A4 • Friday, May 6, 2022 | Seaside Signal | SeasideSignal.com
In South County, county commission
candidates differ over pace of progress
A divisive issue in her district is the bur-
geoning vacation rental industry. Although
the county has permitted scores of short-
term rentals in unincorporated areas, the
As Clatsop County Commissioner development code does not recognize rent-
Lianne Thompson seeks a third term, she als as an explicit use except in Arch Cape.
said the county is on the verge of realizing
The Board of Commissioners is weigh-
ing options on where to allow vacation rent-
goals long discussed.
She believes the skills, knowledge and als and how to regulate them.
relationships she has built up over nearly
County staff, based on board direction,
eight years representing South County’s has recommended making short-term rent-
District 5 will come into play as county als a recognized use in both commercial
projects, such as expanding child care and and residential zones. A Planning Commis-
setting up broadband in underserved areas, sion recommendation, however, would limit
them to commercial and multifamily resi-
get underway over the next four.
“It takes a while, but now I see things dential zones — and only as a conditional
coming to fruition,” she said, “so that’s use — while eliminating them from other
really exciting.”
residential zones.
In the May election, Thompson faces
Before she decides on the issue, Thomp-
Steve Dillard, an innkeeper from Seaside son said she needs more information — for
who sits on the Port of Astoria’s Airport example, the extent to which rentals eat into
housing stock that could be used by long-
Advisory Committee.
At a candidates’ forum at Clatsop Com- term renters. People looking to ban short-
munity College last month, Dillard noted term rentals in residential zones have tied
that some issues before the county — such the lack of available housing, in part, to the
as homelessness and a lack of affordable region’s rental market.
housing — have worsened over Thomp-
“There may be an impact, but I want us
son’s two terms. “I’m here
to have data before we take
because I represent change,”
actions that have unantic-
ipated consequences,” she
he told the audience.
Elected in 2014, Thomp-
said earlier this month.
son is vice chairwoman
Dillard said in an inter-
view that he would have
of the Columbia-Pacific
approved the Planning
Economic
Development
Commission’s recommen-
District and works with
dation, aligning himself
the Association of Ore-
with the belief, expressed
gon Counties. Earlier this
most volubly by residents in
month, Clatsop County col-
laborated with the asso-
South County’s Cove Beach
ciation to create a list of
neighborhood, that short-
more than a dozen parcels
term rentals are prohibited
of surplus county land that
by default.
could be used for housing,
In April, the Board of
child care and other social
Commissioners extended
services.
the moratorium on new
“A lot of people don’t
vacation rental permits for
have necessarily a big-pic-
the second time.
ture or a long-term view,”
The board’s decision to
she said, “and I do.”
extend the freeze by another
In an interview with
120 days — ending on Aug.
The Astorian, Dillard said
26 — came as the last exten-
sion was scheduled to end.
he wants to support local
On affordable hous-
businesses recovering from
ing, Dillard said the county
pandemic shutdowns. He
should try to create incen-
also wants the county to
tives for developers. “Is
move beyond an emergency
there a way where we can
mindset — for example, by
step in and say, ‘OK, this is
resuming in-person meet-
ings of the Board of Com-
something that the county
missioners at the Judge
sees as a priority? How can
Photos by Lydia Ely/The Astorian
Guy Boyington Building in
we help this along?’” he
TOP: Commissioner Lianne
Astoria.
said.
Thompson is running for a
“The county building is
As a commissioner, Dil-
third term. ABOVE: Steve
lard said he would use his
hosting some homeless peo-
Dillard is an innkeeper in
ple at each of the doors, but
position to push back against
Seaside.
what he believes are exces-
they’re not having meetings
sive regulations from Salem.
there,” he said. “Now why
Asked why he should be elected, Dillard
is that, in April of 2022?”
Dillard said he and his wife had been cited his diverse background, including his
looking to get more involved in the com- experience owning an IT firm and found-
munity. About six months ago, he began ing a nonprofit that serves the homeless. “I
attending city meetings in Seaside. When can work at the community service level. I
he learned the county’s District 5 seat was can work at the business level. I get things
done,” he said.
open, he chose to run.
“I’m at a place in my life where I can
Thompson pointed to her “wide and deep
serve, and I’m willing to devote time to the administrative background in government.”
county,” he said.
“Somebody can come into it and have
As in the District 3 race in Astoria an idea about how it works, but I know the
between Commissioner Pamela Wev and inside way that things operate,” she said.
Nathan Pinkstaff, a deck mechanic, the Dis-
Thompson believes that, when prog-
trict 5 election features an incumbent facing ress on major issues is incremental, the best
off against an opponent with sharply differ- course of action is not necessarily to remove
ent political views. In the District 1 election the person working on them. She said she
in Warrenton, Commissioner Mark Kujala, has been “building capacity” at the county,
the board chairman, is running unopposed. in particular through the networking she
Since Thompson first took office, the has done to begin bringing resources to the
ideological makeup of the nonpartisan region.
board has become more conservative.
“It’s like a gardener who plants a seed,
Given the political divides in her district and just because it hasn’t poked through the
and countywide, Thompson, who at the earth and borne fruit yet, you don’t say, ‘Oh
forum did not return fire at Dillard, said she that’s worthless,’ and rip it out. You continue
is “committed to building and maintaining to nurture it so that it grows and produces the
connection and cooperation.”
results that it promises,” she said. “Because
“If I align with one side and want to I think I can promise results. I think we’re
demonize the other side, I don’t think I’m a working effectively toward those. It’s just a
good commissioner,” she told The Astorian. longer-term gain.”
“So I went for the middle — the high road,
At the end of April, Thompson had more
the ridge line — not the swamp at the bot- than $11,000 in contributions. Dillard had
tom of the hill.”
raised more than $4,000.
By ERICK BENGEL
The Astorian
ABOVE: System
in use at Suzanne
Elise Assisted
Living. LEFT:
John Baldridge
shows kitchen
area protected
by the far-UVC
lighting system.
Photos by
R.J. Marx
Elise: Tech brings healthier environment
Continued from Page A1
“We are on the leading edge of it,”
Baldridge said. “It’s our future. I look at it
and I say, ‘Why isn’t the whole world like
getting involved in this?’”
The assisted living center, like other care
homes in the region, had numerous out-
breaks during the pandemic. In mid-March,
the number of cases tied to an outbreak first
reported by the Oregon Health Authority on
Jan. 11 stood at 16 cases.
Baldridge believes the far-UVC system
will make a difference in the future. Far-
UVC, which filters rays in a similar manner
as ultraviolet waves, kills bacteria over time
and protects against airborne diseases.
Through a $100,000 Oregon Department
of Human Services Long-Term Care Capital
Infrastructure Improvement Grant, with 29
lights installed from $2,000 to $3,000 each.
UVC Cleaning Systems, Inc. installed
the lights at Suzanne Elise in early March.
Lights were placed in ceiling tiles on the first
floor and within the sheetrock on the second
floor.
Baldridge’s interest in healthier environ-
ments didn’t start with COVID, with expe-
rience in water purification, disinfection and
UV-related products.
UVC is fairly common in airports and
health care facilities, rolling big black lights
that “zap everything,” he said.
While UVC is dangerous for extended
human contact, the reduced far-UVC wave-
length won’t penetrate the body.
The environment covered by far-UVC is
“getting sanitized all the time,” Baldridge
said.
He would like to see the technology used
in local buildings, including the new Seaside
High School and Middle School campus.
Baldridge said he foresees a product that
would combine far-UVC technology inside
of a regular LED light bulb, so it’s clean-
ing as it lights up the room. “It could change
the world,” he said. “Can you imagine the
difference?”
For now Baldridge is happy to make the
atmosphere at Suzanne Elise a little health-
ier. “I’ve been in the hotel industry mostly
all my life,” he said. “This is the same thing.
I’m really good at hospitality. I love it. I like
to treat these people like they’re in a hotel.”
Director: Lambert steps up at downtown association
Continued from Page A1
downtown businesses. Tickets are avail-
able at the Carousel Mall or Holiday Inn
Express from 1 to 6 p.m. the day of the
event. The flower basket campaign con-
tinues to beautify downtown with colorful
arrangements lining downtown streets.
The Seaside Golf Classic is sched-
uled for Aug. 24, to benefit the associ-
ation and Seaside Kids Inc., which pro-
vides athletic opportunities for local
children.
“Kerri has a feeling for downtown,
which really helps,” business owner
Jeff TerHar said. “She has an interest in
downtown because she’s worked down-
town for so long.”
SUZANNE BONAMICI
IS DELIVERING FOR
NORTHWEST OREGON.
SUZANNE’S ACCOMPLISHMENTS
IN WASHINGTON, D.C.
$219 million distributed to Oregon families
through the Child Tax Credit
$289 million in rental assistance for Oregonians
$87 million to assist Oregonians paying their energy bills
$4.5 billion to invest in Oregon’s infrastructure, including broadband
Advocating for good-paying jobs and workforce training to grow
Oregon’s economy
AS OUR REPRESENTATIVE, SUZANNE WILL CONTINUE TO
FIGHT FOR WHAT WE NEED.
SUZANNE BONAMICI FOR CONGRESS
Building a better future for all Oregonians.
bonamiciforcongress.com
/SuzanneBonamici
Paid for and Authorized by Bonamici for Congress.