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About The Blue Mountain eagle. (John Day, Or.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 14, 2020)
A6 ELECTION 2020 Blue Mountain Eagle Wednesday, October 14, 2020 Local candidates compete in contested races Blue Mountain Eagle The Eagle sent each candidate in a contested local race an elec- tion questionnaire. The questionnaires were mailed the same day to the mailing address the candidates listed when filing to run for office. The candidates were instructed no late submissions would be accepted. The following are the unedited responses received by deadline by position in alphabetical order. GRANT COUNTY SHERIFF Todd McKinley, Mt. Vernon The position I am running for is the Office of Sheriff. The Sher- iff is the chief law enforcement offi- cer within the county with much responsibility. A Sheriff is respon- sible for a diverse range of crimi- Todd nal investigation, McKinley search and rescue, legal process, and daily jail operations. I am running for the position of Sheriff, as I believe, and have for some time, there needs to be a change. The people of this great County need a Sheriff that will look out for all, one that is going to honor the Sheriff’s code of Ethics. I have been a Grant County resi- dent since 1977. I lived and worked on our family ranch until the mid- 1990s, raising cattle and hay until I started logging for Charlie O’Ro- urke. I worked there and at Prai- rie Wood in the truck shop until I was hired as the School Resource Officer for Grant County in 2001. I served under Sheriff Reusser as a Reserve Deputy for a time and then for Sheriff Palmer after Sher- iff Reusser’s passing. After serv- ing as the School Resource Officer under the COPS Grant, I worked as a Patrol Deputy until 2008, then I was promoted to Undersheriff upon the retirement of Undersher- iff McNellis. I served the citizens of Grant County in the capacity of Undersheriff until December of 2015 when I was hired as the Director of the Juvenile Depart- ment and Community Corrections, becoming a certified Parole Offi- THE QUESTIONS 1. Please describe the position for which you are running and its importance. (50 words or less) 2. Why are you running for this position? (50 words or less) 3. What is your background, and what qualifications and experience would you bring to this position? (200 words or less) 4. What issues would you like to address, and how would you do so? (200 words or less) cer. During my time working for the Sheriff’s Office, I performed all manner of investigations, and headed up the Search and Rescue team. I have also served as a vol- unteer firefighter for over thirty years. All of this experience has given me a very well rounded out- look on expectations for the ser- vice to the people of Grant County. Grant County is a very unique county. We take pride in our way of life, and care for our surround- ings in a very respectful manner. If elected Sheriff, I would like to bring some pride back into the Sheriff’s Office. I want to see the staff be cared for and respected as much as our surroundings. They are the backbone of the criminal justice system in the county, and should be treated as a valuable resource. There has been much written and said about the state of affairs in the agency, and I want to change that. I also would like to see more attention placed on the drug prob- lems in this county. As Director of Parole and Probation, I have had a first-hand glimpse at the depth of this epidemic and the destruction it causes to lives. This problem does not just touch the lives in the throes of despair, but the families and the victims of the users’ crimes and the tax payer at large. I also would like to see some separation between the County Court and the Sheriff’s Office. I think the current dep- uty/commissioner arrangement is unhealthy and I would bring an end to that. Glenn Palmer, John Day, did not respond. JOHN DAY CITY COUNCIL Three vacancies After the questionnaires were sent, Richie Colbeth, John Day, informed the Eagle he was running a write-in campaign. David Holland, John Day, did not respond. Chris Labhart, John Day 1. City Councilor for the City of John Day. The city council sets pol- icy and establishes short term and long- term goals for the city. Works with staff, department heads and employ- ees to carry out pol- icy and goals. Chris 2. I want to Labhart see infrastructure throughout the city continue to be improved. Many of our streets need repair. We need to finish projects before we start new ones. We have to work together to accomplish goals. I believe I bring balanced experience to the position of city councilor. 3. I was raised in John Day and understand the culture of our rural community. I am a retired educator, coach and mentor. I have held elected and appointed positions in local, county and statewide offices. I have experience in budgeting, goal setting and collective bargaining from both management and union sides. I have worked with and continue to work with youth, adults and seniors in a variety of volunteer organizations. I have worked with elected leaders in all levels of government and have networked to complete many proj- ects in the local area. I brought Air Life of Oregon into Grant County and worked with the City, County, Blue Mountain Hospital and the For- est Service to construct a helipad next to the hospital. I am currently Presi- dent of the John Day Senior Center and under my leadership, we have undertaken and completed many projects. We recently purchased land from Elks Lodge 1824 for the center and have almost finished some major remodel projects inside the center. I was involved with the 3rd Street extension project. All of these proj- ects were undertaken and completed under my watch. 4. I believe the City of John Day needs to continue working on main- taining and improving our infrastruc- ture (streets, sidewalks, utilities). The City must continue working in col- laboration with Parks and Rec, The Chamber of Commerce, Volunteer organizations, Grant County Court, health care community, schools and our business community. We have abandoned houses throughout the City and need to use our ordinances to deal with this problem. I support the selling of the swimming pool prop- erty to Kam Wah Chung & Co (the State of Oregon) for a new visitor’s center. We need to continue working on beautification projects through- out the city. Signage and landscap- ing are projects that need looked at. I would encourage the City to work with Hope 4 Paws to deal with pet concerns. Heather Rookstool, John Day 1. My name is Heather Rook- stool. I’m running for John Day’s City Council. It is important to me that the mem- bers of the counsel come from diverse backgrounds with the important job they have to do. I Heather feel as a citizen of Rookstool John Day it is our responsibility to be involved. 2. I’m running for City Council because: As a mother and small busi- ness manager I can bring fresh ideas in the hopes of building this town to benefit our youth and small busi- nesses which are vital to the future of our city. 3. My background: I moved to John Day at the age of 15 in 2000 and graduated from Grant Union in 2003. I married my high school sweetheart, Zane, in 2007 and moved back to John Day with our two chil- dren, Zeke (now 12) and Zoey (now 10). I’m currently the Grant County Coordinator for MFMC which is a comprehensive sexual health curric- ulum taught in 6th-8th grade schools in Grant County. I’m also the Man- ager of Java Jungle and love having a Downtown small business for travel- ers as well as locals to stop in and get a yummy coffee. It also provides me with the opportunity to feel the pulse of the community. Some of my qual- ifications for this position are that I have served or am currently on the following boards; Fair Board Vice President, Grant County little league 2 years of VP of softball and base- ball and currently the Player Agent, John Day swim team Fundraiser Rep, Grant Co wrestling club Fund- raiser Rep. 4. Some of my reasoning for run- ning for the city council are as fol- lows; 1st I would like to help and support our local small businesses in John day, I believe if our council and city management did more of this the citizens would follow. I believe our city officials should be checking in and talking to our small businesses and seeing what they need and how it is going, with our small businesses we don’t have a city and I don’t want to see any more empty building in John Day. 2nd thing I think we can do as a city council is to make sure we are “living within our community needs and budget” I think there is some great ideas happening but I don’t know that our budget supports those ideas and I’m ok with not being a “Yes” woman! 3rd I want to find a way to have a Pool for our community. I don’t have all the answers but I’m willing to look into options and hear ideas. I feel this is an important asset to our county! Elliot Sky, John Day 1. Public leadership needs all types of people from the commu- nity to participate in and provide direc- tion for our local government. The city council deter- mines where and how to invest time and resources, pri- Elliot oritizing and pro- Sky viding oversight to activities and pur- suits that will impact the community for years to come. 2. I am running for John Day See Election, Page A7 S211167-1
