By Jack Carrerow, Staff Writer
Informative and entertaining — there was a mixture of both at the candidate forum in Reedsport on April 29.
More than 100 residents showed up at Pacific Auditorium in Reedsport to hear office seekers state their cases on issues such as the economy, taxes, health care and the federal timber payments safety net.
The politicking was a given. The humor was a bonus.
Several of the candidates cracked jokes about party affiliations or politics in general. Even moderator Steve Miller, one member of the group that hosted the evening, got in on the act. He elicited laughter from the audience when he referred to the sheriff candidates as “the heat,” when he requested their presence on stage.
Candidates for county commissioner position No.1 included incumbent Marilyn Kittelman, Patrick Starnes and Susan Morgan; candidates for county commission position No.3 included incumbent Doug Robertson, Rich Raynor, Mike Folino and John Ayer.
Current county clerk Barbara Nielsen and her opponent, Loma Wharton, attended, as well as county sheriff candidates John Hanlin, David Lee and Mike Nores.
Arnie Roblan, D-Coos Bay, current state representative for District 9, also was in attendance, along with his opponent, Republican Al Pearn. District 9 covers Florence to the north and Coos Bay to the south, including the towns Reedsport, Lakeside and North Bend.
The structured format allowed audience members to submit questions via index cards, which were answered by the candidates as time permitted.
The format also gave each of the candidates three minutes at the beginning to introduce themselves and state their positions, a two-minute question-and-answer period and a one-minute summation.
Miller said the turnout was better than what was expected.
“It’s great to see the weather didn’t keep people away. There was a great turnout by candidates and citizens,” Miller said. “And we hope everyone went away from here a little better informed about the people and the issues in this campaign.”
While the commissioner races seem to have some venom attached, with candidates taking small verbal jabs at one another, the race for county sheriff featured three longtime police officers, each of whom pledged to be more visible in the coastal communities they would be serving.
“This wasn’t a long and drawn-out affair, but people had a chance to get a feel for the candidates and I think that’s good,” Miller said. “This was more like a sampling of sound bites.”
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