BAKER CITY HERALD • THuRsDAY, ApRIL 28, 2022 A5
VOTERS GUIDE
Baker County Commission, Position 3 (chairman)
Shane Alderson
Joe Johnson
Question 1: Biographical infor-
Question 4: List and discuss your
mation: Name, age, occupation, ed- top 3 goals were you to be elected:
ucational background, etc.
• Housing shortage: Like all of Or-
Shane Alderson, 42 years old
egon, Baker County is experiencing
My family has called Baker
a housing crisis. The housing avail-
County home since 1935. My wife
able to the community is not suf-
Alisha and I love raising
ficient to meet workforce
our young daughter in this
needs. The cost of housing
beautiful community, sur-
is so high that residents
rounded by small town val-
have been forced to leave
ues.
the county. This has left our
My brother Mark and
workforce severely depleted.
I run our sporting goods
The lack of workforce
store, Baboon Creek Outfit-
makes it nearly impossi-
Alderson
ters, on Main Street.
ble to bring new industry
Question 2: Current or
to the county. Many home
past political or public service ex-
owners have changed rentals into Air
perience:
Bnb destinations, leaving very few
Former American Red Cross,
options to local residents who rent.
Health & Safety Instructor and Di-
This has had a negative impact on
saster Relief Volunteer. Former
our low- and medium-income fam-
Baker County Search and Rescue
ilies and has exasperated the hard-
Volunteer.
ship of many of our most vulnerable
Currently serving as City Coun-
citizens. As County Commissioner,
cilor on Baker City Council.
I will advocate to bring affordable
Wilderness First Responder Cer- workforce housing to Baker County.
tification, Wilderness Medical As-
I will team up with county and city
sociates; Wilderness & Remote First planning departments, housing task
Aid & CPR Certification, American force, and economic development to
Red Cross; FEMA Incident Com-
find solutions to this problem. I will
mand System Certification, Federal promote economic development,
Emergency Management Agency;
small business, and size-appropri-
Emergency Medical Technician Cer- ate industry.
tification, Blue Mountain Commu-
• Natural resources: I will fight
nity College.
for forest access. Keeping our forests
Question 3: What are your
open is vital to fire management and
thoughts about the current discus- fuel reduction. Without an open for-
sion between commissioners and
est our outdoor recreation industry
Baker City regarding ambulance
would be greatly compromised. In
service, in particular the possibility the past, our natural resources cre-
of asking voters to approve a prop- ated most of our economy. I would
erty tax levy to raise revenue for
like to bring sustainable land use
the service?
back to Baker County. Growing up
in Baker County with the high des-
As a City Councilor, I was
shocked to be informed by our City erts and forests started this love. I
will fight for our mining, grazing,
Manager that our ambulance ser-
vices would no longer be sustainable timber, forest access, and recreation.
• Homelessness and addiction:
without city and county taxpayers
Homelessness and addiction are a
heavily subsidizing EMS services.
growing crisis throughout Oregon.
I strongly stand by our local fire-
Poor policies passed by our state
fighters, paramedics, and EMTs.
lawmakers have made it more dif-
My hope as City Councilor and as
County Commissioner would be to ficult to address these issues. I will
retain local services with local staff. work with our mental health profes-
sionals, churches, and faith-based
These dedicated residents have the
organizations to find solutions to
best understanding of the unique
needs of our county and they are an break the cycle of addiction that
invaluable part of our community. I leads to homelessness. Focusing in-
believe that at this time an EMS dis- terventions on this dilemma is an
trict is our only option to retain lo- immediate priority for the safety and
health of our community.
cal ambulance services.
Question 1: Biographical information: Name, age, personnel who are firefighter / EMT certified. That
occupation, educational background, etc.
would help alleviate the manning issues that we are cur-
Joe Johnson, 33, Baker County Sheriff’s Office Tele-
rently experiencing here in the city and the county.
communicator. I am currently enrolled at Ameri-
I think this is a great example of how we cannot af-
can Military University for Legal Studies, graduating
ford to kick problems down the road until they can no
Summa Cum Laude Summer of 2022.
longer be ignored. Situations that can put the lives of
Question 2: Current or past political or
our citizens at risk should not and cannot be
public service experience:
ignored as this has been. We need to elect of-
While I was in the Air Force and stationed
ficials who are capable of informing the citi-
in Germany, I had the opportunity to serve as
zens of these issues, be transparent, and work
a Force Protection Anti-Terrorism manager.
with other agencies to rectify the situation as
This job required me to work with other agen-
quickly and smoothly as possible.
cies within the United States Air Force, mem-
Question 4: List and discuss your top 3
bers from different branches of the United
goals were you to be elected:
Johnson
States armed forces, foreign branches of the
I hope as a taxpayer and a citizen that the is-
military, and local jurisdictional entities. While
sue with the Ambulance Service Area will be
doing this job, I helped pass new policies that protect
resolved by the time any of us that are running for the
our troops stationed under the United States armed
Chair position take the office in January. This could not
forces of Europe and Africa, briefed numerous person- be the case and if it is not resolved this will be one of the
nel on tasks, current global situations as well as local
first things that are addressed when I am elected. I will
situations so that we could make the best decisions with work diligently with the city councilors to keep the jobs
the information that we currently had.
here in our county and with Station 24. Whether this is
Question 3: What are your thoughts about the cur- looking into having the county take over the ambulance
rent discussion between commissioners and Baker
services from Station 24, or looking into a levy to help
City regarding ambulance service, in particular the
pay for the ambulance services, with the caveat that the
possibility of asking voters to approve a property tax
money from the county will only be used on maintain-
levy to raise revenue for the service?
ing the EMS services for the county.
The situation with the ambulance service is very
The second goal I would like to accomplish would
disappointing to me. As a current volunteer firefighter be to reevaluate our county budget and see where we
and someone who has been volunteering as a fire-
have been spending money, and possibly readjust-
fighter since I was 16, it saddens me to see these jobs
ing where funds are going to more accurately repre-
be put up on the chopping block as they have. I would sent what the taxpayers would like their hard-earned
say that as elected officials it is the members of the
tax money to be spent on. I have already looked into
City Council and the County Commissioners’ office
the budgets a little bit and have some questions that
to work together to fix this situation the best they can. I would like to ask some of the department heads, or
Both parties need to be willing to openly talk with
even the current sitting commissioners to ask why
each other to find a solution that ensures the safety of funds are being spent on these things when we seem
the people in this county.
to have issues finding money to pay for services that
There has been talking of possibly bringing in a pri-
are necessary to the county.
vatized ambulance service. I think that this would be a
The third goal I would like to accomplish would
mistake, as we could be looking at the same situation
be better transparency in our county government. I
down the road when we had to renegotiate a contract
would like the citizens to know what we are doing,
with the privatized company.
what we are spending money on, and what future
There has also been talking about raising taxes to help plans could be. I think that transparency in the gov-
fund the ambulance services. This would be a decision ernment is paramount. Especially since as elected of-
that the county taxpayers should have a voice in. Raising ficials our job is to answer to you the voters of this
taxes in our current economic climate would be dam-
county. I have heard of people referring to the Com-
aging to many families and needs serious thought and
missioner positions as positions of power. I do not
consideration from everyone. If we were to ask the tax- agree with this statement, yes there is power, but the
payers to pass a levy we would need to look at passing a power comes from you the people. I think a lot of ca-
tax that would be fair to everyone. One thing that con- reer politicians forget that and need to remember that
cerns me though about asking for a tax from the county, they are only in this position because the voters have
is how the money would actually be spent. Right now
seen fit to elect them to the position.
the personnel structure at Station 24 is something that
If elected I promise to hold myself accountable to you
you would see from one of the larger fire departments
as the people of Baker County and would use all of my
on the west side of the state. I do not feel that our fire
experience from the military and from my legal studies
department, or that our city and county need or require degree to work diligently for you the people and make
a chief and three division chiefs. What would be more
the decisions that the people want, and what would be
beneficial for the department and the city as a whole
best for our county. Together we can make this one of
would be using the money that is spent on three admin the best counties to live, work, raise a family, and retire
positions that do not respond to calls full time on more in. Thank you for all the support so far in my campaign.
Dan Garrick
Question 1: Biographical information:
Name, age, occupation, educational back-
ground, etc.
Occupation: Builder/general contractor.
Currently taking a break while campaigning. I
am currently not licensed, I discontinued my
license in 2018 to work with a nonprofit orga-
nization (Eight Days of Hope) as a Rapid Re-
sponse Manager.
I am the most experienced candidate at
age 60.
Educational background: Northwest Naz-
arene College; Mount Hood Community
College; Portland State University (Graduate
courses).
My experience: construction manager,
for LALTRC. executive director, for Hope
Community Development Association; gen-
eral contractor/general manager, for Moon
Meadow Construction; Rapid Response Man-
ager for Eight Days of Hope; executive board
member for Eight Days of Hope Disaster relief
organization.
Question 2: Current or past political or
public service experience:
Served two terms on Baker School District 5J
School Board, two years as board chair, while I
was chair we had to cut nearly $4 million dol-
lars from the budget due to reduced enroll-
ment. During this time I learned a great deal
about governmental budgets and pass through
money, general fund money, grant money. I feel
I have a pretty good handle on governmental
budgets, but I am sure I will learn even more as
Commission Chair: I worked with other board
members and administration to help make
Baker Web Academy a reality. Served on the
Baker Fairgrounds steering committee. Part of
citizens group that weeded out corruption in
the Eastern Oregon Education Service District.
Question 3: What are your thoughts about
the current discussion between commission-
ers and Baker City regarding ambulance ser-
vice, in particular the possibility of asking
voters to approve a property tax levy to raise
revenue for the service?
My thoughts are many on this subject, and
I will just speak as plain as possible from what
knowledge I have obtained since the City
Council meeting in which the City Manager
Question 4: List and discuss your top 3
revealed how the City has been running in the goals were you to be elected:
RED for approximately 10 years and has lost
I have told everyone that I do not have any
$4.5 million in the last 5 years and is no longer agenda going into my campaign. I don’t owe
able or willing to offer ambulance service. To
anyone anything. I have learned a lot about
keep within my allotted words, I will just list
county government and will continue to learn
my thoughts.
after I am swore in. While campaign-
• The city hired three paramedic
ing I have seen needs in many areas. I
firefighters/ambulance workers using
believe our current commissioners do
grant money that only lasted for three
a good job with a lot of complex issues
years, now the grant is up and they
presented to them, the county also has
can’t afford them. I do not believe
very capable staff.
you should use grant money to hire
I do see areas that will require a lot
personnel except for very short-term
of time. They need to continue receiv-
temporary time. The person you hire
ing the existing attention that they
Garrick
should be aware it is temporary.
receive now or improve their status
• You never hear about the lost income that
on my attention list. First would be natural re-
the city lost from inadequate ambulance bill-
sources. The following listed items will get my
ing. It could be in the hundreds of thousands.
immediate attention.
I am not sure anyone knows the exact amount,
• Defeating the River Democracy Act. This
or if it is recoupable.
is a giant land grab by the federal government.
• County has been asking for actual numbers It would take thousands of acres around riv-
for the cost of ambulance service for almost 4
ers and streams throughout Oregon and 4,700
years. Those numbers have been all over place. miles of waterway like Rock Creek, and desig-
What the city has ask county to pay has gone
nate them wild and scenic.
from $137,000 to now $750,000 and as of April
• Access, access, access. We need to keep
20 work session $800,000. That is almost 1/6th our forest, and roads, open to all. The county
of the County’s general fund budget.
needs to continue to fight the Forest Service
I have many other thoughts and ideas that
and BLM to keep our open forest plan. Baker
you are welcome to ask me about when you see County is all about outdoor recreation and we
me, but to stay in my limitations I will share my want to keep it that way. We need to continue
feelings about the property tax levy. First the
to coordinate with the Forest Service and cities
county cannot propose a levy until they know to properly maintain all of the watersheds in
what the actual cost are going to be for ambu- Baker County. Baker City’s watershed should
lance service. Since the city is struggling with
have approximately 50 trees per acre depend-
coming up with that amount the county must
ing on size, and we have as many as 1,000 trees
go out for an RFP (request for proposal.) This per acre. Access also means mining access.
will allow both private ambulance services and Forest Service has had some POOs (plans of
the city to submit proposals for their services
operation) since the 1990s that have not been
to include cost over a specified period of time. approved. That means they have not been
Once the county knows the cost then they can able to access their mining claims to mine for
decide if a tax levy is necessary. The city may
nearly 30 years. Unacceptable from a public
not have left the county with any other choice. service agency. Mining is part of our Baker
Meetings are ongoing between city council and County heritage. Mining is what started the
commissioners at the time I am writing this re- Baker Valley.
sponse. I am optimistic they can at least work
• I will be looking for creative and out of
out a 1-year agreement to allow the county
the box ideas to create revenue for the county
more time than Sept. 30 to replace our ambu-
without taxing citizens. Bring in the smart-
lance service.
est, wisest, the senior adults, the young, men,
The Baker County Clerk’s Office mailed bal-
lots on Wednesday, April 27, for the May 17
primary. Ballots must be returned by 8 p.m. on
election day. However, ballots that are returned
by mail, and postmarked by 8 p.m. on May 17,
will be counted if they get to the clerk’s office
no later than seven days after the election.
Two of the three Baker County Board of
Commissioners positions are on the ballot.
Neither Bill Harvey, commission chairman and
the only full-time commissioner, nor part-time
Commissioner Mark Bennett, is seeking reelec-
tion this year.
Both positions are four-year terms.
Three people are seeking to replace Harvey,
in Position 3 — Shane Alderson, Dan Garrick
and Joe Johnson. All are Baker City residents.
There are two candidates for Bennett’s Posi-
tion 2 — Kody Justus, who lives in Baker Valley,
and Christina Witham of Baker City.
In both races, if one candidate receives more
than half the votes in the May 17 primary, that
candidate would be elected to a four-year term
starting Jan. 1, 2023.
If none of the candidates receives more
than half the votes, the top two candidates
would advance to a runoff in the Nov. 8, 2022,
general election.
women from all parts of the county, and all
walks of life and put our heads together, listen
to each other and respect each other. We can
do more together than alone. “None of us is as
smart as all of us.”
• It appears that one of the top priorities will
be to make sure what has been put in place by
current commissioners to provide ambulance
service is completed. This is assuming that a
tax levy is put out to the voters in May of 2023.
• Incremental economic development is an-
other area that I see requiring a good bit of
time. We need to continue to support existing
small businesses and help with new upstarts.
We need to be able keep young families in
Baker with family wage income jobs. Our big-
gest export is our children.
• You can learn more about me and my ideas
at www.dg4commissioner.com
OREGON
Appeals court nixes $1.1 billion timber award against Oregon
PORTLAND (AP) — The
Oregon Court of Appeals on
Wednesday, April 27, over-
turned a $1.1 billion verdict
against the state over its for-
est management practices, the
latest development in a de-
cades-long dispute over the
best use of vast tracts of for-
estland that cover much of the
state’s rural areas.
A Linn County jury found in
2019 that Oregon breached its
contract with 13 rural counties
and 151 local taxing districts by
failing to maximize timber har-
vests on state forests over the
last two decades. The counties
have said Oregon must man-
age more than 700,000 acres of
state forestland for maximum
timber revenue, while the state
Department of Forestry be-
lieves it has the discretion to
manage the land for wildlife
and recreation.
The plaintiffs can appeal to
the Oregon Supreme Court.
At the heart of the dispute
is an 80-year-old Forest Ac-
quisition Act, which governed
the transfer of county lands
that now make up Oregon’s
state forests.
The counties which stand
to gain from timber revenue
on those lands say the act rep-
resents a contract between the
parties, and point to language in
it that requires Oregon to man-
age the forest for their “great-
est permanent value.” The state
has maintained that the act was
not a contractual agreement
and that the counties don’t have
standing to sue the state.
The appeals court, in its de-
cision, wrote that the language
and intent of that act in its his-
tory and context — and with-
out any “useful” legislative ac-
tion on the issue — “does not
clearly and unmistakably create
a contractual obligation.”
The law was originally en-
acted when hundreds of thou-
sands of acres of Oregon forests
were logged or burned by wild-
fire and the counties turned
them over to the state in ex-
change for a share of revenue
generated by the land. But the
forests have now recovered and
comprise some of the best tim-
ber stands in the state.
The decision threatens to
create further divisions be-
tween rural and urban Or-
egon that have arisen over
clashes over logging. Tim-
ber harvests have declined
steeply in rural areas of the
state in recent decades due
to environmental protections
and both environmental-
ists and the timber industry
have been closely watching
the case.