EIGHT - Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon Wednesday, April 29, 2020
PATTON
cense subcommittee, I
was responsible for tracking
and managing the budget of
the yearly conference.
Do you have family
here? Spouse? Children?
My wife Lisa and I
reside in Heppner with our
two adopted dogs and cat.
Lisa is the executive direc-
tor of the Neighborhood
Center of South Morrow
County. My mother, San-
di Patton, works at the
assessor’s office, stepfa-
ther, Mike Gorman, is the
county assessment and tax
collector, father, Mark Pat-
ton, works for the Port of
Morrow and stepmother,
Taranna Patton is on the
Ione City Council and also
volunteers with multiple
organizations in the area.
My maternal grandparents,
Jay Dee and Jo Hudson,
were both born in Heppner.
My paternal grandparents,
Ed and Mardean Patton,
raised their family in the
Cecil area. Mardean was
the manager for the Bank of
Eastern Oregon in Irrigon
before retiring. I also have
several other relatives who
live in the Ione and Irrigon
area.
Why are you running
for a county office?
I’m running for office
of treasurer to help build a
better working relationship
with the Board of Commis-
sioners and all of the other
departments and offices in
the county. Recent events
have shown an increased
need for communications
between the Board of Com-
DIEHL
missioners and the treasur-
er’s office. I believe every-
one needs to work together
for the benefit of the county
and its citizens.
What do you feel is the
biggest challenge facing the
office you are running for in
Morrow County?
The biggest challenge
coming into the office
would be establishing re-
lationships with each of
the tax paying districts.
The current treasurer has
been doing a great job for
23 years and I would want
to continue providing the
same quality service.
How would you address
that challenge if you win?
I would meet and work
with each taxing district
independently to make sure
their needs are being met.
If something needs to be
changed or if a certain dis-
trict needed a special report,
I would work my hardest to
make that available to them.
I would also continue to
volunteer as the custodian
of funds for several of the
taxing districts to help re-
duce administrative costs.
Why do you feel you
are the best candidate for
the job?
My 16 years of employ-
ment with the county and
the working relationships
I have established are what
make me the best candidate
for this position. The county
treasurer position needs
to be filled by a candidate
who is professional, honest,
ethical and trustworthy.
tective, Corporal, Ser-
geant and Lieutenant, in
charge of the Criminal Di-
vision and management
of its 1.9-million-dollar
budget.
Do you have family
here? Spouse? Children?
My beautiful wife Tra-
cie and I have been married
over 25 years and have
raised two grown children
that we are very proud of.
Why are you running
for a county office?
I am running because
I love serving and helping
the public. Continuing as
your Justice of the Peace
allows me to continue my
life-long career in criminal
justice service. Thirty-five
plus years ago, I got into
law enforcement because I
wanted to make a difference
and above all help people
and that desire still holds
true today.
What do you feel is the
biggest challenge facing the
office you are running for in
Morrow County?
In today’s environment,
where more and more par-
ents are required to both
work, we are seeing less
and less parental involve-
ment and/or guidance. This
is leading to issues with
some juveniles as it pertains
to truancy and delinquency.
This is becoming a commu-
nity issue as today’s youth
are tomorrow’s adults and
hopeful leaders.
The issues are:
A. How do we ensure
our youth stay in school?
How do we get the parents
BAILEY CAVE
perience, do you have?
Four years of temp
work with various corpo-
rate offices where I was re-
sponsible for accounts pay-
able, accounts receivable
and bank reconciliations.
Three years as manager
of a non-profit organization
where I handled all account-
ing records, worked with a
board of 12 and helped run
fundraising events.
Three years as office
assistant/cashier for a metal
recycling company, re-
sponsible for payment of
wholesale purchasing, fil-
ing monthly and quarterly
reports with the State of
Oregon.
Several years as an ac-
counting clerk for four
small business, in charge of
payables, receivables, pay-
roll, quarterly and yearly
tax reports.
Do you have family
here? Spouse? Children?
I’m married to my for-
ever spouse and between us
we have four children, one
of whom is still in the nest.
I grew up in Ione and at that
time was probably related
to half of the southern end
of Morrow County by blood
or marriage. Sadly, most of
my relatives have passed or
moved away over the years,
though I still have an uncle
close by and cousins who
are descendants of the Lun-
dell family. And over the
past three years of conver-
sations with local people,
I have discovered “new”
relatives. Since researching
family history is a hobby of
mine, this has been exciting
to learn.
Why are you running
for a county office?
I had been contem-
plating running for county
treasurer. It’s an office best
suited to my skills and
experience. I planned to
sign up when our current
treasurer retired, which
happened sooner than I
anticipated. I want to con-
tribute to the growth and
prosperity our county has
been experiencing. I be-
lieve I can best do that by
managing the day-to-day
operations of the treasurer’s
office with efficiency, trans-
parency, and dedication to
the handling of all moneys
received and disbursed on
behalf of the county.
What do you feel is the
biggest challenge facing the
office you are running for in
Morrow County?
I feel the biggest chal-
lenge facing the treasurer’s
office at this time is the state
of its working relationship
with the Board of Commis-
sioners. Somewhere along
the way, a breakdown in
communication occurred.
I feel the impasse has left
both offices with hard feel-
ings and created a non-co-
operative environment that
may not get reconciled.
How would you address
that challenge if you win?
All elected offices of
our county are governed by
Oregon Revised Statutes.
All are part of the same
team. We should communi-
cate and perform as a team
for the betterment of the
county and remain flexible
within the parameters of
each office. I believe com-
munication is key when
working together. I would
improve upon my current
working relationship with
each office and department
to help achieve the goals the
county has to maintain and/
or improve the services it
offers to the people.
Why do you feel you
are the best candidate for
the job?
I bring several years
of experience working in
different business environ-
ments and interacting with
a variety of personalities.
This has given me the abil-
ity to communicate in situ-
ations where compromise
may be needed. Coming
from the finance dept, I’m
familiar with the financial
workings of the county and
the software program used
and believe my adjustment
period will be minimal. My
experience with tracking
large sums of money, along
with my accuracy and at-
tention to detail, make me
a good fit for the treasurer’s
office. I believe my dedica-
tion and work ethic make
me the right person to be
county treasurer.
VOTE
JOSEPH
ARMATO
MORROW COUNTY
COMMISSIONER
PAPINEAU
involved? How do we help
guide the families and get
them the training and edu-
cation they need to succeed
in a family and as an indi-
vidual with a future?
B. How do we hold
them accountable and teach/
encourage these youth to
follow the rules (laws) of
society so they can become
not only useful, productive,
contributing members of
our communities now and
in the future?
How would you address
that challenge if you win?
By continuing the work
already being done in your
Justice Court. We are work-
ing closely with school dis-
trict administrators, school
resource officers and our
other community partners.
We have had multiple meet-
ings and recognized that
“one size doesn’t fit all.”
I have conveyed to these
professionals that my door
is always open and that I
welcome their input as we
work together to find ways
to keep these kids in school.
With our communi-
ty partners, I am looking
at many “out of the box”
ideas and programs as it
applies to delinquency. I am
committed to working with
our community partners to
reduce youth crimes and
turning them around before
they end up in the criminal
justice arena. Our goals of
teaching them to make pos-
itive choices and helping
them understand how their
actions can affect others as
well as their future and by
empowering the families
to support their children’s
positive actions.
Why do you feel you
are the best candidate for
the job?
I believe that my com-
bination of education, train-
ing and experience makes
me the best candidate. My
record of commitment to
the law in addition to my
balanced and fair-minded
approach makes me unique-
ly qualified to continue
serving you, as your Justice
of the Peace. And with your
support I will continue
serving.
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years. I have two won-
derful children.
What, if any, prior ex-
perience, do you have?
While working as the
office manager for Molalla
River Academy, I loved
working with the children
and parents and being able
to serve the community in
that capacity. I have always
been able to work together
with many diverse groups
of people. I am well versed
in how our property tax
money is distributed to
districts, as well as knowl-
edgeable in accounts pay-
able, receivable and pay-
roll. I also have experience
providing financial reports
and working on budgets as
I was the recorder for the
Town of Lexington prior
to moving to Clackamas
County. I already work
closely with the current
treasurer and feel that I
would make the transition
smoothly.
Why are you running
for a county office?
I am running for Mor-
row County Treasurer to be
a beneficial part of the com-
munity and for my family. I
believe that this position is
a great opportunity. I am a
team player who excels at
working with others.
What do you feel is the
biggest challenge facing the
office you are running for in
Morrow County?
I believe that the big-
gest challenges facing this
position are the diverse
skills needed to accomplish
the day to day functions.
How would you address
that challenge if you win?
I will use all my expe-
rience and knowledge to
serve Morrow County with
the utmost respect, integ-
rity and dedication. I will
listen to your concerns and
collaborate with all other
government entities, as well
as the people of Morrow
County.
Why do you feel you
are the best candidate for
the job?
Morrow County is my
home, where my heart has
always been. I am excited
and grateful to have this
new opportunity to serve
Morrow County.
HIGH
businesses I’ve worked
or volunteered for.
What, if any, prior ex-
perience, do you have?
As a former council
member, mayor, budget
member and current Chair
of the Morrow County Fair
Board, I’ve had numer-
ous opportunities tracking
multiple funds to assure
that everything is running
smoothly. I also have had
the benefit of tracking ac-
counts for most of the busi-
nesses I’ve been employed
with. I have a keen eye for
numbers and I am detail
oriented with accounts.
Do you have family
here? Spouse? Children?
I am married to my
amazing wife Nichole and
we have three wonderful
daughters, Keeley, Emery
and Reiley. I have no other
immediate family from
the area but my wife has
family throughout Morrow
County.
Why are you running
for a county office?
I believe that we all
have a duty to do what
we can to help. When our
current treasurer decided
to retire, I knew that we
needed someone in office
who would continue to hold
the office to the same high
standards and level of inde-
pendence that is so vital. As
our commissioners talked
of reducing the pay of trea-
surer by up to 75 percent, I
feared the capability of the
individual we could get for
this important position. I
have the skills and previous
experience to perform the
work to the highest level
and flexible work opportu-
nities if needed.
What do you feel is the
biggest challenge facing the
office you are running for in
Morrow County?
I feel the biggest chal-
lenge is the lack of commu-
nication and separation of
powers between the com-
missioners and treasurer.
The position we currently
find ourselves in is due to
assumptions about retire-
ment that could have been
cleared up with a simple
conversation. I believe this
breakdown in communica-
tion began with the commis-
sioners innocently wanting
to exercise more control of
the financial duties of the
treasurer to better serve the
citizens, unaware that those
duties are specifically given
to the treasurer to safeguard
against possible impropri-
eties. It is my belief that
this disagreement caused a
fracture in the relationship
that hasn’t healed.
How would you address
that challenge if you win?
I have a good relation-
ship with all the commis-
sioners and department
heads. I would approach
all disagreements with the
idea that we all are trying
our best to serve the people
of Morrow County. No one
person has all the answers,
we each bring skills and
knowledge to the table that
makes the whole greater
than each individual part.
Why do you feel you
are the best candidate for
the job?
I feel I am the best
candidate for the job be-
cause of the experience and
knowledge I have in this
field. I’m reliable, honest
and approachable. I have
an excellent relationship
with our current treasurer
which will prove valuable
with transitioning into the
position. I have a strong
work ethic and will follow
all rules governing the role
of treasurer. I believe the
treasurer’s role as an inde-
pendent safeguard of your
tax dollars is important and
will not hesitate to stand up
for your interests. I will not
forget, as an elected official,
I work for you, the people
of Morrow County.