. And the County is involved in MCMC’s new hospital facility plan. We’re not driving it, but we are the landowner of Kramer Fields where MCMC has proposed the new facility. The County also has a housing bonding authority, but I’m not that familiar with it because we’ve never met before. But the idea is that if they wanted to get some bonding to build a new hospital then that committee would meet to discuss and facilitate getting better bonding rates. So, if they wanted to do that, that’s another way the County could get involved.
I will also say that I went up to MCMC and had a procedure done recently. I’ve never been in a surgical room in my life, and so I was a bit uncertain about the whole situation. But I will say that my experience was pretty stellar. I’ve had one or two physicians leave, but I haven’t been to the doctor much. So, I’ve had experience on both sides. You know it has been frustrating when my doctors leaves, but at the same time, generally, I’ve had pretty good care. Although I haven’t had much care relative to other people.
How can we address the housing crisis in Wasco County?
Well, the way that we are going to work on affordable housing is probably the thing is Wasco County doesn’t do housing. We're not in the housing business; We don’t build housing. But, like, Mid-Columbia Housing Authority has made that their whole focus. So, I think the best thing we can do is we can support their efforts to do that. One thing we did recently was we had some of our foreclosed houses that were slated to sale, and the housing Authority asked if we could transfer that to them, and we said yes. So, that is helpful. We now have a policy in place that makes it easier to do that, so we can do more of that, and that will help create more affordable housing.
But I don't think that's gonna solve the problem at all. I mean, not even remotely close. Honestly, if I had that answer, to the housing crisis, I'd be a billionaire, well maybe not, but I think I'd be really popular. Because people have been trying to solve the housing thing, for at least a decade, and it's only gotten worse, not better.
I think part of it has to do with not having adequate housing available, but we also have addiction and behavioral and mental health issues that are driving houselessness in our County. So, we have to work on addressing some of those issues because even if we build a bunch of houses, I don’t think all of the people that need them are ready to transfer back into living in housing without having additional support.
We need to work on improving mental health and getting people into recovery from addiction issues in order to integrate them back into society.
What is your top priority for Google dollars and GAP Payments?
I think that the effort that was put in to focus the lion's share of that money on educational facilities is what I support. I was the guy that got the first call from Google about this in the very beginning, and I thought the proposal to put two-thirds of the money towards school facilities was the good thing to do.
One of our initial proposals to Google was that if Google would build a new high school for us than we would forgive their taxes for 15 years. I thought it was a very fair deal. I thought it could have been very interesting. And they’re response was, ‘well, we don’t really build high schools’ and my response to that was ‘you’re one of the most innovative companies in the world, I mean, I think you can build a high school and wouldn’t it be fascinating to see what you could build?’ But I think at that time they didn’t want that precedent set.
In any case, I think most people would agree we need to somehow deal with these educational facilities, and I think it would be great if our community could come together and agree on that. So, my top priority for the Google dollars has been that they should go towards education. And then I think those smaller districts like Soil and Water Conservation, for example, can get I don’t know, $50,000 and they can do a lot with that.
And when I look at the bigger picture of having Google in our community versus having no Google in our community, I think the net benefit to this community has been pretty significant. In the beginning, Google was not always very forthcoming about the stuff they were doing and the investments they made; they didn’t want people to know, so that was unfortunate, but I think maybe that was because they didn’t want people to come asking them for money all the time. In any case, overall I think the community has benefited significantly from having Google here.
You know, we were an aluminum town, and when the aluminum plant closed it was pretty devastating. And that’s one of the reasons I think the diversification of our economy is super important, and that’s why I’m also a very big advocate of the expansion of the urban growth boundary because we don’t have any land left to do this economic diversification on. Unfortunately, Google has a lot of the land on the Port and we will need to expand the Urban Growth Boundary if we want to diversify this economy.
What can be done to help indigenous folx and address concerns facing indigenous people in Wasco County? Are you a supporter of honoring treaties between the US government and the indigenous people living along the Columbia River?
In terms of the treaties yes, those are the treaties, we agreed to them, we should honor them 100%.
Right now I’m a member of Q Life, a mid-mile fiber provider that lays fiber optic cable. Our goal is to try to provide broadband services to the entire county. So, what we’ve been trying to do, and it’s been a bit of a challenge, is connect to Warm Springs and make sure that we work with them. We’ve been asking how we can collaborate and work together, how can we get fiber down there, can we work on grants for that together? And I think it is important that we work with them and help, but the challenge is that sometimes the Sovereign Nation thing creates challenges. But at the same time, we want to collaborate and work with them. And right now they obviously have a huge water problem, and if there was some way for us to help them we would like to do that. And the other thing is at Celio Village and Lone Pine Village, the issue is that a lot of their deals need to be resolved at the federal level and it takes a long time. Sometimes, you know, I wonder what’s happening because they say they want to fix it but years go by and it doesn’t look any different.
I think it has been good that there has been more engagement from local organizations like Center for Living and North Central Public Health with the tribes to address some of the challenges they have to accessing care.
What can Wasco County do to fight climate change?
There’s lots of things we can do. We can have more efficient vehicles, equipment and buildings. From a renewable energy standpoint, we don’t have any large-scale renewable projects in the County yet. But the County has tried to encourage renewable energy companies to invest in our county by offering incentives. And we got one that’s under construction right now that will be the largest commercial solar project in Oregon. So, it’s got to be built in phases. The first phase is planned to go online in 2023. It will produce 3,000 megawatts, and the dam for example is 1,200ish megawatts.
What are the challenges (outside of The Dalles) facing Wasco County and how will you address them?
Roadwise, you know, most of our roads are in the south part of the county. So, making sure that we take care of those roads there in terms of challenges,
The challenges facing our really small cities like Shaniko and Antelope are just that they are really really small but they are full cities with city councils and mayors, etc. So, there are challenges with those two communities and in particular in trying to keep them going when they may have only twenty people that live there.
So, when you have a group of 20 people and you're trying to operate as a city and you need city council there are some unique challenges in terms of relationships and collaboration and that kind of stuff. So, I think we've tried to as much as we can like help resolve some of the challenges, but we still have a ways to go for those two towns. But even other towns, for example, someplace as big as Maupin, because Maupin is the biggest town in South County, and we want to support them too, so we just transferred some land to them that we actually had kind of on the outskirts because they needed some land for some of their utility stuff. So, we try to help in that regard.
I think the challenges outside of the The Dalles in those smaller towns is trying to keep it going and getting them enough resources to make the economy vibrant and everything else. And I think how we help is we just try to support them and make sure that they can be successful. And we’ve worked really hard to make access to services remotely through technology, without having to come to The Dalles to turn in paperwork.
Fire is a challenge. One of the problems in Wasco County is that the entire county does not have fire protection. There are areas that are essentially unprotected because there is no local fire department. And we can help form districts to address that, but I think the population is pretty sparse in some areas, and it’s probably not in the cards to get full coverage, and so we’ve tried to ensure there is some coverage. I recommend people in those areas really engage in our fire fuels reduction program.
What can the County do to address property crime in Wasco County?
The County has a very direct role in that. Property crime is difficult. Community policing is very helpful. We’ve added south-county coverage, so we have better coverage there.
How can education be improved in Wasco County?
The most important part of education is parent involvement. Parental involvement is really important, and it’s really hard because people are working, people are struggling etc.
And the second thing I think is that we really need to address The Dalles and Wasco County’s negative view of ourselves and our education. And I think we need a paradigm shift and perspective shift to get us all working together and say, hey, you know our school district does good things; maybe they’re not perfect, but let’s focus on the good stuff and grow from that. And then let’s put our money where our mouth is and put our money towards supporting the school district financially or in other ways.
I would support a new school bond. I think it’s something that makes sense for this community. But let’s start small. Let’s do one piece at a time. If we’re going to build a high school, then let’s build a high school, and let’s start there. We don’t have to do everything all at once. I think the last bond tried to be too all-encompassing, and it was too intimidating to people. Let’s build one school, and if we do a good job at that and we’re happy with how that turns out then I think the community will continue to support more school bonds going forward.
Visit this candidate’s website to learn more.
Cynthia Bearss, Wasco County Commissioner, Position 1
No information was available on this candidate at the time of publishing.
CCC News has reached out for more info but hasn’t received anything from this candidate yet.
Information on candidates will be uploaded to this story as we receive it.
Thank you for your patience.
Here is what we know from her application for candidacy:
Bearss is a former tax preparer for CPA review with Thomas A. Flick CPA in Hood River, according to her filing. Her current occupation is the owner of Simply Solutions, a freelance bookkeeping, payroll, and financial accounting for small businesses in the Columbia River Gorge. She is also a licensed tax preparer through H&R Block.
Her education includes a BA from Portland State University in Accountancy, and she received her associate's in the same subject from Clatsop Community College. She attended high school in Louisiana.
In her filing, Bearss said she had no prior governmental or elected experience.
“I bring a fresh look at ways to make our local government work for all of us,” she wrote.
Wasco County Commissioner, Position 3
Rod Runyon, Wasco County Commissioner, Position 3
Age: 72
Rod Runyon was born and raised in The Dalles and graduated from TDHS. He is married with two children. He attended Bailie School of Broadcasting, Lynwood Securities School and Portland Insurance School. He reported receiving a certificate in Constitutional History from Hillsdale College and had courses in Criminal Justice Information System Security and awareness, Workplace Security Awareness and Government Ethics. He served on national, regional, state and local committees for economic development, Veterans issues, housing and low-income community needs. He has served as a Governor's appointee to the Regional Solutions team.
What skills, education, qualifications, and experience do you bring relevant to this position?
Experience started when I was still in the insurance business, which was financial business. I would interview people about their risk, assessing their risk, and try to find solutions. While I was still working in financial area, I got appointed to (The Dalles) city planning commission, and I did that for four years. While I was still working, I ran for Port of the Dalles and was re-elected and spent eight years on that Commission… I sold the business and retired. That’s when I ran for County Commissioner. I served two terms with Wasco County. And I got to work day one. It takes a year to two years to get your feet on the ground. It’s not just a couple of meetings a month. I was assigned to 15 committees.
To me, the biggest part of the job is lobbying to the state legislature on both sides of the aisles. I happened to have a good track record on bipartisan progress for Wasco County.
I was a volunteer Treasurer of the Association of Oregon Counties. I think I bring a lot of tools to the table - most recently six of my friends that were in the Association of Oregon Counties are now in the state legislature. I’m still in contact with them. That’s one of the reasons I ran for City Council - to keep my tools sharp. All these things together are the tools of experience and why I think I can bring these tools back to Wasco County.
I bring a business approach because that is my background, and that is very relevant in this day and age.
Tell us something about yourself, relevant to this position, that most people might not know about you.
I am a process guy. When somebody comes to me with something, I don’t have an agenda. I truly believe this is a non-partisan position. There are no politics in a pothole. You need to listen to every viewpoint and listen to it carefully.
There are many things that when you sit down with them and explain: they are state-mandated and there is nothing you can do about it… but this idea you have here - this might be worth taking to other commissioners or an agency. I was known for bringing people into the office that might be up in arms on phone and say, can we meet? And they are surprised. I really work to have that in-person relationship. To be a process guy is to say how do we get from here to there and to be fair, fair to everybody.
Why do you want this job?
I want to continue the jobs - relationships and relationship building - I already started and, frankly, that have continued through the last commissioner. This position is about the entire county. I worked really hard taking commission quarterly meetings around the county. We went to Dufur, Wamic, Tygh Valley. We went to Mosier. We took it to Shaniko one time. South County sometimes feels like they are left out and that was a big issue when I first came to the County, and I think it still is.
What are the 3 main concerns/issues facing Wasco County and how do you plan to address them?
Economy
Big Concern is the Economy coming out of the pandemic and, of course, a lot of that is under the control of state mandates and so forth… That is a big one. And finding out what each one of the communities within our county needs to bring their local economies back. Is there a way the County can be of help, because there are core issues county is involved in, but then again relationships at the state legislature can be helpful. So that is number one. We’re helping each community with their own special needs the best we can.
Hosptial
Big thing is the hospital. (Mid-Columbia Medical Center) It wants to relocate to build new hosptial. That’s a county-wide issue. It’s not just important to The Dalles. It’s important to the entire county. When it comes to Maupin out there with their little clinic, I had a lot to do with helping with fundraising and things like that. I went to a lot of meetings to get that going. Medical issues around county is huge. That’s a big one.
Tom Peterson: What is your take on it?
Rod Runyon: Location they are talking about - that intersection - Weber and Sixth streets - it is an interesting conversation - no one has done traffic studies yet - huge questions there.
What I am saying is that hospital is old, and I see the need for housing - there are a lot of questions - my history is the guy who looks at those things and rarely takes things at face value. I have a lot of questions and the public has a lot of questions in their mind, and I always felt like that’s my job, a big hunk of it. A lot of citizens don't have ability, or don't stand up in public to voice those questions. So, I always try to do that for those people in the audience. Be the guy who asks the questions. We have a long ways to go on that issue.
Kramer Field/ Sports Complex
And the Sports complex is a whole other thing. The Hospital cannot do anything until the sports issue is solved and built before a hospital can go forward there. Because that is the agreement, the underlying agreement, as I understand it. Yeah, the sports field could be moved, but it would not only have to be moved, but it would have to be complete. So, it is there and available to the community before anything else goes on that land. So, there are a ton of questions. So, I don’t think we're talking about something that is going to happen very quickly. To me, this is all a couple of years off at least.
Housing
You're not going to solve it without the state’s help. We are running out of land where you can put housing. And one of the big problems - contractors do not work for free; developers do not work for free. Somehow you got to get some sort of state help to get into the mix, otherwise, the developers are not going to develop what they're talking about in the housing shortage, the lower-income or median-income type homes. And if you have a shortage of land, the reality is when there is a shortage of land to put housing on now you run into a whole other set of questions as the value is going up as the shortage occurs.
I think it is a very broad-based discussion. No one County Commissioner’s got the answer to all of that. What we can do is draw people together. There are going to have to be subsidies somewhere if you are going to drive the cost to the local taxpayer down. We’ll need to get some of our tax money back from the state to help with that. Land choices are very slim. You have the Gorge Commission to deal with as well. So, where it is and how it is and all of that is very complex.
How will you address the loss of health care workers at MCMC and the resulting loss of valuable healthcare services in Wasco County?
My daughter still works for MCMC, and she loves her job . There are issues there, and I don't know what they all are. That’s all part of the same conversation when you're talking about building a new hospital and so forth. Under the present situation, it is also a secondary cow in the road question. They need to get their house in order, and for that to happen I don't have a true answer for that. It is an internal situation they have. I don’t have a doctor right now. My wife does not have a doctor… I know what people are feeling like who do not have a doctor. The County has core services, roads, assessor, clerk, sheriff treasurer. It’s not a county issue per se. Where a commissioner, again, can be helpful is putting people together lobbying the legislature on both sides of the aisle and gettting the conversation going.
The County cannot tell the hospital what to do or what not to do. They have a board of directors. Look where they are now.
What is your top priority for Google dollars and Payments?
As far as portion goes to the County and City it is similar to enterprise zone payments in the past. There still needs to be a discussion where you bring in department heads and bring in citizens and what greater good projects are out there that need to be done? This is a discussion. It is not a commissioner saying we need to do this. There might be an item brought up. But there has to be a meeting of the minds, has to be citizen input on what direction do we want to go with those additional dollars. We have a lot of it coming in over the next couple of years as the first Google contract comes due. So, there is going to be a lot of changes out there… City and County will use, my belief, the same strategy in past when they got the up-front fee, where you use leaders in the community and citizens want to be involved. And you will never be able to make everyone happy. Do our best to have involvement. That’s how we have the underpass on Union Street, the training tower at the fire hall, that’s how we got the Columbia View Heights Fire station. It came out of group meetings and what was needed out of old enterprise contracts.
TP: Is there a list of projects, thought, that you think are important?
There is a lot of hope far as schools go. We need some total new schools. I don’t know how many more times we can rehab schools. So, I would hope the school district (D21) will somehow use their funds, and in the past city and county with greater good funds have helped the schools do landscaping project at high school, painted buildings, things like that. That list of projects is yet to be determined.
It relates back to the economy - without modern and improved school district, people are reluctant to move and come here if we dont have a good school system. You know what, we do have a very good school system. But a lot of those buildings are archaic and need a lot of work or replacement. And somehow we have to get that done. On my greater good list would be to improve their infrastructure.
Are you a supporter of honoring treaties between the US government and the indigenous people’s living along the Columbia River? If there still enforced, then they are still there, unless congress changes it. The county has nothing to do with that. It’s a federal thing. Yeah, yeah, follow the law.
What can be done to help indigenous folx and address concerns facing indigenous people’s in Wasco County?
That particular job is part of Mid Columbia Community Action Council. That’s an area that they would deal in and a county commissioner usually sits on that board. So, we can have some impact that way. County can drive a lot of other things far as looking for grants and that sort of thing. Again, it gets back to having that relationship in Salem and our representatives and representatives from around the state. So, we can have some impact that way. But again, you have to go back to core values. It’s not a county core value but the list I gave you - roads, sheriff, etc. and that sort of thing. How we can help is through good relationships using power of the position to open doors to find funds and help the projects (assisting indigenous people living at Lone Pine) and that is a big one right there. They have to be receptive too, you know. Sometimes that can be a real difficult conversation.
What can Wasco County do to fight climate change?
Wasco County Core Values do not include that. But I think there are things that can be done. City of The Dalles just bought an electric car for public works department. I think it was and there are some things like that. What we have to do is we have to follow the mandates that come down from the state. But the county is not a climate change organization. It’s not what were mandated to do. But there are things within the departments. Department heads have a lot of say in what they want. If its the vehicles or whatever it happens to be for their department. Those can be addressed in budget items, but I’m not sure where you really want to go with that?
Tom Peterson: There are all sorts of ways to reduce carbon footprint… Do you believe in climate change.
Rod Runyon: Yeah, there has been climate change since the planet was born.
TP: Laughs.. Ok, I dont know if that…
RR: Were not in control of it. We’re not in control of it. I don’t know if one Country can affect the world’s climate change. We need to get a few other countries that are. We do way better as a country than almost everybody out there. Look at the world. Some of our biggest suppliers of goods and what they do in their countries. And you go, wow, we are leaders in that area. We have reduced the carbon footprint. We have done that. There is always more to do. More to do.
What are the challenges (outside of The Dalles) facing Wasco County and how will you address them?
Mosier always has a number of ideas going… some viable things - civic center and fire department. Of course, Maupin is working on that big track project. That is on top of their list. Water issues and different municipalities are in the top area. Antelope has had water issues for years.
Runyon said he would push to hold County Commissioner meetings in those communities through a regular rotation to get input from citizens and civic leaders to see where the County Commission could assist in project’s that those cities have prioritized.
Click here for his website Rod Runyon
Phil Brady, Wasco County Commissioner, Position 3
Age: 67
Brady was born and raised in The Dalles where his family owned and operated a grocery store, Brady’s Market, on Third Street, downtown. Phil graduated from The Dalles High School and later attended Gonzaga University earning a degree in Physics. He later joined the Jesuit order but left before becoming an ordained priest. He went on to marry Mary Jo Commerford, they have two daughters. The family went to Venezuela on a mission to an impoverished area where a library and school were built, and they assisted in protecting springs and irrigation from an illegal silica mine operation.
Brady Returned to The Dalles where he has taught Juveniles at NORCOR for nine years before moving to The Dalles Middle School and then High school during the past 8 years.
What skills, education, qualifications, and experience do you bring relevant to this position?
I am a generalist: my background is in science, physics, and chemistry, but I have taught everything from English to Math to History to construction.
Tell us something about yourself, relevant to this position, that most people might not know about you.
I am the person who takes initiative. Looking at my background, I don't have a lot of government service because I have been active in civic groups through my own initiative. For example, starting a movement toward building a new high school. (For North Wasco County School District) It took three years and worked through three different committees to bring it to a bond.
I see what needs to get done and gather people together and stay with the project. I am the kind of person in a discussion who holds my thoughts and often speaks last with a consensus or a synthesis of others' contributions.
Why do you want this job?
I’ve thoroughly enjoyed teaching science at high school and see teaching as public service, and I want to continue doing that kind of public service. Specifically, I get involved in community projects in my free time, so the school bond. Also, I ran for the PUD board 7 years ago and prior to that attended PUD meetings as a citizen because I am interested in energy policy. Prior to that, I worked on the Mill Creek Watershed Council because it brings together the community, environment, and agriculture in one package.
I was just sitting in on the Mosier watershed, and they have water wells that are co-mingled and it is very complex - to me its gets very fascinating.
The retirement of Kathy Schwartz is the sole reason I am running for this job at this time. Otherwise, I would have waited. I see myself continuing the progressive direction that Kathy Schwarts took with greater transparency and prioritization of community social needs such as housing and child care.
What are the 3 main concerns/issues facing Wasco County and how do you plan to address them?
Concerns 1 and 2 - Housing & Child Care
Both are family and economic issues. Without adequate housing, businesses won't come to The Dalles because they recognize there is no place for their employees to live. And without child care, employees, especially women, are not free to go to work or it does not pay them to work because child care costs as much as salary.
Without fundamentals of housing and child care in place, the top-down approach of inviting new industry to town does not work.
The County does have a role. Brady said property that comes back to the county through property tax liens or through auctions, the county could acquire and assign them to development agencies for public housing .
The larger role is to do some heavy lifting and approach the state for a block grant, which could fund a major development from smaller to bigger projects.
Likewise, with child care, there are two roles here. Moneys are coming from the state to be channeled into child care, and the County Commission is moving in this direction or setting up channels to direct these funds. The larger picture is for County Commissioners is to go beyond what happens at meetings and become a champion for carrying an issue to a larger body such as the state legislature.
This means using the County Commission role to maintain momentum and focus on the issue.
Concern 3 - Resilience and Preparedness
Climate change is real and happening. So, the threat that is immediate to us is drought. That is the number one threat. We can't do much about the weather - but drought leads us to greater danger from forest fires. We have an excellent emergency management team that is well known for good coordination between agencies. So, the County role is to make sure they have the resources they need. And do our part at the County to enact policies that protect us from drastic climate change.
If we go to all-electric vehicles, we will need four times as much electricity production. Of the alternatives, wind power is the most energy-dense - meaning you can get the most energy for the least amount of space. Our region is well suited both for wind and access to the electrical distribution network. Plus (windturbine) leases make stable income for our rural residents.
Wise forest management will require some wood processing and can lead to building a hub for high-tech wood products such as extra strong plywood used in prefabricated housing.
On Timber
You can’t cut just for profit and you can’t go for total protection - it takes balance, scientific analysis.
Do forests in Wasco County need to be managed differently?
I am not aware of the details of it. Honestly, my background in physics makes me able to figure out what the numbers mean. When I see the units that things are calculated in, I can make sense of that. My job is teaching students how to do that. My science background makes me capable of comprehending the complexity of technical analysis.
How will you address the loss of health care workers at MCMC and the resulting loss of valuable healthcare services in Wasco County?
First, many people have spoke to me about the loss of their provider. And I empathize because the trust we place in our providers is part of our healing process. The personal relationships and losing that relationship just plain hurts.
Second, I resigned from the (Mid-Columbia Medical Center Board of Trustees) in January in order to have time to campaign for County Commissioner. When I resigned, I left MCMC very confident that the hospital is in a reset moment. Because the mutually agreed termination with OHSU now allows MCMC to hire new providers, which was not allowed before. Evidence that things are changing for the better is seen in the fact that several new providers have signed contracts or letters of agreement and will be moving to the hospital in the next few months.
For me, this also points to the need for transparency. The hospital institution has reasons to keep patients and processes confidential. A government body such as the County Commission needs to be transparent with the context and content of its discussions and agreements.
Not only make these available to the public, but encourage the public to learn what is going on in County Government. That’s a pivot, but it’s a good pivot.
What is your top priority for Google dollars and GAP Payments?
I have been focusing on the initial payments and not into the future, and I am in favor of using gap payments for a sports complex as an initial stage for transitioning Kramer Field into a hospital complex with a behavioral health treatment center. This is an economic opportunity that will be transformational and revitalize the western side of The Dalles that has lacked investment.
Looking longer-term, don’t count your chickens before they hatch. We need to treat Google as a respected and integral community partner.
Are you a supporter of honoring treaties between the US government and the indigenous people living along the Columbia River? And what can be done to help indigenous folx and address concerns facing indigenous people in Wasco County?
Yes.
And what can be done to help indigenous folx and address concerns facing indigenous people in Wasco County? “The US-Canada hydropower agreement is up for renewal and indigenous communities are part of that process. County governments have very minimal impact on that agreement. It is being negotiated by the Corp of Engineers. But I go beyond and say we should start recognizing the land we live on is native land.
What can Wasco County do to fight climate change?
I leave it up to the agricultural community to see if tilling is a viable means of carbon sequestration. But if that is possible it can become financially beneficial if carbon credits become a part of public policy.
What are the challenges outside of The Dalles facing Wasco County and how will you address them?
Smaller communities take pride in their very local business establishments and community mutual support and quiet pace of life. The challenge is to maintain enough growth that the community thrives without losing its traditional feel. Once again the issue is housing - these communities have people living in trailer parks because they work there and housing or homes are not available for rent or for sale.
I listen to communities discuss this and decisions would be made locally and the County can support them to the extent it can. Going further rural, we have communities such as Rock Creek and Sportsmans Paradise where the County is the only government. So, given their reliance, the county needs to attend to their needs.
