For the upcoming County Commissioner primary, there is only one contested race, and it’s between two Democrats seeking to replace outgoing Commissioner Xan Augerot.
We are endorsing Liz Irish in this race. Her opponent, Gabe Shepherd, has some great ideas, and we like his outlook in some areas – but we also think the county has deeper challenges, and we believe Irish is better able to meet them head-on.
Irish is a member of the Benton County planning commission and has also served on the County’s Trash Talks workgroup that examined the landfill. Albany’s Mayor, Alex Johnson, tells us she was pivotal in that city’s well-regarded work on housing.
When asked about housing and homelessness at the debate we hosted for this race, both candidates expressed the belief we need more transitional and low barrier options, but it was Irish the cited specific policies that are getting in the way, and others that may help. It was also Irish that offered specific numbers.
On affordable housing, we liked Shepherd’s notion that the county become more permissive about accessory dwelling units on local farmland, and we would encourage the county to pursue a policy in this direction, regardless of how this election turns out.
When we asked about the local shortage of mental health workers, Shepherd centered on paying competitively, which Irish also talked about. But then, Irish went beyond that, suggesting that county officials work with the state’s universities on building expedited two-year programs for mental health workers. Irish also pointed to state mandated requirements for counties to hire more mental health professionals that had the effect of pitting counties against one another, and that the mandate could have been staggered. Shepherd didn’t offer the same level of specificity.
When asked about building partnerships with outside organizations as a means of helping folks needing a mental health professional, Shepherd shared general skepticism about contracting with private organizations. Irish, however, didn’t seem to have such a general objection, but she did say that our local healthcare organizations don’t have the necessary staffing either. She pointed specifically to Samaritan’s mental health cuts these last few years.
And this is where Irish’s backstory becomes relevant – there are serious mental health issues in her late husband’s family, and she has regularly found herself seeking help for loved ones, including one of her own kids. And when it comes to housing, her own family had experienced homelessness for a short while – and she’s gone on to be a success in the mortgage industry, and as a volunteer public servant.
We know some voters have expressed worry that Irish was once a Republican. But we respect people that grow and evolve, and openly chart new courses for themselves – and we know that’s doubly difficult for public people.
Some of the folks in the local Democratic party have been somewhat unwelcoming towards people making this journey – and we think that for any political party, this is a self-defeating and unconstructive attitude.
In this race, we have Shepherd as the chair of the local Democratic party, being endorsed by Corvallis’ mayor, Charles Maughan, also a Democrat. We also have Irish, endorsed by all three of Benton County’s sitting commissioners, all of whom are also Democrats. And, while it’s interesting to see how a local party absent any real competitive threat starts dividing into parties within itself – both of which are progressive in slightly different flavors – it’s worth remembering that on a local level, road projects don’t come with an ideological bent, they just need doing.
And this is why we’re supporting Irish – she has a pragmatic bent towards getting things done, and she seems more able to work with more kinds of people than many of our area’s currently elected folks – and the County needs that right now.
A fact, one of our readers put succinctly when he said he feels like County officials have been more interested in handling voter sentiments, than really hearing them these last few years. The result has been a County that often zigs when the electorate is clearly asking for zag. For instance, County officials were actually surprised when voters trounced their jail construction bond by thirteen points. Even now, officials think it was either because of the taxes involved or that it was somehow overly complicated, which it wasn’t.
Of late, officials are making the same errors in judgment concerning the landfill, and we will credit Shepherd for showing more proper skepticism about the dump’s operation and prospective expansion than our current officials have been.
In our view, it seems naïve to think the County would accept assurances that the DEQ or EPA would have certain enough funding to reliably regulate the site into the future, it’s a plan that has obviously failed. Whoever is elected, we think the County should look at monitoring potentially hazardous sites like these for itself, with renumeration coming from the operators – and we think the County should grow some regulatory teeth too.
Similarly, constituents now see Corvallis’ city government unfavorably too – different problems, but same governmental tone deafness and inefficacy.
Shepherd, as both a City Councilor and Democratic party chair has been in a position to apply pressure towards a more constructive direction for the City, and given our offline conversations, we believe he understands the problems. But we haven’t seen his fingerprints on an effective solution, whereas Irish has been, by all accounts, highly effective across a number of roles.
In short, Liz Irish has a track record of meeting difficult issues and circumstances by becoming deeply informed, and then turning what she learns into practical solutions – and she gets things done.
In our interactions, we’ve found Irish to be refreshingly outspoken and candid, which together with her diverse background, puts her in good stead to be an asset to the County. We hope you will join us in voting for her.
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