Applegate Valley Community Forum Minutes: April 15, 2004, Ruch Library, 7:00pm Meeting opened at 7:04pm by Barbara Dallas. Welcome, AVCF overview and rules of conduct. Candidates Night agenda announced. Star Gulch Community Corrections Work Camp: Mike Winters, JaCo sheriff, expressed to Forum his concerns regarding the Camp’s higher level of offenders than promised at the public safety forum last year. He has tried to fashion a plan to remedy this, has failed, and is now distancing himself from Community Corrections program that runs it. He related that as of April 1 there were 13 inmates at the Camp (6 high risk, 3 medium, 2 limited, 2 unassessed). Commissioner Sue Kupillas says it’s due to no funding and nowhere else to put them except back on the street. Budget adjustment needed. More at later meeting with Sheriff Winters. Treasurers Report: Dick Gobel reported a balance of $421.64. Candidates’ Night Forum Jackson County Board of Commissioners · Encumbant Sue Kupillas describes herself as a moderate Democrat. She credits the AVCF as being responsible for the county Planning Department’s inclusion of local citizen input (CAG, CAC, ?). She is running because county level government is where it’s at. She sites her experience and achievements of the last 15 yrs: the Rogue Family Center (multiple agencies delivering one-stop human services); Water Study inventory (needs, threats, storage, distribution, alternatives); JaCo fire plan; RCC at the VA Dom; county funding improvements including more federal monies and lower taxes. REBUT – she is proud and stands on her record. Air quality issues are complex. Need industry near White City worker pool. Compromise increases some standards yet still allows jobs outside of White City industrial complex area. Biggest air quality problem are cars. Her compromise decision angered both sides. She proposes and favors a smaller Cascade Siskiyou Monument. · New candidate Sue Densmore is also a Democrat. Concerns: air quality (she claims Kupillas has supported “compromise” which favors poorer air quality for the region); current county government makes decisions beyond public view, not truly valuing citizen’s opinions and wishes. She supports the Cascade Siskiyou Monument, as well as DEQ open spaces/clean air/ clean water programs. She is a successful businesswoman and is also a consultant on renewable/sustainable projects such as solid waste disposal and recycling. REBUT – willingness to earn voters’ trust. As a businesswoman she understands the needs for a broader economy by supporting diversity (technology, organic foods, health and medical, etc). Her track record is one of innovation and willingness to consider and try new ways of doing things. · C. W. Smith is running as an unopposed Republican. He resigned from the sheriff’s office to run for Commissioner. He is a lifelong valley resident, has served in Viet Nam and the Air Force, served 10 years in the sheriffs office, police chief of Talent for 3 years, he has farmed and knows water issues, and he has worked in the insurance business. He is running because he is shocked at the Corrections’ problems that are now in “crisis” (the current Commissioners have been and are “asleep at the switch”). REBUT – shocked by clean air compromise. Oregon is a nation leader in unemployment, and feels White City’s infrastructure makes it the right place for jobs. He asks “how serious are the health issues” regarding air quality? He wants to find and discuss the facts, and feels jobs are important and worth it. State Representative District 4 · Jim Ray spoke as surrogate for Republican Dennis Richardson. Richardson has been an attorney for 25 years, is a veteran, has nine children, is a very hard worker, and has two years’ experience as State Representative. He wants to run for the House Pro Tem position. He has worked hard to facilitate business with China re wine and jobs and SOU/China teleprofessoring. He is described as intelligent, a very good listener, very principled, and will change his mind when appropriate. · Richard Koopmans is from Sams Valley/Eagle Point. He describes himself as a very liberal Democrat vs. the very conservative Republican Richardson. He spoke of his experience as a swim coach in Eagle Point. He is a supporter of Sue Kupillas. State Representative District 5 · Peter Buckley is a Democrat from Ashland. He has turned around a couple of businesses, and feels he can help do the same thing with Oregon. Corporate tax rates not working (Oregon is 50th in corporate tax rates), the lives of average families are not improving (two income families are working 330 hours/year more only to stay at the same level). Current and previous policies have hurt the state of Oregon. We must know where we are (we are in a crisis), where to go (get back on track with education, health care, invest and lead in new technologies that are environment friendly, dream again, engage and communicate on new and better levels). He is excited to make the changes. REBUT – he has kids and is disturbed about education cuts. Government is a tool to create the kind of state we want to live in; it is not an enemy. It’s not about left or right; it’s about moving forward. It’s time for us to take it back and go forward together. www.peterbuckley.org · Judy Uherbelau is also a Democrat from Ashland. She has the experience of being in the legislature for 3 terms representing Eagle Point and Butte Falls before term limits kept her from running again. She has a stream of consciousness way of thinking. She was an RN x 16 yrs and is now also a lawyer. Her top priorities are health care and education; she is an advocate for national health care, applauds the Oregon Health Plan, and feels health care is a right not a privilege. Her children went to Ashland public schools and she feels all kids should have such an excellent education, made possible through stable government funding. REBUT – she is in politics because she feels it is a higher calling. She went to DC for the Kennedy and MLK years, and she believes in government. She was pivotal in getting Angela’s Law passed in Oregon. She worked and helped get the bill passed in the legislature for better treatment for those with severe and chronic pain. · Tiny Robertson spoke as surrogate for Republican Joanne Lofaso. Lofaso is a business manager and loan officer with 23 years of experience. She also has experience in city government. She is honest, a good listener and can work with both sides. She feels education very important. She supports reducing forest fire impact through forest clean up. REBUT – She is committed to bipartisan progress. Her relative lack of experience can be the fresh new voice that is needed in Salem. State Senate District 3 · Alan Bates is a Family Physician in Medford. He is running as a Democrat. He is currently State Representative Minority Whip. He is excited about his recent success (yesterday) with funding for the ailing/failing Oregon Health Plan. The Plan receives 40% of its funding from the state’s general fund, with 60% coming from matching federal funds. After nine months of state cut backs, 43,000 people were cut from the Plan. This caused the federal matching funds to be proportionately reduced. He proposed a managed care tax that would be rebated to the state for funding the OHP. This would then retrieve more matching federal funds à it worked (!), with the return of $90 million of federal matching funds à more needy folks can get back on the Plan. Bates feels this success is representative of what he can do as State Senator. · Lyn Hennion spoke as surrogate for Jim Wright. Wright is a successful businessman (vice president of LTM), community volunteer, and chairman of Asante. He has received various community and professional awards. He is a Republican but more an Oregonian, and will bring leadership of southern Oregon together and take it to Salem. He believes government needs to be run like a business. Q&A · For Commissioner candidates: continue or find new funding to solve loss of monies? o Kupillas – fee for service by end user; hold line on spending; create rainy day fund; county government and groups need to come together for reauthorization for rural funding (she is for this coalition group) o Densmore – the Jackson 96 levee was her baby; she is good at fund raising and creative thinking o Smith – he has seen cuts in sheriff’s dept; issue is prioritization; do a better job with resources we have; when process over rides mission your purpose ceases to be · How to promote jobs in this state and area? o Kupillas recites increase in White City companies with living wage jobs that have happened on her shift. There is wiggle room to work with companies. Broadband to rural so home industries can thrive. o Smith says diversity of economy has gone down hill o Buckley – Apollo Alliance sustainable energy. Oregon, not Washington state, should be in the lead. o Uherbelau – focus on higher education to attract new ideas o Lofaso – we all have to work together; no Republican or Democrat can do it alone · For Sue Kupillas: DEQ study shows dirty industry is the problem, not cars. Why favor dirty air that does not attract people? o Balancing act. Can’t put all the blame on industry. · Is it better for economy to build jobs locally or bring them in? o Lofaso – here o Kupillas – both o Bates – both. It’s wrong to trade with countries that don’t share our human rights values. Stop leakage of jobs. Education is key, level playing field. o Densmore – both. Keep air clean to encourage business to come. Find and use resources that are out there, including federal. o Uherbelau – be open to all ideas and see how to use them here to get jobs here o Koopmans – big local industry is taking care of retirees. o Buckley – investment, partnerships, education. Apollo project. · Support WalMart Superstores x 2? o Buckley – no. We should not be subsidizing underpaid employees who are provided no health care by encouraging such businesses o Koopmans – union stores cannot compete (ex Food 4 Less) o Uherbelau – no support o Densmore – no. County made the wrong decision to sell county land to WalMart. o Bates – our taxes pay for the stores like WalMart that exploit workers here and abroad. Don’t shop there; cut them off. o Smith – we destroy our community by big box stores o Kupillas – Medford has no policies against big box stores. The decisions are based on who bids what. WalMart pays big property taxes o Wright – support local businesses John McColgan, Democratic candidate for House of Representatives District 2 (running against Republican incumbent Greg Walden) spoke from the back of the room. He is upset that he was not invited to participate in this Candidates’ Night forum. Federal candidates need to be invited. Barbara Dallas offered explanations and apologies, and promised to correct this error for future meetings. Alan Bates suggested that due to the late hour another meeting be held for intense Q&A. All candidates present concurred. Next Meeting: Thursday, May 20, 7:00pm, Ruch Library The meeting was adjourned by common consent at 9:05pm. Attendance = 63 Notes respectfully submitted by Gary and Carol Swanson