By QUINTON SMITH/YachatsNews
Two previously unsuccessful Lincoln County commission candidates, a former Wyoming mayor, and a city of Newport grants administrator are the finalists for a potential appointment to the county’s three-member board of commissioners.
Twenty-six people applied to fill the remaining two years of Kaety Jacobson’s four-year term after she unexpectedly quit effective Feb. 14.
Commissioners Claire Hall and Casey Miller will interview the four during a workshop meeting at 9 a.m. Wednesday, Feb. 12 and then schedule a future time to vote on Jacobson’s replacement.
The four finalists are:
- Walter Chuck of Newport, a water district plant operator in Otis and longtime board member of the Port of Newport who ran unsuccessfully for Miller’s seat in the May 2022 primary;
- John Heath of Gleneden Beach, a real estate agent and the retired former mayor of Sheridan, Wyo. who is on the county’s budget committee;
- Ryan Parker of Newport, an Oregon State Parks beach ranger and Newport city councilor who ran unsuccessfully for commission positions in May 2022 and May 2024; and
- Catherine Rigby of Newport, the grants administrator for the city of Newport who worked in various administrative positions for Salt Lake City from 2017-2023.
To get the finalists, Hall and Miller each ranked the 26 applicants from 1-26 and submitted their rankings to administrative staff on Friday. County public information officer Kenneth Lipp said staff winnowed the finalists to four by determining which applicant appeared in the top 10 of Hall and Miller’s lists.
Notably absent from the finalists was Depoe Bay city councilor Rick Beasley, a frequent critic of commission priorities and the county’s direction who lost to Hall by 115 votes in the November general election in the closest rate in recent county history.
Here are statements from each of the finalists on their applications as to why they are interested in becoming a county commissioner.
Rigby: I am committed to enhancing the quality of life for the residents of Lincoln County where I have settled. With my extensive experience in local government, I am well-equipped to address the unique challenges and opportunities our community faces. Serving as Lincoln County commissioner would allow me to leverage my skills in budgeting, project management, and strategic planning to foster growth and development in our region. I also believe strongly in serving my community, the entire community, and want to ensure that all voices are heard and represented.
Parker: We have so much to be excited about living here. But our county has a lot of compression. I want to help businesses and residents feel more secure by bolstering public private partnerships and grow the tax base. This will need lots of lobbying in Salem, but the effort must be vocal and passionate. Our daughters deserve a county that provides economic opportunity so they can stay here and thrive. My experience with infrastructure projects sets me up for success in a sustainable future.
Heath: Family and service are keys to my life. After relocating from Wyoming to Gleneden Beach, I found opportunities to volunteer and serve. In addition to getting involved in our local town, being asked to serve on the Lincoln County budget committee for the past two years widened my involvement. Let’s continue to make Lincoln County the best place to work, raise a family, good paying jobs, safe streets, responsible government, sustainable economic growth, strong reliable infrastructure.
Chuck: If I am selected to fill the vacancy, I believe that I have the experience, ability and temperament to serve Lincoln County well as a commissioner. I have worked well with different parts of our community, local, state and federal officials and agencies and would continue to do so if chosen. I will also bring my experience working on budgets, projects, infrastructure and issues affecting the county.
I feel Walter Chuck should be our next commissioner. He has done an excellent job on the Port of Newport and has been involved in local community activities for many years. He knows the needs of our county unlike the other candidates who just moved here and Mr. Parker who works for State Parks would create a conflict with the upcoming Brian Booth State Park hearings.
Well those potential candidates are absolutely the worst choices for the county. None are leaders nor can they help the county out of the mess that the other three have created.
They forgot to mention that the Sheriff of Lincoln county stated that, despite the increase in fatal accidents on 20, he was unable to spare a deputy to patrol the portion of state highway 20 within Lincoln county. The southeastern part of Lincoln county is essentially unpoliced (based on what residents say) –it takes a murder to get a member of law enforcement out there. That’s a basic service that, despite a median property tax that’s higher then Linn county’s, Lincoln county apparently isn’t able to provide. Most of the candidate statements are about expanding the population–perhaps they’d like to address the issue of how to provide essential services to the current population first? How the water needs of an ever expanding population will be met needs to be discussed as well, as the supply of drinkable water has already been an issue for at least one of the county’s coast towns.
Indeed.
Good points, especially the sheriff’s budget. Some years back, the sheriff (can’t remember if it was Landers or his predecessor) got the commission to refer a special district levy to the ballot to fund sheriff services. It failed miserably. And before Landers left, during the negotiations with Waldport and Yachats over patrol coverage in those towns, he mentioned the idea again. But why should there be need for an additional tax levy to cover what are supposed to be constitutionally-guaranteed “…establish(ment) of Justice, (and to) insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty …”, which should be adequately disbursed from the county’s general fund?
Meanwhile, the boilerplate statements of predictable platitudes from the candidates doesn’t offer much in the way of info.
Perhaps the commissioners can schedule a candidates’ forum where the public can hear them speak about their specific experiences in government and question them on the issues.
What a disgrace. If this appointment was truly about representing the people of Lincoln County. Then Rick Beasley, and his 13,032 votes would have been a no-brainer choice. Like him or not, he would have brought a fresh perspective and much needed balance to the board. But instead it’s not about what is best or fair, but instead about finding a patsy. Someone that will be submissive and subservient to the same old way of doing business. I guess we’ll have to wait another two years until the next election. But this past commissioner election in Lincoln County shows that real change is desired, the people here are fed up with the current commissioners’ misguided priorities, wasteful spending, uneducated decision-making, and continued disfunction.
I agree that the people are fed up with the way things have been. I disagree that Rick Beasley is the answer, though. Lincoln County dodged a bullet. I hope you are wrong about someone submissive being chosen for the position.
Coming in second place doesn’t make him qualified. He has a dubious record as a so-called journalist going back more than 40 years to when he completely fabricated news stories about cockfighting in multiple cities in the valley.
Where are the North and South county people? Why isn’t that a priority? I really hope Commissioner Hall and Commissioner Miller can come together for the good of the county and choose the right person for the job. I agree with another comment, Walter Chuck, seems the best candidate on this list.