opinion
may5
2016
An Opinion: Election 2016-Big Decisions
By Scott Laird
The Primary Election ballots
have arrived and Columbia County and
Vernonia voters have some big decisions
to make. Here is a look at two positions
up for election on the County Board
of Commissioners, and two tax levies
being proposed.
Measure 5-253
Vernonia Rural Fire Protection
District (VRFPD)
Five Year Levy for Emergency
Services Training and Operations
The VRFPD has proposed
this levy as a solution to dwindling
volunteers and increased call volume,
and for the community of Vernonia this
is a “must pass measure.” The situation
at VRFPD is reaching a critical point
for Chief Dean Smith and his Board of
Directors and this plan to hire a full time
Training Officer to maintain and expand
the training program for volunteers
would relieve some of the stress.
The training captain would work
with volunteers to help them obtain and
maintain needed certifications, respond
to emergency calls, and develop a Cadet
Program to involve youth in the local
program and offer career exploration
opportunites.
Current resources at the VRFPD
are stretched to the breaking point, and if
the community rejects this $0.32/$1,0000
levy, I’m afraid the volunteers will just
give up. In less than 20 years the number
of volunteers has been cut in half from 26
to 13, while during the same time period
call volume has more than doubled from
250 in 1997, to 548 in 2015.
This is a five year levy and I
think we owe it to Chief Smith and his
volunteers to give them this chance to
see if a full time Training Officer can
solve the issue of a shrinking volunteer
base. If in five years things have not
improved then the VRFPD will have to
find a new solution or ask for additional
time in the form of a new tax and voters
will have the chance to decide again.
We already ask so much of these
dedicated individuals, who give their
time, energy and passion to protecting
all of us. It’s time we gave back to them.
Vernonians need to make a choice,
either approve this plan and give the
VRFPD the funding they need, or reject
it and potentially watch our emergency
protection services crumble. I guess,
there is a third choice if you don’t
want to do your part and pay to help
the VRFPD - you could join up and
volunteer yourself.
Please join me in supporting
the VRFPD and vote YES on Measure
5-253
Measure 5-251
Columbia County
Formation of CC Rider Transit
District
While I believe a public transit
system is vital to Columbia County, and
a dedicated and secure funding source is
required to operate any transit system,
I’m having a hard time getting on board
with this proposed tax levy.
This measure would create a
Special Transit District which would
be governed by an elected seven person
Board of Directors, and establish a
funding mechanism of $0.23/$1,000,
raising approximately $1 million
each year to operate the transit system
separate from the county government.
When funding from the county
was reduced in 2015, CC Rider missed
an opportunity to receive matching funds
from the federal government and the
transit service as a whole experienced
a 64% reduction in services. CC Rider
trips from Vernonia to Hillsboro were
reduced to just three days a week with
just two trips a day at 6:15 am and 4:30
pm. The system overall saw a drop in
annual ridership from over 100,000 to
under 85,000.
Our youth, senior citizens,
commuters and those citizens without
a drivers license depend on the CC
Rider public transit to get to school,
appointments and work each and
every day. The county needs a reliable
transit system to attract new business
and industry, and meet the needs of its
citizens.
Yet, there are several reasons
I can’t support this ballot measure.
First, the Board of Directors who will
be elected are all running unopposed
and were hand picked to run for these
positions; the general citizenship were
never given an opportunity to run.
Second, CC Rider staff have not done
a good job of explaining exactly what
services would be restored or expanded
if voters approve this tax – in other
words, we don’t really know what we’re
voting for. Third, there are questions
about how the county has managed
Special Districts in the past and I’m not
sure another one is the best solution right
now. In addition, the management at CC
Rider has not engendered a feeling of
confidence. County Commissioner
candidate Brady Preheim called for the
county to hire a Transit Director with
professional experience, and I tend to
agree.
Columbia County needs a
transit service with stable funding. I
would like to see the county come up
with a clearer and more transparent
plan, put together by a professional
management team, before I will support
a new tax proposal for operations.
County Commissioner Position 1
Susan Conn, Margaret Magruder,
Wayne Mayo, Brady Preheim, and
Joel Yarbor
I don’t think you could find five
more different candidates for this open
seat than the group assembled here.
Each have their own strengths and each
their own weaknesses.
Susan Conn seems to be the
candidate to stand up for the common
man. She has served on the St. Helens
City Council, the St. Helens School
Board and the Columbia County
Commission for Children and Families
and also has experience with economic
development, CASA, Head Start,
and community health centers. She
also helped lead the effort to fund the
jail and keep it open two years ago.
Less assuming than some of the other
candidates, she has quietly earned
my respect with her opinions and her
background.
Margaret Magruder is also
an experienced candidate with a
background with the Lower Columbia
Watershed Council, 5J School Board,
Columbia County Budget Committee,
and several other civic groups, as
well as in farming and agriculture.
Magruder sounds like she would fit
right in with the current Commissioners
and seemed to agree on their policies
surrounding economic development,
law enforcement, transit and other key
issues. She has been unable to separate
herself from the other candidates or use
her vast experience to bring forward any
new ideas, proposals, or critical changes.
Wayne Mayo has always tried
to establish himself as the outsider who
would shake up county government. He
brings passion and business experience
and a willingness to speak his mind. He
once again is proposing an increase on
the aggregate depletion fee as a funding
source for the county, an idea rejected by
voters in 2014. Otherwise, Mayo hasn’t
really offered anything new.
3
Publisher and Managing Editor
Scott Laird
503-367-0098
scott@vernoniasvoice.com
Contributors
Britt Bensen Steele
Stacey Lynn
Aaron Miller
Karen Miller
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Photography
Britt Bensen Steele
Scott Laird
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Brady Preheim is an outspoken
critic of just about anything the county
has done in the past, and has loudly
attacked the jail, special districts,
county investment at Port Westward,
the Columbia County Economic
Development Team, the CC Rider
management, and the manager at the
Port of St. Helens. Preheim is not a
career politician and has not been afraid
to offer opposing views. He says he will
bring transparency and accountability
and restore trust in county government.
While I applaud his passion and
willingness to challenge the system,
I have to question his ability to work
along side the Board of Commissioners
he has been so critical of in the past.
Joel Yarbor served as a County
Commissioner from 1995-1998 and says
continued on page 5
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