SPRINGFIELD – Last Thursday, the Springfield City Club and the League of Women Voters of Lane County hosted a forum for the Springfield seat on the Lane County Board of County Commissioners. The free event featured facilitated and audience questions for all three candidates running for the position.
The Board of County Commissioners legislates and administers County government within the limits of each seat’s authority. Board members can address constituent needs and carry out special assignments as the full board may direct. This program includes Performance Auditing, which provides the board with independent management audits of selected programs within Lane County government.
Opening statements
An opening statement was read by each running candidate: David Loveall, a small business owner, developer, and the current holder of the position; William Monsoor, a retired crisis clinician, military veteran, and forestry aide; and Sean VanGordon, Springfield mayor who helped turn downtown Springfield into a vibrant hub for arts, culture, and local businesses.
Nancy Mills from the LWVLC asked the candidates questions and explained the relevance of these forums.
“This is a really important aspect of election preparation. From the League of Women Voters’ point of view, this is really important. This is absolutely vital,” she said.
She kicked off the forum by asking each candidate what qualities and experiences make them a good applicant.
Q&A begins
What qualities and experience make you the best candidate for county commissioner?
Monsoor: “I respect people. I treat everyone with dignity. I’ve worked with Lane County Health. At the time, it was called the Department of Mental Health, the work of youth services, a very intense working environment for employees. Sometimes that’s because of situations that occur, and you have to communicate. We have to respect not only the citizens that you’re working with, but your fellow staff. I think that’s one of my great qualities. To listen and to respect.”
Loveall: “I’m a business owner. I know what it takes to run a business. I know what it takes to spend within your means and to also earn revenue. I’m a visionary, and I’m a doer. … I’m one of those people who do the work of the job. I hold people accountable, as your tax dollars are on the hook. We need to make sure that people are doing their jobs to the best of their ability and to the best of the value of that ability. And I also inspire folks and mentor folks. I have a history of inspiring people, leading in bringing them up as I lead, and that’s how I do things in Lane County.”
VanGordon: “The qualities I have are really my experience in judgment over 15 years being an elected official in the city of Springfield. I served on every intergovernmental board that is out there, and forwarded policies. I’m a known quantity on a regional level. I’ve built relationships at both the state and across governments. The moment that we’re in requires that elected officials work together for outcomes. I think that’s the most important thing we can do here, is have a good conversation and figure out how to work together to produce outcomes for the public and businesses.”
What initiative are you passionate about and would work to further if elected?
Loveall: “The biggest initiative that we all have in this room is public safety. That is the biggest initiative that we have. We have to run our jail. We have to have a sheriff’s department that has more than three deputies per shift in a county that’s the size of Vermont, and we have to make sure our DAs are funded, so we’re not prosecuting anything above a Measure 11 crime, which is where we are now. … We need to get back in the timber business to create revenue. Salvage business. We burn trees because there’s too much debris and too much fuel in there, because we haven’t managed our forest appropriately. I’m going to Washington next week and lobby for that. I’ve been doing that for three years. We need to create revenue to make sure that the community is safe. Because if you don’t have a safe community, we don’t have a community.”
VanGordon: “Economic development. We live in a really uncertain time for both businesses and for individuals. Economic development and economic growth are the thing that makes the pie bigger. It helps with every problem that we have, from cost of living to how we fund resources and pay for infrastructure…If I’m elected, day one, I’m going to say we got to have somebody showing up for the most important economic development conversation that we’ve had in a generation here.”
Monsoor: “Economic development is critical for our community and public safety. The more money that comes in, the more people are employed, and more people are able to pay taxes. People will be happier when the Ducks win a football game. Economic development will give you stimulation in the economy, and a lot of problems can be solved with some of the tax money coming in.”
What is one policy decision that Lane County made in the last 10 years that you think was a mistake, and how would you fix it?
Monsoor: “I was questioning the $3 million amount paid for the old Wells Fargo Bank. That’s going to cost probably $12,000 more to redo it and to modify it. My understanding is that it’s going to be the court and the sheriff’s office. I’m not that clear on it, I just know that it seems like an awful lot of money. You could probably build something by the jail where the sheriff spends a lot of this time. You already have facilities there and courtrooms there. I mean, it’s going to be like probably $15 million before it’s done. So I question that.”
Loveall: “Unequivocally, the CleanLane project is the biggest debacle the county’s been involved in … We should have been focusing on the leachate pipeline to bring Creswell and Cottage Grove and the issues of what leaches out of Short Mountain. That should have been our highest priority, because that would have created economic development in our surrounding communities, created housing in Creswell … The CleanLane project, in my mind, is the hugest debacle that Lane County is involved with, and all of us need to write whoever you write to get that project stopped.”
VanGordon: “I think it’s CleanLane as well. I think there’s an opportunity to pull back and prioritize things going on in South County a little bit differently. They should be working the leachate line first; they have to get Creswell developing, then move the transfer site, and then figure out whatever you’re doing with the IMERF… So what do you do? The first thing is, you have to get all the executive material out in front of the public. It’s going to cost money to get out of whatever we do. The second thing is, you have to get on the same page about basic facts about the project. Nobody knows how many tons we have or if there are enough tons to run the entire project. Again, political leadership sometimes is about backing up a step and getting on the same page.”
How will you work with your colleagues to ensure that your ideas garner support to pass?
Monsoor: “As I said when I first introduced myself, I listen, I treat people with dignity and respect, and I would do that as a commissioner with my fellow colleagues.”
Loveall: “Working with your colleagues is like working with five separate mayors. Each mayor of the Board of County Commissioners has their own drive, their own attention, and their own particular priorities. Sometimes that gets in the way. Sometimes it doesn’t. I think the hardest part about being a county commissioner of five is you can’t talk to one another with Oregon ethics laws in place…The problem is, we lack communication…we’re so siloed and only able to discuss things in a public meeting. And that’s not sometimes the place to discuss just visionary ideas and common ground.”
VanGordon: “Good relationships are at the center of good governance. Working together is at the center of good governance. It’s hard to get your colleagues to come to your side if, frankly, you sue them… It takes inviting people not from Springfield over to Springfield to see our issues. It takes going out to West Lane to figure out what those issues are, because you’re not actually individual mayors, you’re a county commission, and that means you have to govern in some sort of shared responsibility.”
The forum ended with closing comments from each candidate. Interested persons can watch the entire forum on the Springfield City Club YouTube at youtube.com/watch?v=thshXdDmZ7w.
