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About The nugget. (Sisters, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (May 6, 2020)
Wednesday, May 6, 2020 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon 9 Multiple candidates seek commission seat By Jim Cornelius Editor in Chief Phil Henderson will seek to keep his seat on the Deschutes County Board of Commis- sioners next November. Democratic party voters will choose who his rival will be for the seat in the May 19 primary. Phil Chang, Greg Bryant and Ron Boozell are vying for the nomination. Henderson, a Republican, has held the seat since his election in November 2016. He told The Nugget that, for the foreseeable future, the commissioners are going to be thoroughly absorbed in response to and recovery from the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. <It has identified, I think, a need in our county to have a more rapid ability to respond to a health situation,= he said. The economic fallout of the shutdown enacted to slow the spread of the disease can9t be fully calculated yet, but it is sure to be severe 4 perhaps representing a blow equal to or greater than the recession that slammed the region a decade ago. <I don9t know if we9re back to 2008-09 or not,= he said. The economy will affect everything from land use to wildfire mitigation, he said. Henderson pointed to impor- tant strides on the wildfire defense front, where he serves on the Deschutes Collabora- tive Forest Council. He noted that the prescribed burning program designed to provide community protection has been put in abeyance due to the pandemic. He said that Sisters needs to see more acres treated in order to main- tain protection. Henderson acknowledged that housing 4 especially workforce housing 4 has become an acute issue in the Sisters area. <I support expanding the urban growth boundary when it9s necessary,= he said. <in general, there9s a shortage of housing in Deschutes County. For so many people, it9s unaf- fordable. We9ve got to open that up.= Henderson, who has a background as a builder, said he also supports modifying requirements regarding non- resource rural land to allow for different uses and some housing uses. <The whole prosperity of our county has a foundation in that we9re interspersed with farms and housing,= he said. <I believe in that.= Phil Chang helped cre- ate the Deschutes Collabora- tive Forest Project and served for several years as Senator Jeff Merkeley9s field repre- sentative in Central Oregon. The long-time Bend resident said that he is running for the Deschutes County Board of Commissioners because <it9s a place where I thought I could plug in my experience and do some good.= Chang has a strong inter- est in issues around managing growth. < I f w e d o n 9t g r o w well, housing availability decreases, traffic gets worse, we lose our wildlife and our quality of life decreases,= he said. Chang believes in land- efficient, pedestrian-and-bike- friendly mixed-use develop- ment, which he believes is applicable (and happening) in Sisters. He thinks that the cur- rent commission is interested in challenging state land-use laws, which he thinks is a mistake. <Allowing more rural sub- divisions is not the way to go,= he said. Chang sees transportation as a significant issue for the Sisters community, especially for seniors. <The county has not made meaningful investments in the Cascades East transit sys- tem,= he said. <I believe that if we9re going to have good mass transit connectivity throughout Central Oregon, the county is going to have to step up and make it happen.= Chang believes that the county needs to invest more in services for members of the community 4 and that those investments are cost-effective in the long run. <I think you can be fiscally responsible, but you can also be fiscally strategic,= he said. Chang acknowledged that the financial impacts both on the economy and on govern- ment budgets will have a sig- nificant impact on what can and should be done over the next commissioner9s term of office. Greg Bryant moved to Bend seven years ago to retire. As vice president of the Deschutes River Woods Homeowners Association, he has attended many commis- sion meetings and he said he <didn9t necessarily like the direction they were going, so I decided to throw my hat in the ring.= Bryant is particularly con- cerned with accelerating wild- fire protection activities. <They do a great job of keeping the fire fuels down, but I think that9s got to be done more because, with climate change, I think we9re going to have drier summers and less water,= he said. Bryant said he is also keenly interested in trans- portation issues, though he indicated that he does not have specific knowledge of the transportation situation in the west county. He acknowl- edged that there is tension between the desire to move traffic through the Highway 20 corridor and the desire of Sisters businesses to get that traffic to stop here and shop and dine. Bryant believes his pro- fessional background as an accountant would be help- ful to the county in mak- ing county departments as efficient as possible, as the county faces the potential for a deep fiscal crisis due to the COVID-19 pandemic. <I9ve been through reces- sions,= he noted. Candidate Ron Boozell declined a phone interview with The Nugget. 3-D Tours Of Gallery Available! Go to our website for a tour and call for an appointment . Opening in late May, Fri. thru Sun., when the governor allows 541þ749þ1800 541 749 1800 • 357 W W. HOOD AVE AVE., SISTERS • HOODAVENUEART.COM HO