County Comm. Pos. N0.3
Dotson
‘Weinstein and I could straighten out the county’
By WES HEATH
Of the Emerald
“Not a damn one of the
county commissioners is using
any common sense,” said
John Dotson, candidate for
Pos. No. 3. “Weinstein and I
could straighten out the county
in two years,” he said.
"Elliott says, ‘I want no new
taxes. Let’s cut spending,’ and
then votes to spend thousands
of dollars on a mural. Where
does he think that money is
coming from — the Great
Jose?” Dotson said.
Commissioner Frank Elliott
will be vying with Dotson, his
Craig:
Former state rep now
tries for commissioner
By LESTER MANN
Of the Emerald
A former state legislator,
Jack Craig is attempting to
re-enter public office as Lane
County Commissioner. A
Democrat, Craig faces John
Dotson and incumbent Frank
Elliott in the primary election
for Pos. No. 3.
Craig was elected State
Representative in 1970 and
served two years. In 1973 he
became House Speaker
Richard Eymann's top ad
ministrator after deciding not
to run for another legislative
term. Since early 1975, Craig,
53, has worked as a deputy
assessor for Lane County.
Jack Craig
Craig lost to Elliott in the
primary four years ago by only
483 votes. In all this will be his
fourth try for a commissioner s
seat, he also lost in 1966 and
1968, after receiving the
Democratic nomination.
If Craig has a campaign
slogan, it probably is “Get a
handle on Lane County finan
cial problems.” He says that
frequently, and explains that it
can best be accomplished by
n_—__
reduced costs and increased
efficiency.
Craig supports the proposal
to expand the board to five
members. In fact, win or lose in
the election, he says he will
start an initiative drive to get
the matter on the November
ballot. Under his plan the
county would be divided into
five districts of equal popula
tion. Each district would nomi
nate candidates for election
county-wide. He would also
cut the salaries of the commis
sioners from $27,000 to
$22,500.
Another of Craig's “get a
handle’’ plans is to establish
an elected auditor in the
county “to determine if the dif
ferent departments are operat
ing efficiently, or if the depart
ment is needed at all."
On the jail issue, Craig says,
“It’s only one (proposal) we’ve
got. The commissioners failed
in making it a more attractive
package.” He says there were
other ways to defray the costs
of the project, such as charg
ing the cities increased fees for
housing their prisoners, and
paying for the parking struc
ture through revenue bonds
which would be paid by fees
charged for parking. In this
way, he says, the money being
spent on the parking structure
could be used on the jail in
stead.
Craig says the county’s new
Public Service Building was "a
mistake in the way the com
missioners did it."
"There's no doubt about the
need for it," says Craig, "but
they should have let the peo
ple in on it (the decision)."
Craig also supports the es
tablishment of a county library.
He says during his term in the
Legislature, he introduced
more library bills than any
legislator ever.
Craig graduated from the
University in 1946 with a B.A.
in journalism.
former campaign manager,
and Jack Craig in the May
primary election.
“Elliott has been promising
some things for 16 years,”
Dotson said. “As for Jack
Craig,” he added, “I think he
lacks the business expertise."
Long before Dotson had any
political aspirations, he
worked in Grants Pass and
Eugene as an automobile
salesman and was employed
in retail sales work by Sears
and Montgomery Ward. Dot
son owns National Cycle Ser
vice, which he established in
1971.
Following his graduation
from high school in West Vir
ginia, Dotson enlisted in the
navy in 1944 and married
three years later.
“I’ve got six children and five
grandsons,” Dotson said,
“and I don’t want to see their
freedoms sold down the river
any longer.”
John Dotson
“I haven’t said this before
publicly, but I will. I’m running
because I’m scared. The
county has really turned
socialist in the last few years
and if people don't do anything
about it soon, we ll all be sold
into slavery. Believe me.”
“If that’s radical,” he said,
“then I’m the damndest radical
that ever existed.’’
Asked whether he favored
the proposal to increase the
number of county commis
sioners from three to five, Dot
son replied, “If that’s a good
idea, why not elect two more
governors? No — nothing
supplants old-fashioned lead
ership,” he said, “As far as I’m
concerned, electing two more
commissioners would just give
us 40 per cent more dum
mies.”
“State departments like
LCDC that interfere with our
home rule,” he said, “are
going to back into a buzz saw
when they back into me. There
is no room in a democracy for
an arbitrary board.”
Dotson said he favored the
repeal of SB 100 which
created LCDC.
Elliott:
Says tax increases, budget cuts
unnecessary because of revenue
By CHRIS STORY
Of the Emerald
Lane County can operate on
practically no taxes according
to Frank Elliott, Democratic in
cumbent for Lane County
Commissioner Position No. 3.
And no budget cuts will be
necessary, he says, because
the revenue from timber re
ceipts, the garbage levy and
Comprehensive Employment
and Training Act (CETA) funds
provide the monies needed to
maintain all necessary ser
vices.
Elliott, 65, has served as a
county commissioner for 14
years and has consistently
voted against higher taxes. He
cited the proposed jail and
proposed parking structure as
examples of unjustified spend
ing which would be supported
by new taxes. He favors the
issues on one hand, but on the
other hand he believes that the
projects could be accomp
lished more economically.
“No doubt we have to have a
jail,” he says, "but the prop
osed cost of the building is not
justified." A new jail here will
cost $71 per square foot while,
in other parts of the country,
new jails with window expos
ure in all cells and 50 per cent
double occupancy cost only
$34 per square foot. "Build
ings are not designed with
economics in mind,’’ Elliott
charges. There’s no justifica
tion in those costs.’’
Regarding the proposed city
parking structure, of which
Position No. 1 incumbent
Nancy Hayward is a strong
proponent, Elliott says the ex
pense is excessive. According
to Elliott, one piece of land
which might be used will park
190 cars. To build a parking
structure on that same land
would cost $1.06 million and
would park only 55 additional
cars. Elliott says the need for
245 parking spots instead of
190 spots-to be paid for by a
new tax or some other source
of revenue-is unnecessary
and wasteful.
Elliott favors the Willamette
Greenway, but he has voted
against it because, he claims,
the state is violating people’s
rights by not paying land
owners for their land. But own
ers would not be able to build
houses on their property or
make obvious changes. The
state could build a bike path,
yet for such use, the state re
fuses to pay. Elliott charges
that the state is telling people
what they can and can’t do
with their own property without
any compensation. “You just
don’t take people's property
away without just compensa
tion,” he charges. “You just
don't violate people's rights —
you've got to be careful about
that.”
,1
Frank Elliott
Elliott opposes increasing
the size of the board to five. “It
all depends on who you ve got
in there," he states. “The ideal
is to elect qualified and dedi
cated people,” he says, “and it
won’t work any differently if
you have 5 or 29 people." Ac
cording to Elliott, five will cost
the taxpayers more, but will
not guarantee anything.
Paop IQ Sw*tinn R