Freshman Benton County Commissioner Gabe Shepherd has announced he will conduct a series of eight town halls around the county over the summer, each of them about an hour long.
Shepherd will be fielding questions, and is seeking to hear concerns.
“While campaigning, I made a commitment to hold town halls across Benton County,” said Shepherd. “I want to make it easy for folks to engage with their local government and I want to hear – in their own words – what is most important to them.”
Shepherd served two terms on the Corvallis City Council before being elected as Benton County Commissioner in November 2024. He took office on January 2, 2025.
City electeds included
Shepherd will be appearing in cities throughout the county and has invited the mayors and councilors of each to participate.
“The Commissioner will introduce himself and give an overview of current County projects and priorities. The mayor or other elected official will take the same opportunity to talk about city matters. The meeting will then be opened for questions and comments from the public and a dialogue with the elected leaders,” says a County release.
Here’s the schedule
- Saturday, June 21, 1:00 p.m. at the Corvallis Community Center
- Wednesday, July 9, 6:30 p.m. at the Monroe Community Library
- Saturday, July 12, 1:30 p.m. at Tunison Community Room in Corvallis
- Thursday, July 24, 3:30 p.m. at the Philomath Museum
- Thursday, July 24, 6:30 p.m. at the Wren Community Hall
- Saturday, August 2, 1:00 p.m. at the Adair Community Center
- Saturday, August 2, 3:30 p.m. at North Albany Park
- Saturday, August 9, 4:00 p.m. at the Alsea Community Library
The County release also said, “At town hall meetings, Commissioner Shepherd represents only himself, not the entire Board of Commissioners. He does not speak for the body. He will not express an opinion on any open land use case before the County, and will not receive public comment on any such cases because of his potential role in quasi-judicial processes.”
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