By Jack Carrerow, Staff Write
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John Ayer
Winchester resident John Ayer said he feels like the Lone Ranger when it comes to some of the issues.
“I’m the only candidate to even mention Reedsport and Salmon Harbor and the help they need to encourage tourism,” Ayer said. “And while the rest of the county only looks at the coast as a vacation destination, I’m the only one saying that if that’s their strength, then it would benefit all of us in the county to steer people in that direction.”
One way to do that, Ayer said, is to increase signage along U.S. Highway 101 and let people in on what the community of Winchester Bay calls itself: the best kept secret on the Oregon coast.
“Don’t keep it a secret, let people know it’s there,” Ayer said. “Another thing would be to hold two DuneFests over the summer. There’s enough of these ATV riders around. I’m sure they’d show up and double what the county usually takes in.”
The timber payments safety net issue is a topic Ayer said he’s tired of hearing about.
“We should have never been in this mess to begin with,” Ayer said, referring to current incumbent Doug Robertson’s timber payments plan.
“The county shouldn’t sue, they should just buy the land. Robertson is stringing us along. I don’t think he’ll get any money from the government to bridge any gap,” Ayer said
Ayer also is tired of hearing about the woes of the rail line and how it needs revenue to repair the line.
Referring to Rail America’s holding company’s recent investment in Michael Jackson’s ranch in Southern California, Ayer had his own ideas.
“They should just open it up and get things rolling, but I guess giving money to Michael Jackson was much more important than the people of the Oregon Coast,” he said. “Trains can carry more than trucks and for a whole lot less.”
Ayer said that, while people may view him as a bit eccentric, he knows what he’s talking about, having experienced the Great Depression of the 1920s and 1930s, and he said it scares people.
“When people listen, they start to worry that I’m right,” Ayer said. “As interest rates drop, the dollar loses more value and we have another depression facing us. That scares them. Hopefully, it’s not too late to turn this all around.”
Mike Folino
Billing himself as the only candidate with common sense, Mike Folino entered the race for commissioner because he feels it’s time and he simply wants to give something back to the county.
“Both my sons are firefighters and they’ve been treated good by the people of this county,” Folino said. “I just thought I should put something back.”
While Folino admits he’s new to politics, he said, jokingly, it should make him a more attractive candidate.
“I haven’t been in a campaign before, so I don’t have all the rhetoric down yet,” he said with a laugh. “Interview me in 10 years and maybe all my answers will be a lot longer and make less sense.”
Born and raised in California, Folino moved to the Roseburg area to raise his two sons, he said, in a “better environment.”
“Douglas County has been my home since 1991 and I’ve grown pretty protective of it,” Folino said. “That’s why I’d be sure that everyone in the county, including the coast, has great representation. This county is more than just Roseburg.”
Folino believes the Internet is a great help when it comes to providing information to all the county residents but isn’t opposed to what position No. 1 board candidate Patrick Starnes has proposed: adding two more commissioners to the board.
“If we have five commissioners serving, it should help more people be heard and represented. Then I’m all for it,” Folino said.
Living within a specific means is what Folino said should be done to counteract the loss of the timber payments safety net.
“We have to either cut back on some services or raise the tax money to pay for them,” Folino said. “In other words, cut the red tape of government and put people back to work.”
Folino said the rail line is a matter for the federal government and it should get involved.
“In the long run, it could have implications on national security and I’d think the feds would like to have a hand in re-establishing rail service, both freight and passenger.”
Getting the railroad back in operation also will save the state a little embarrassment, Folino said.
“I mean, you look at almost every other country in the world, even the poor ones, and they move their people by rail,” Folino said. “And with gas going up to maybe $6 a gallon, don’t you think people will choose the train?”
Rich Raynor
Douglas County Commission candidate for Position No. 3, Rich Raynor, said he has finally reached the point in his lifetime where he will have the time and ability to serve as a county commissioner.
“I just think it’s time to put a leader in the office instead of a politician,” Raynor said. “And right now, we need leaders in government at every level.”
Being properly represented is something citizens have a say in, Raynor said, but they have to exercise that right.
“It’s up to the people on the coast to demand to be represented. They have to contact whoever is representing them, not wait for something to happen that affects them,” Raynor said. “I can’t make people want to get involved, but I can control how they are treated once they become involved.”
Raynor said that sometimes there is a perception that the coast is not being served, but he will work to make sure that perception is changed.
“The commissioner has to look beyond the core communities of the county and do what’s best for all his constituents,” Raynor said. “What’s good for the coast will benefit us all. It has to be looked at in those terms.”
Raynor said current commissioner Doug Robertson is soft when it comes to the timber payments issue and the county has to take a tougher stand.
“Robertson has been stringing the county along, trying to ensure the federal government will live up to its promise — and they will never live up to any promises,” Raynor said. “I’m saying that the government should get out of the way and let the people of Oregon use our natural resources to create jobs.”
On the topic of natural resources, Raynor said he thinks the environmental programs may have done too well of a job.
“Seriously, I think we may have made our lakes and streams too sterile,” Raynor said. “It may be good for drinking water, but not for the plant and wildlife.”
Raynor said he doesn’t have the expertise as to the laws involving the obligations ofCentral Oregon & Pacific Railroad to stay operational or face charges that they abandoned the line.
“I know that if we want to get it back up and running, then a few of the businesses that depend on the railroad for shipping should think about forming an LLC,” Raynor said, referring to a limited liability corporation. “Those companies can bring in an independent operator and we can have rail service back up and running.”
Like every candidate running for office against an a multi-termed incumbent like Robertson, Raynor is banking on the hope that people want a change in representation.
“Things have been growing steadily worse,” Raynor said. “I’m hoping people are finally tired of it all going downhill and want a more positive spin on things.”
Doug Robertson
Veteran politician and current Douglas County commissioner Doug Robertson said he is seeking another term so he can complete some unfinished work.
“One of the things I want to see through is making sure we can obtain gap funding for the county from the federal government until the revenue from the timber payments is back in place,” Robertson said. “I want to be able to continue to put pressure on Congress, so that they realize the impact losing these payments have had on all the communities within the county.”
That financial impact is why, Robertson said, the county must find a way to break its dependency on federal funds.
“We have to keep building diversity and create more jobs in the county,” Robertson said. “We have all the resources. We just have to start using them.”
A 33-year veteran of politics, Robertson said he first got interested in county government as a young man.
“I had done work in the forest, had commercial fished, spent time as a school teacher, even worked in the mills,” Robertson said, “and after five years experience in local elective office, I felt I could make a contribution to Douglas County. So I ran, and that was 28 years ago.”
As for representation of the Douglas County coastal communities, Robertson pointed to the county’s spending in those areas.
“Per capita, Douglas County spends more on improvements and needs, especially in Reedsport and Winchester Bay, than anywhere else in the county,” Robertson said. “It’s easy for people on the coast to say they’re not getting represented, but the proof is there, and all three commissioners are aware of the importance of the coastal communities to the make up of the county.”
Robertson said that, with regards to getting the rail line up and serving the area along the coast again, there’s little that can be done at the county level.
“This subject is above our pay level. We can only encourage the ones who are working on it to get some agreement signed,” Robertson said. “The railroads are tough to deal with. They always have been. But we need to do something and we have to leave it to the federal government to get the trains back in operation.”
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