EDITORIAL: Wev, Thompson for county commission

May 7—The coronavirus pandemic presented the Clatsop County Board of Commissioners with unexpected challenges over the past few years.

Commissioners played a part in the Public Health Department's response to COVID-19. The county had lower numbers of virus cases, hospitalizations and deaths and a higher rate of vaccinations than many other counties in Oregon.

At the same time, gaps in the virus data released by the county and a lack of aggressive oversight by county commissioners at critical moments, such as the surge caused by the delta variant last summer, make it difficult to calculate the pandemic's local impact.

With so much focus on the pandemic, it is also difficult to measure how effective county commissioners were at making progress on other policy issues.

County commissioners supervise the county manager, who runs the county on a day-to-day basis and directs department administrators. Commissioners set policy and, by virtue of their geographic reach, have a wide platform.

We recognize the work county commissioners have done to adopt a strategic plan and to update the comprehensive plan. But we have said at several points over the past few years that we believe commissioners have often missed opportunities to lead, particularly on housing and child care.

Three of the five county commissioners are up for reelection in May. Commissioner Mark Kujala, the board's chairman, is unopposed in Warrenton's District 1.

Our view is that the county commission, which is nonpartisan, should function like a jury: open-minded, objective and drawn from a cross section of the community.

Experience with government can be helpful, but so are other qualities. We look for people who are curious, who have good judgment, who are not afraid to ask tough questions and who bring distinct or underrepresented voices to the discussion.

We also value ideological balance. Despite our doubts about effectiveness, our endorsements would preserve some ideological balance on a board that has become more conservative after recent elections.

District 3

We endorse Commissioner Pamela Wev in District 3, which covers Astoria.

Elected in 2018, Wev is seeking a second, four-year term.

The land use planning consultant has the most extensive government background on the board. She also serves as the board's representative to the Northwest Oregon Housing Authority, which oversees low-income housing assistance in Clatsop, Columbia and Tillamook counties.

"I always say that I know good government when I see it," she told The Astorian's editorial board. "I don't always know bad government when I see it, because that can be a little tricky. But I certainly do know good government when I see it."

Given her experience with land use, we expect Wev to have more pronounced roles in shaping the county's approach to housing, homelessness and vacation rental regulations than we have seen during her first term.

We welcome her interest in an after-action analysis of the county's response to COVID-19, but we would have preferred that county commissioners raised more questions when the pandemic was at its most intense.

"I know people don't like the fact that government moves so slowly," Wev said. "But I've lived in countries where government moves very quickly, and I much prefer slow."

Nathan Pinkstaff, a deck mechanic for Tidewater Barge Lines, is the challenger.

Pinkstaff, who grew up on the North Coast, said he made a late choice to run for county commission after realizing his ward on the Astoria City Council was not up for election this year and that he was not ready for the Astoria mayor's race.

"We get so used to the younger generations complaining, I'm one of them, I did it," he said. "But we never step up. And finally I went, if change is going to happen, it can't just be from the older generation, the people that have been here, that are retiring here. It needs to be the younger ones."

Pinkstaff, who cited government overregulation as barriers to child care and housing, said that "maybe by me stepping up, it brings somebody else up, and then somebody else up, and pretty soon we've got the younger generation, the older generation, working together, because, right now, this box mentality isn't working."

Our local boards and commissions are often missing the perspectives of younger, blue-collar workers. Our community benefits when people with different backgrounds get involved and become more familiar with the process and the issues.

We do not share the disdain we have heard during this campaign about people without government experience running for local elected office. These are primarily volunteer posts and, as we have seen over the past few years, experience does not guarantee results.

We hope Pinkstaff finds more opportunities for public service.

District 5

We endorse Commissioner Lianne Thompson in District 5, which covers South County.

First elected in 2014, Thompson, who has the longest tenure among commissioners, is seeking a third term. She also serves in leadership on the Columbia-Pacific Economic Development District.

Thompson has emphasized greater regional and statewide collaboration and has cultivated relationships at groups such as the Association of Oregon Counties. "I will work with anybody and everybody who supports our values," she said.

Thompson prefers the model where county commissioners are paid a salary and share in the administrative duties of running the county, which was in place until 1989, when the county opted for a home-rule charter and a county manager hired by the board.

While we appreciate Thompson's interest in a strategic, regional outlook to issues and her desire for an empowered board, we wish more of her energy was concentrated on housing, child care and other problems closer to home.

"The way I explain the leadership development curve: first get in the room, then get a seat at the table, then get a voice at the table, then get a vote at the table, then get the capacity to set the agenda, have that role," she said. "I've never had the capacity to set the agenda."

Thompson believes the time she has invested will pay off during another term. "I'm close to being able to set the agenda," she said. "I'm not there yet."

Steve Dillard, an innkeeper and vacation rental owner in Seaside who is challenging Thompson, serves on the Port of Astoria's Airport Advisory Committee.

His business background is in information technology. He also operated a nonprofit that helped men in recovery with transitional housing.

Dillard sees government overregulation as the obstacle to issues such as workforce housing. He is also critical of the government's emergency restrictions during the pandemic.

"The overreach by government, it seems to be huge," he said. "That's one of the things that I keep coming back to — the government overreach and the inability for the government to let go of things."

Many of Dillard's examples of government overreach and poor policy choices appear directed at state government in Salem and the politics along the Interstate 5 corridor of the Willamette Valley than at county government.

"The people on the I-5 are passing regulations that are negatively affecting the quality of life for people in Clatsop County," he said.

Like with Pinkstaff, we encourage Dillard to continue to look for ways to serve.