| Three vie for Douglas County position No. 1
By Jack Carrerow, Staff Writer
Douglas County residents soon will be voting in the primary election. The national races are heating up — primarily the presidential race — but locally, two county commissioner positions are up for grabs. In this issue and the May 7 issue, the Umpqua Post profiles the candidates for county commissioner. Staff Writer Jack Carrerow talked with the candidates about the representation, the safety net and the rail line — issues that directly affect Western Douglas County residents.
Marilyn Kittelman
Marilyn Kittelman is a fifth-generation Douglas County resident and operates a cutting horse training facility in Yoncalla with her husband John.
Kittelman said she got involved in politics because of a land-use issue in which she became involved about nine years ago.
“It was something that was going to affect the ranch we own, so I got involved and was appointed for the planning commission. I never thought I’d end up in politics,” Kittelman said. “My mom worked at the courthouse when I was younger and I saw government first-hand. I really didn’t care for it then.”
Kittelman said that serving in government has allowed her to serve the people in what she feels is a unique way.
“My goal is to protect the people from government,” Kittelman said.
Kittelman said she has been an effective representative of the coastal towns of the county, because she visits Western Douglas County on a regular basis.
“And I’m only 50 minutes away, so it’s not a huge project for me to be here when the need arises,” she said. “I know, coming from Yoncalla, what it feels like to be left out of county issues and I try not to let that happen on the coast.”
Kittelman said she was responsible for getting commission meetings televised on cable and archived on the Internet for the entire county.
“I also was a proponent of the rotating ‘lunch with the commissioners’ which has been a great success, having drawn as many as 61 people to the one in Reedsport/Winchester Bay,” Kittelman said.
As for how the county will function financially with half the budget being taken away by the removal of the federal government timber payments, Kittelman said the county will have to learn to live with it.
“It’s called living within your means. People have to do it everyday,” Kittelman said.
“That’s the short answer. The long answer is to sue the federal government for breach of contract,” she said. “The timber payments come from the Oregon and California Act of 1937 that ensured payment as long as the feds managed the land. They either pay or let us manage our own land.”
As for the absence of train service in the county, Kittelman said the county really hasn’t a big role in solving the issue.
“All we can do is wait and see what happens and then pick up the pieces and go on from there,” Kittelman said. “I would like to see high-speed rail service and so would, I’m sure, a lot of our senior citizens and people tired of paying high gas prices.”
Susan Morgan
Originally from British Columbia, Susan Morgan has been a resident of Douglas County since 1978.
“I’ve been involved in politics for quite some time and I’ve enjoyed that involvement,” Morgan said. “I’ve always been kind of an activist and it’s a great feeling to be a part of positive change, especially in today’s world.”
Asked how she would ensure the coastal communities of Douglas County would be represented equally, Morgan said, “It’s important for a county commissioner to represent the whole county. I realize in the past that there has not been great communication between the commissioners and the coastal communities.”
Morgan added that she would keep a close eye on matters regarding the South Coast.
“I pledge that when something comes up that concerns the coastal communities, I will hold meetings in those areas so that people will have a forum to give their feedback,” Morgan said. “It’s not just the coast, but other areas in the southern part of the county that lack the information. I think these areas should have their mayors, managers, fire districts, etc, meet every other month, voice their concerns and present them to the commission, so they don’t get lost in the shuffle.”
When asked about what she would do to get the rail line back into operation, Morgan said, “I’m currently working with a group representing the state and shippers who depend on rail shipping to try and get Rail America to either work with us to reach an agreement. If the railroad doesn’t want to work something out, we will look for a way to have the state take control of the line. It’s just a matter of time. We won’t put up with stalling. We need that railroad up and running.”
Looking at the end of the timber payments this coming July, Morgan said the counties across the state have to find a way to keep those revenues coming.
“The payments run out this summer and to put it very simply, we need to get those payments extended. If the federal government walks away, we will have little chance of making a go of it,” Morgan said. “We can’t allow that to happen. We should go to Washington, D.C., and see if these payments can continue and not just for the short term. We can’t live year to year.”
Patrick Starnes
Patrick Starnes grew up in Dillard near where his family still owns 200 acres of timberland.
A cabinet maker for the past 20 years, Starnes originally planned on a career as an elementary school teacher.
“I majored in history at the University of Oregon,” Starnes said. “But I got caught up in issues that were affecting the county with regards to timber and the economy I wanted to get involved.”
Starnes was appointed by Mayor Larry Rich of Roseburg to the parks commission and the city budget committee. He also was appointed by the Douglas County Commissioners to the Umpqua Basin Watershed Council as part of Governor Kitzhaber’s Salmon Restoration Plan.
In 2002, Starnes ran for the Roseburg City Council and even though he lost, he was encouraged because he lost by only 17 votes.
“That’s when I learned that every vote matters,” Starnes said.
Starnes also found out about votes when he helped spearhead the movement to have the office of commissioner become a non partisan one.
“It was the last county office that was partisan and like 12,000 other independents in the county, I couldn’t vote in the primary,” Starnes said. “So I gathered 2,500 signatures, got it on the ballot and it passed with 68 percent of the vote.”
Starnes is running for office, he said, because he’s the only one with realistic solutions to the county’s money problems.
“Everyone else, incumbents and the other candidates alike, have failed to come up with a viable plan,” Starnes said. “I wanted to run because I know how to solve the dilemma that’s facing us. I really do have the answer and I want a chance to put it into action.”
When asked how he would see that the coastal communities of Douglas County were better represented, Starnes said he would work to expand the board of commissioners to five members, with commissioners chosen by geographic area.
“I would also hold monthly town hall meetings or even rotate the commission meetings around the county,” Starnes said.
He said many coastal residents feel they don’t have a voice in county government because, at least in recent times, all of the commissioners have come from the central part of the county.
“If that’s going to be the case from now on, we have to find a way to give these coastal residents an equal voice on issues that are affecting them,” Starnes said. “The commission is supposed to represent the whole county, not just the ones that live around Roseburg.”
As for how he would handle making up for the lost revenue from federal timber payments after the July cut-off, Starnes said he has a very workable plan.
Starnes said on his Web site that his 30–year thinning plan will provide a steady supply of timber for local mills and a reliable revenue stream for the county from federal lands. It is a plan that can be embraced by timber groups and environmentalists alike, the site said.
“We can also fund the safety net revenues by placing a tariff on all imported lumber,” Starnes said.
Regarding the rail line, Starnes said, “they’re a real important part of the county economically. But if it came down to the state having to take control of the railroad and find an outside operator or run it themselves, I’m all for it. We can’t expect to have a strong economy without a railroad.”
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