Tuesday, OcTOber 25, 2022 A7
REDMOND SPOKESMAN
Write to us: news@redmondspokesman.com
GUEST COLUMN
Vote for change
in tight race for
commissioner
BY OLIVER TATOM
I
’m Oliver Tatom, a registered nurse and paramedic. For the past two
years I’ve supported front-line caregivers as a primary care clinic
manager in Bend and La Pine. I grew up in rural Deschutes County, and
my childhood home was one of 19 destroyed in the 1996 Skeleton Fire. My
wife, Amy, and I returned home to raise our family here. I’m deeply invested
in the health and safety of our region, and that’s why I’m running to be your
next Deschutes County Commissioner.
I know the election noise is deafening, but I feel the need
to speak out so that voters can see the real differences in the
choice for Deschutes County Commissioner. I also feel an
increasing urgency right now, because our local elections are
being greatly influenced by national politics and big money.
Tatom
Not only are issues being raised by the Supreme Court
and the Congress, but money is flooding into this campaign
from huge conservative donors that seem to be trying to buy the election.
The Bend Bulletin recently reported that my opponent, Tony DeBone, has
received over $40,000 from PACs funded by real estate development groups.
It’s no wonder that he refuses to take meaningful steps to address the housing
crisis. Instead he advocates for the kind of sprawl that will make his funders
a lot of money, and then he blames the state’s land use system for his own
inaction.
At the national level the Dobbs decision overturning Roe v. Wade is a clear
example of how national politics leak into our system. It shines a light on
the important work of the providers at our county’s safety net Reproductive
Health clinic, where women can seek family planning services regardless of
their ability to pay. Commissioner DeBone brags about his endorsement by
anti-abortion groups, and he voted to deny health insurance coverage for
county employees and their families seeking abortion care as required by
state law.
I understand the stresses our first responders and frontline healthcare
workers have endured these past few years — and continue to endure to-
day — because I’ve walked in their shoes. COVID-19 is no longer threaten-
ing to overwhelm our hospitals, but public health remains more important
than ever. Our local hospitals, nursing facilities, and EMS agencies are un-
der enormous financial strain and face dire staffing shortages, underscor-
ing the urgent need for investments in prevention. That means we need to
lean into programs like Healthy Schools, the innovative partnership between
Deschutes County Public Health and Bend-La Pine Schools to prevent sub-
stance use, teen pregnancy, and suicide. I hope to expand that program to
Redmond and Sisters. DeBone has voted against Healthy Schools three years
in a row.
My service on the Deschutes Rural Fire District #2 Board of Directors and
the Deschutes County Project Wildfire Steering Committee has given me
additional insight into the challenges facing our community, like the rising
wildfire risk — worse today than when I lost my own home 26 years ago. De-
schutes County’s Natural Resources Department is a crucial partner in fire
prevention efforts, but the department recently lost its entire staff. In today’s
economic environment, we have to support the people doing the work and
fight to retain them.
From drought to homelessness, issues that didn’t used to impact quality of
life in Central Oregon have become major challenges over the many years
DeBone has been in office. If we want better outcomes we have to do things
differently. We have to overcome the influence of national politics and big
money to elect leaders with vision and a willingness to take action. But that
depends on you.
So, talk to your friends and neighbors and encourage them to vote in every
race, all the way down the ballot, including both county commissioner seats.
This election is going to be incredibly close and it may very well be your vote
that decides the future of Deschutes County. Make it count!
█
Oliver Tatom is a candidate for Deschutes County Commissioner.
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YOUR VIEWS
Current mayor says
Schimmoller best for the job
I have been asked many times
why I endorsed Ben Schimmoller
for Redmond mayor. Ben is young,
smart, dedicated and experienced.
He is Redmond’s future. He has the
contacts the mayor needs to help
Redmond progress.
Ben is focused on where Red-
mond is headed. He talks about
the projects we need to support the
growth we are experiencing. He dis-
cusses the methods we need to at-
tract living wage businesses to Red-
mond while supporting those who
are currently here. His opponents
are both legacies of the past — one
a mayor from decades ago, and the
other serving on council for many,
many years.
If you look at my tenure, you
find that I discovered being mayor
cannot be focused completely on
local issues and decision making.
The mayor must make contacts and
“friends” with legislators and deci-
sion makers at the higher levels of
government. The old saying, “It’s
not what you know, it’s who you
know” is true, and the higher you go
in government, the truer that state-
ment becomes. Add to that, elected
officials like to interface with other
elected officials. Ben knows all of
those officials. Look at who en-
dorsed him.
One of Ben’s opponents stated
that he will send staff to make the
contacts. It won’t work. His other
opponent says that it’s what you
know; contacts don’t mean so much.
Also, not true.
Ben has what it takes to be mayor.
George Endicott
Mayor, Redmond
Voters should choose
their leaders wisely
There is only a few more weeks
before we decide who will be the
new leaders in Deschutes County
and Redmond.
I would like to encourage every-
one to vote, but most of all vote for
leaders who you believe have the
qualifications to do the job. Before
voting, consider what kind of leader-
ship you want and what that would
look like. Components of leadership
include trustworthiness, character
and competence. These attributes
are all equally important for leaders
to possess.
Leaders also have to be visionar-
ies to implement progressive change
and have the ability to achieve goals.
Leaders must be competent. Com-
petence requires one to work dili-
gently. It requires mental acuity to
solve difficult problems facing our
county and cities. They must be
champion team builders who know
the value and importance of clear,
honest and accurate communica-
tion.
As a voice for Deschutes County
and Redmond, we need leaders who
are willing to listen for understand-
ing, knowledgeable of issues, and
prepared to brainstorm and find
resolutions. Leaders should have a
proven record of leadership and the
ability to overcome adversity.
This is a mark of high profes-
sional wisdom and courage and it
converts adversity into positive im-
provement for our county and com-
munities.
These qualifications would be
the most important as we enter into
2023. I encourage you to listen to
the debates, consider the qualifica-
tions of the candidates, and above all
watch with open eyes and an open
mind to measure the worth of all the
candidates who are asking for your
vote to be your leader. Be wise and
confident when you cast your vote
on Tuesday, Nov. 8. Let’s keep Red-
mond on track for prosperity.
Clifford Evelyn
Redmond City Councilor
GUEST COLUMN
Re-elect Adair for commissioner
BY DR. DAVID M. COUTIN
O
regonians, like the rest of
the country, are highly
skeptical and cynical
about the political process. Water-
gate, Irangate, 33,000 deleted Clin-
ton emails and foundation fund-
raising, Russiagate, January 6th,
the FBI and Hunter Biden, and
legislators achieving millionaire
status while supposedly serving
the people, have led most of us to
be highly distrusting of the polit-
ical process and our institutions.
I get it! That doesn’t mean we
should abandon politics, but we
should demand more accountabil-
ity from our candidates and public
officials.
The mantra of the ’60s was that
if you are not part of the solu-
tion, you are part of the problem.
It starts with choosing candidates
with integrity, honesty, compas-
sion, experience, and action. Such
is the case of the most qualified
incumbent that I have known in
25 years of political activity, Patti
Adair who is re-running for De-
schutes County commissioner. I
have known Patti for the past five
years. She entered the office like
a whirlwind investigating the is-
sues of homelessness, suicide pre-
vention, addiction, mental illness,
public health, land use, and county
budget. She networked and sought
comprehensive details on each
of these issues. She listened and
asked incisive questions. As a con-
sequence, she racked up an exten-
sive list of accomplishments. She
held property tax increases under
6 cents per thousand for the past
three years. She helped secure a
decade long goal of two additional
circuit court judges in 2021 by
launching a telephone/email cam-
paign. She brought about safety
updates at Harper Bridge in 2019.
She managed the opening of the
Deschutes County Veterans’ office
an additional day of the week. She
advocated for Habitat for Human-
ity and added a bus route from La
Pine to Sunriver. She helped move
the Terrebonne sewer system for-
ward. She helped open the stabili-
zation center for the acute mentally
ill. She has been working to use
state facilities in Central Oregon to
offer inpatient mental health and
addiction services. She’s looking to
house the homeless in county facil-
ities where they can have access to
transportation and comprehensive
services and learn ways to re-inte-
grate into society. She sits on the
Central Oregon Health Council
and is looking at ways to improve
the backlog of 8,000 surgeries by
coordinating between St. Charles
and the community outpatient sur-
gery centers.
In a recent Rotary debate in
Redmond, Commissioner Adair’s
opponent Morgan Schmidt actu-
ally faulted the commissioner for
failing to raise property taxes by
$2 million dollars and then gave
an analogy of a homeowner failing
to improve upon the value of his
property. Someone appropriately
pointed out that Morgan wasn’t
spending her own money, that she
was spending taxpayers’ money.
She then responded that some of
that money was hers. Schmidt just
doesn’t get it! She is spending other
peoples’ money, folks on a fixed
income during the worst inflation
in 40 years on her “pet projects.”
Schmidt is confused about rais-
ing money for a charitable church
project and spending hard earned
taxpayer dollars on ever increasing
public projects. She further went
on to say that she didn’t have to
have a CPA background because
the county employs many CPAs.
She fails to recognize the incredi-
ble value that Adair brings to the
position by effectively managing
a multimillion budget and saving
taxpayers millions of dollars of
their funds. Ms. Schmidt has never
met a dollar that she would not
gladly spend. Citizens should be
concerned about Ms. Schmidt’s ac-
tivist association with Central Ore-
gon Peacekeepers and her need for
a bullhorn and gas mask. She was
active in preventing police action
against people convicted of harass-
ment and assault. (The Source Aug.
14, 2020).
Commissioner Adair has a
demonstrated history listening to
her constituents and advocating
for them. She has been extremely
accessible and responsive to their
needs. I hope you will join me and
many others in recognizing that
she represents Central Oregon
common sense values and Vote
Patti Adair for county commis-
sioner!
█
Dr. David M. Coutin is a retired
immunologist who lives in Bend.