FRIDAY, APRIL 29, 2016
4 — THE BAKER COUNTY PRESS
Opinion
— Editorial —
One
contentious
County race
Back when the three candidates for
County Commissioner initially filed to
run, we had the reaction of shrugging and
nodding, thinking at first that the race
would be gracious and professional, and
that the county wouldn’t suffer for having
any one of the three elected.
As the calendar months changed, so did
our opinion.
Early on, the existing divide within
Republicans in the county, which pretty
much mirrors the one nationally, appeared.
This divide, as in elections past, places on
one side of any race, the old establishment
RINOs (Republicans in Name Only) a.k.a.
“Democrat Lite” alongside their support-
ers in the Democrat party, often including
the local liberal Democrat Precinct Com-
mittee People. On the other side exists the
majority of the local GOP starting in the
middle of the conservative political spec-
trum and ranging over to the right.
Just to give some political perspective,
the Democrat Lite side supported Fred
Warner, Jr. for Commissioner. The con-
servative side as a general rule supported
Bill Harvey. The Democrat Lite side
pushed changing commissioner seats to
nonpartisan, which would have resulted in
less candidate transparency and less local
control. The conservative side opposed the
change for those reasons.
At present, the Lites have adopted Bruce
Nichols as their candidate. The conserva-
tives have rallied around Kody Justus.
And ne’er the twain shall meet.
The interesting dynamic we see unfold-
ing is that due to Nichols’ business and
church friendships, a section of conserva-
tives who have normally voted away from
the Dark (err... Lite) side, have shifted
away from political ideologies simply to
support that friendship. We anticipate this
shift will create a tighter election than
what we saw in the case of the nonpartisan
issue or the Warner/Harvey race.
This dynamic also leaves the third
candidate, Jeff Nelson, in a political No
Man’s Land, drawing a few votes away
from both the Justus and Nichols camps,
we suspect. We don’t believe the Nelson
campaign has been aggressive enough in
getting its word out to voters, and thus,
barring a major change between now and
election day, we predict Nelson will come
in third.
This is not to say we dislike Nelson.
We like him quite a bit. In fact, we have
watched him treat his opponents with
respect. We agree with his stances. We’ve
seen him perform well at forums, and
watched the results show in his responses
as he’s taken the time to really study local
issues. We’ve come away liking Nelson
as a candidate even more than when he
filed. Considering his quick ability to
learn, we hope he treats this campaign as
a starting point, and continues to become
more involved in local politics if he isn’t
victorious this time around.
We’ve had the opposite response to
Nichols’ candidacy, and have steadily
found ourselves at odds with both his at-
titude and his take on many issues. Here
are the reasons, based on the issues, why
we won’t endorse him:
• Nichols has stated in nearly every
appearance that he will not fight Fed-
eral overreach, not with his time and not
financially, to protect the interests of the
people of Baker County. Within the audi-
ences at multiple forums, we’ve heard
citizens murmur, “He just wants us to shut
up and take it?” “He’d rather roll over and
give up?” We heard that same message.
We want a fighter in office. Nichols has
stated a softer, gentler approach to Federal
agencies is the answer. We disagree. The
County needs someone who will not
cower in the face of agency pressure—if
we don’t have this attitude on our Board
of Commissioners, we can kiss multi-use
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• Nichols has expressed a lack of inter-
est in supporting County Coordination
efforts, which by law, exist to give local
elected bodies an equal place at the table
with Federal agencies. Why would anyone
not want that?
• We are dismayed by the campaign team
Nichols brought on board. When he filed,
he expressed how disturbed he was that
Jan Kerns, wife of exiting Commissioner
Tim Kerns yet now Nichols’ campaign
manager, had called and asked him for
reasons that escaped him to resign from
the race. Two weeks later, she became
his manager. This same team and those
surrounding it were behind the Fred War-
ner, Jr. campaign and the press to move
County Commissioners seats to nonpar-
tisan status—in both instances, they lost
when the voters of Baker County voted
to the contrary. The power play is fasci-
nating, and we’re guessing this group is
desperate for a win at this point, but why
Nichols allowed himself to become part of
it is beyond us. We have to assume there’s
truth in the old adage “birds of a feath-
er...” Frankly, it is disturbing to see some-
one stand up and state he’s conservative
while at the same time seeing his signs in
the yards of the most liberal of the Baker
County Democrat PCPs. This doesn’t sug-
gest some magical unity to us. It does sug-
gest an alignment of goals and ideologies,
however—and we don’t believe the Baker
County Democratic Central Committee
has somehow been converted to conserva-
tive over the past two months.
• Nichols opposes the transfer of public
lands to state or county control, as has
been done successfully in numerous other
states. Federal management of public
lands is failing. The numbers and other
results bear that out. Financially speak-
ing, state agencies such as the Oregon
Department of Forestry have a better track
record than the USFS in terms of return
on investment of tax dollars spent. We
also believe that citizens have much better
access to elected officials and policy-
makers when they’re just down the street
or across the state rather than in Washing-
ton D.C.
• We have asked Nichols during this
campaign for basic information. He quick-
ly brushed us off and directed us to his
web site. We later asked for a phone in-
terview that would have taken roughly 10
minutes. He declined, stating he was too
busy during tax season to spare the time.
When he was on the City Budget Board,
he skipped a year’s worth of meetings and
then some. How will he spare the time to
execute the position of County Commis-
sioner? How in the world will he interact
with all media and promote transparency
via that means as an elected official if he
refuses to even before the election?
• Nichols stated during the AAUW
forum that he believes political disagree-
ment in the County is responsible for our
economic problems. We believe political
disagreement is healthy. We also com-
pletely disagree with his basic premise.
The deterioration of our natural resources
industry, regulatory overburden, an aging
local population—those issues come to
mind when we look at our economy. Joe
down the street voting for John while
Susie votes for Beth—yeah, probably not
a job-killing situation.
Justus has expressed the opposite stance
on just about all the above issues.
In the end, we’re comfortable recom-
mending Kody Justus for Baker County
Commissioner, Position 1. When one
looks past the false accusations and smear
campaigns, and genuinely listens to Justus
speak, the truth of him becomes clear.
Justus has demonstrated that fighting
spirit we’re seeking. However, he’s no
radical, fringe, right-wing extremist as so
many of Nichols’ supporters would paint
him. Rather, his values represent those of
most Baker County citizens very closely.
He has handled mudslinging with grace
and continued to focus on the issues.
In numerous public forums he has
proven himself to be the most well-
rounded candidate—understanding budget
and financial issues, natural resource
issues, laws that affect County operations,
economy and local agriculture.
We endorse Kody Justus for Baker
County. Now go turn in those ballots.
—The Baker County Press Editorial Board
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— Letters to the Editor —
Proud to be candidate’s wife
To the Editor:
I am Kody Justus’ wife and am writing
in support of him for Baker County Com-
missioner.
I have watched him grow increasingly
alarmed by the issues our county and
country are facing. Rather than sitting
idly back and watching, he has become
involved in various organizations and
committees to educate himself on local
issues. And now, he wants to be involved
in making decisions that are best for all
the citizens of Baker County. He wants to
be your voice.
Kody has gained knowledge from his
own valuable life experiences, serving
in the Army, living in and utilizing the
local resources here in Baker County. I
have seen his diligence to further educate
himself on the basic rights our forefathers
intended for us in the Constitution of the
United States. He has educated himself
on county issues, including the budget,
use of natural resources, fire issues, etc.
He has researched and understands that
laws have been passed to have “coordina-
tion” between county and federal agen-
cies. He is intelligent and thoughtful and
will continue to educate himself as the
need arises, in order to make informed
decisions.
Kody is a man of integrity; he stands
on his word and on the word of God. He
is honest and will stand up for what he
believes in. Kody has been labeled by
some who don’t know him as being “anti-
government.” That is the furthest from
the truth; he believes in a federal govern-
ment that operates as it was originally de-
signed, “to regulate interstate commerce,
the Federal Reserve and the Military.” He
is passionate that “We the People” are the
foundation of government. He will stand
up for your rights.
Kody understands there are different
sides to every issue. He listens to both
sides. He respects others who are openly
honest about their different opinions.
Kody is not afraid to publicly disagree;
however, he also understands the process
in place for making majority rule deci-
sions.
Kody’s past is what has made him the
strong, Godly man he is today. I am
proud to be his wife and stand beside him
in our decision for him to run for County
Commissioner. I’m asking you to vote for
him as Baker County Commissioner .
Heidi Justus
Baker City
Justus will uphold rights
To the Editor:
I have had the pleasure of watching
Kody Justus working for the past year
and a half as a concerned citizen, without
compensation, due to his dedication to the
people of Baker County. Those who sup-
port this Constitution are not radicals, as
those on the ‘’Left’’ decry. It is they, those
on the ‘’Left’’ who are the true radicals as
they ignore the Constitution in an attempt
to enslave you and I. Just consider how
effective Justus can be, as our next County
Commissioner with the authority, power
and desire to accomplish the real will of
the people. I have witnessed his passion,
for Baker County, and his dedication in
dealing with abuses to both, when the
Constitution has been ignored by the Fed-
eral Government and State Government,or
his addressing/investigating issues which
do not seem to pass the ‘’smell test’’ lo-
cally within the realm of politics.
With the election of Bill Harvey, as the
Commission Chairman, the direction of
the County has taken on a different tone,
and the Feds have been asked to justify
their demands upon the people of Baker
County—and they do not appreciate be-
ing accountable to the people of Baker
County. At this very moment, even after
major input from Baker County voters
supporting open public lands, the Forest
Service is ignoring the peoples’ will, and
is about to close 1,300 miles of public
roads on public lands.
Harvey needs the support of the newly
elect Commissioner in order to represent,
and protect the rights of the people of
Baker County. Of the three candidates
campaigning for this position, there is no
doubt that the man you will want safe-
guarding your Constitutional rights, will
be Justus. I have witnessed him talk the
talk and walk the walk on numerous occa-
sions. At the recent candidates meeting at
the Sunridge Inn, it is alleged that Bruce
Nichols said (at the Candidate Forum) that
he couldn’t go against the Forest Service
and wants to cooperate with them, that
the Commissioners need to be a lot nicer
to them than what the Commissioners
have been. This explains why the backers
Nichols has are supporters of the Forest
Service policies.
If true, unless you want our County
government to follow the lead of Harney
County, then you really need to vote for
Justus for Baker County Commissioner.
If true, then Nichols is willing to ignore
the mandate of open public lands, so
loudly demanded by the overwhelming
majority of people of Baker County.
If you do not vote for the man who will
defend your rights, then someone who
will not, will likely be your new Commis-
sioner.
Ron Edge
Baker City
Support the library levy
To the Editor:
Baker County is very fortunate to have
the quality of library that we do. Not
only is the local library open seven days a
week, but they have five satellite branches
that provide access to books for the most
rural parts of the county open an addi-
tional 15 hours a week.
When my girls were little, they took
part in the library reading program. It
helped teach them that books could take
them anywhere they wanted to go (and at
their own pace). Over the years, we spent
many evenings at the library getting books
for the girls to read and movies to watch
as a family.
Many of us take internet (and comput-
er) access at home for granted. Statistics
I have seen recently, indicate that approxi-
mately half of Baker County residents
don’t have internet access in their homes.
The library provides access to comput-
ers and the internet for those visiting the
library.
The property tax levy on the ballot is
not for new additional taxes. It is provid-
ing continued funding for the library at
the same level as in previous years. Pay
it forward to the next generation just as
someone else did for you. Join me in vot-
ing yes on the library levy.
Anthony Bailey
Baker City
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