12 — THE BAKER COUNTY PRESS
FRIDAY, APRIL 29, 2016
Local
Sumpter hosts sheriff,
commissioner
candidates forum
BY MEGHAN ANDERSCH
Meghan@TheBakerCountyPress.com
On Thursday, April 21st,
Sumpter hosted a Town
hall Forum for County
candidates.
Commissioner candi-
dates Jeff Nelson and Kody
Justus were present, as was
current sheriff Travis Ash.
The event was spear-
headed by Myrna Clarke,
with refreshments provided
by Sumpter Valley Com-
munity Volunteers and
LeAnne Woolf moderating.
Woolf started the Q and
A session asking about vol-
unteerism. Nelson high-
lighted his involvement
with the Lions club. Justus
spoke about his former
experiences at the prison
and his current role in the
Baker County Republi-
cans. He stated if elected,
he may have to step away
from his position there.
Ash said he volunteers
a lot in schools, especially
mentoring senior projects.
He spoke of a project
done by a senior in Half-
way to simulate flipping
a car, a DUI arrest, and a
funeral. He stated not one
person in the gym was dry
eyed by the end, and that
class all pledged not to
drink that year.
He is currently work-
ing on bringing marijuana
training to local schools
and developing teacher
training on drug recogni-
tion. Ash stated no matter
how busy he is, he will
make time for that.
Jeff McKinney stated
that candidate Nichols
is looking into combin-
ing city and county law
enforcement and asked if
candidates support that
idea. Ash stated he would
be open to looking into it,
but doesn’t have any facts
at this point.
Justus also stated the idea
is pretty fresh and that he
hasn’t researched it.
He said his first impres-
sion is that he wouldn’t
support it and that city and
county are elected posi-
tions. He wouldn’t support
anything that would take
away from that jurisdic-
tion. Nelson said he did
not see how that could ever
happen and added, “Public
safety is one of my high-
est priorities. There are
other ways to reduce the
budget.”
Candidates were asked
if they had attended any
meetings about the Forest
Management Plan before
running for office. Nelson
stated he’s been attending
meetings off and on for
about the last two years.
He said he is against road
closures and for keep-
ing the forest open and
bringing in more logging
opportunities.
He pointed to his home-
town of Salmon, Idaho and
the economic devastation
brought by logging and
mining restrictions along
with land use regulations.
Justus said he, too, has
been attending the meet-
ings the last couple of
years and spoke of the
“phenomenal” economic
impact to the community
from the decline of the
timber industry.
Ash was asked about
the effect on county law
enforcement. He stated
there is a lot of national
forest in the county and the
sheriff’s office does patrol
forest ground.
He explained Oregon Re-
vised Statues give Forest
Service law enforcement
the authority to enforce
state law violations that
occur in their presence.
If Forest Service law
enforcement needs help,
the sheriff’s office will
respond, though they can-
not enforce federal statutes
and law.
John Young referenced
a meeting some years ago
in La Grande where the
Grant County sheriff stated
he would not enforce road
closures.
Ash reiterated that
the sheriff’s office can’t
enforce federal regulation
or law.
Young asked, if the sher-
iff’s office was patrolling
and saw someone going
over the berm on an ATV,
would they be arrested.
Ash stated, “I don’t know
how I can say this any
clearer. We can’t enforce
federal law. We’re not
going to arrest you for
something we can’t arrest
you for.”
Woolf next asked the
commissioner candidates
what they saw the job as
being and what experi-
ence prepared them for the
position.
Nelson said the job is
overseeing budget and
personnel and governing
the county. He stated his
business experience will
enable him to make sure
the county government is
run as a business. He said
people living the County
have the most influence on
him and, “I will make sure
your voices are heard.”
Justus agreed that the
position is mainly budget-
ary and oversight of public
county employees.
He said sometimes peo-
ple are confused and think
the commissioner oversees
other elected officials in
the courthouse, but that is
not so.
Justus said his experi-
ence owning and operating
a ranch has given him a lot
of budgetary experience,
all based on feasibility. “A
ranch budget has to pay for
itself.”
He said he will be always
mindful of dealing with
other peoples’ money and
said there should be a pic-
ture of the taxpayer stuck
on every dollar. He also
spoke to the legislative role
of County Commissioner
in passing ordinances (law)
and resolutions (opinion).
Ash was asked, with a
year of experience, what
he has learned. Ash said
at the beginning of his
time as sheriff, there was a
death in custody.
During the summer,
with the fires, he missed
two birthdays at home.
Christmas Eve, he was
doing a welfare check on a
minor. Christmas and the
day following, he was out
on search and rescue.
He said he has learned
the importance of time
management and train-
ing. He has been in law
enforcement since the age
of 19 and puts in a lot of
hours.
He said he is a lifelong
learner, and has a profes-
sional office with good
deputies. He wants to
make sure they have the
training to know the law
and make them even better.
Ash stated he is a work-
ing sheriff, and just “re-
upped” his certification as
a drug recognition expert.
He said the sheriff’s office
is spread thin across the
county and has been work-
ing two deputies down, but
that if something is going
on, “We’ll be there.”
Hordes of mosquitoes
had been constantly
swarming the candidates
and attendees, and Woolf
now asked, while waving
her hands around wildly,
“This is a joke, but how
do you feel about vector
control?”
Clarke stated the County
does not do anything at
all about insect control
locally, just the Baker City
area. She said, “Sumpter
is part of the county and
needs to be done.”
Nelson responded that
hearing about and seeing
the issue was the first thing
and encouraged citizens
to get the word out. He
said it’s a process, and if it
takes money, “We can find
a way.”
Justus stated he agreed
with Nelson. “If you’re
on the tax roll, you should
have the same protection
as everyone else.” He said
he’d heard the same com-
plaint in Huntington the
prior week. He suggested
a fogger might be the best
for the area.
Clarke asked candidates,
“Are you working for us or
your own political agen-
da?” She stated, “We’ve
been there, it’s been tried,
and we’re wide awake
now.”
Justus responded he is
running for everybody in
the county and that his
personal life and business
would not be enhanced at
all by the position.
He said he thought
he could mind his own
business, raise his cows,
and “feed the world.” He
discovered that’s not true,
things are not taking care
of themselves, and he
decided to get involved to
make sure everyone’s indi-
vidual rights, guaranteed in
state and national law, are
protected.
Nelson stated he has no
political agenda, and just
wants to make the county
better for his children and
grandchildren, let them
enjoy the forest, and make
a living. He said when our
grandchildren and children
are with us, we have much
better community.
Ash stated he started
serving over 20 years ago,
working for the citizens.
As sheriff, he has an open-
door policy, both for his
deputies and citizens, and
is not a politician.
Clarke asked what the
candidates could do for se-
nior citizens, such as help
with transportation, foot
care, Meals on Wheels,
or welfare checks. She
pointed to the older popu-
lation of Sumpter, saying
some different services are
needed.
Nelson stated a lot of
specific services need
volunteers. He suggested
a priority list of what is
needed and said he would
do his best to help organize
volunteers to meet the
need.
Justus stated he agreed
with Nelson, but would
approach the issue differ-
Meghan Andersch / The Baker County Press
Seated around the tables: LeAnne Woolf (far left) as moderator, Kody Justus,
Jeff Nelson, and Travis Ash.
ently. He said the increas-
ing minimum wage will
cause inflation to goods
and services, harming
those with fixed incomes
more than anyone else. He
stated two problems with
the new minimum wage
law is that it is unequal
across the state and is an
unfunded mandate.
He would like to pass an
ordinance to not go along
with it, and said if he could
do something in that area,
he believed it would be the
most benefit to communi-
ties. He stated raising the
minimum wage is also go-
ing to cause a loss of jobs
and push young people out
of the area.
Ash mentioned a pro-
gram he had read about
where the sheriff’s office
checked in on senior
citizens regularly and said
he could look into doing
something like that with
his volunteers.
Jeff McKinney stated
that many of these things
were dealt with in the past
through churches or other
local means. He said, “I
think the tendency to turn
to government is a danger-
ous trend.”
Ash responded that it’s
about building partner-
ships. He stated he learned
in Command College,
“Relationships are pri-
mary; everything else is
secondary.”
McKinney asked the
commissioner candidates if
they could accomplish only
one thing as commissioner,
what would it be? Justus
stated he would look at the
road issue, as it’s “what’s
on the table right now.”
He said he is alarmed that
this is a trend. He stated
if citizens can’t find a way
to keep the roads open,
next it will be water rights
and private property. He
also expressed concerns
for the health and welfare
of the forests and protect-
ing resources. He stated
if that if this issue can be
resolved, “We will have
figured out how to interact
with other agencies in a
way that brings our needs
to the table.”
Nelson agreed, stating
forest access is vital to
our way of life, including
access for “hunting and
fishing with our kids.” He
said when they start clos-
ing roads, they will also
start closing other things.
Young spoke about the
tourism industry being vi-
tal to the town of Sumpter
and asked about a focus on
recreational activities.
Justus stated that access
to our mountains is vital
for tourism and that “no
one’s going to come out
here to see the town then
turn around and go back on
the highway.”
He also said that when
we don’t take care of the
forest and leave it alone,
“We end up with Dooley
Mountain.”
Nelson said he knows
the importance of tourism
and that Timothy Bishop
is doing a wonderful job
of promoting Sumpter. He
said a little more could be
done with selling some
events, like Music in the
Meadow. He said it takes
a game plan to market and
capitalize on community
events.
Clarke asked who and
what are Oath Keepers and
if you are a member, how
do you see it affecting the
job you’re running for?
Ash and Nelson deferred
to Justus, who stated Oath
Keepers is a national orga-
nization set up for retired
military and law enforce-
ment to study the constitu-
tion and what their duties
were by the oath taken to
support and defend the
constitution.
He stated the group in
Baker City doesn’t fit the
national mold. They are
all private citizens trying
to find ways to help and be
involved.
Justus stated he got
involved because he wants
to be a “part of the whole
community doing some-
thing together.”
The group has a big
emphasis on preparedness
and discussed with Baker
County Emergency Man-
agement’s Jason Yencopal
who agreed everyone
should have at least three
weeks’ survival needs
prepared.
Justus stated he does
not know how appropriate
his involvement with Oath
Keepers would be if he
were elected county com-
missioner.
He has been running
meetings and said he
thought Ash “appreciates
my abilities and thinks
‘Kody’s sane.’”
Ash asked if the group
doesn’t want to fight
the federal government
on some level. Justus
responded not from Oath
Keepers. He also said if he
wanted to fight, he would
not be running for county
commissioner, a position
with a specific role and
set parameters. He said
that anyone interested in
learning more could attend
a meeting, held every third
Tuesday.
Jeff McKinney stated
he’s heard a lot about “con-
stitutional sheriffs” and the
“Constitutional Sheriff’s
Association.”
He asked Ash if he is
a member of the group.
Ash stated he is not, but
would consider himself a
constitutional sheriff. He
swore an oath to uphold
the constitution.
He stated that the par-
ticular group was founded
by a sheriff voted out of of-
fice and is, in his opinion, a
political agenda.
Julie McKinney asked
about concerns over 2nd
amendment rights.
Ash stated he thinks a lot
of what is going around is
from conspiracy theorists.
He stated he carries a gun
every day for work and is
also a private gun owner.
He said he has “zero
expectation” for everyone
to give up their firearms
and that people are playing
on fear.
He said,“We have the
2nd amendment, and it’s
not going away.”
He said that citizens will
not see his deputies out
collecting guns, though
they may be seized through
proper channels if a crime
is committed.
During his final state-
ment, Nelson said that with
his experience of being a
small business owner, he
knows the importance of
the local economy, visitors’
dollars, and access to the
forest, both as a way of life
and to stop fires when they
blow up.
He said his main priority
would be the roads and
that even if he has to go to
the other side of the state
to voice his opinion, he
will do it. He said, “Other
than the mosquitoes, this
area is perfect” and that
though promoting is being
done very well, “We can
elaborate a bit more.” He
invited those with concerns
to call any time.
Justus stated he decided
to run for office because he
has the desire and energy
to be an advocate for the
citizens of Baker County.
He said, “I’ll vote my
conscience and not be
scared to be the outstand-
ing vote.” He stated
government should protect
individual rights and liber-
ties and all government
functions should be trans-
parent. He said he would
look for ways to spend less
and that “the biggest con-
trol we have is over how
much we spend.”
His website is justusfor-
bakercounty.com and he
also has a page on Face-
book.
Ash shared a conversa-
tion he had with the deputy
DA last year when he was
appointed sheriff.
The deputy DA asked,
“Is this your goal, your
dream?” Ash stated
when he began in law
enforcement, it was not his
ambition to advance. He
jumped into training and
work, learning and apply-
ing skills and stepping up
to do the job that had to be
done. He said, “Now, it’s
slapping me in the face,
this is where I’ve been
headed my whole life.”
He is working on cross-
training with deputies,
including training correc-
tions officers on con-
ducting arrests and civil
processes in jail.
The department received
around $30,000 after bud-
get from BLM for patrol-
ling rangeland. Ash stated
building relationships is
how things get accom-
plished.
He said he sets the bar
high for himself and those
he works with and, “We
work for the people and are
going to be out there.”
He mentioned again his
open door policy and said
he keeps one clean table in
his office so there is always
space to talk.