Public Input Oppressed at Douglas County Commissioners’ Meetings

Written by Terry Noonkester

The nature of Douglas County Board of Commissioners meetings has changed enormously since Chris Boice and Tim Freeman were first elected county commissioners in November 2014. At that time, residents were allowed to make general comments at the beginning of BOC meetings. After several years
under their leadership, the agenda’s “General Comments” section was replaced with “Citizens’ Questions and/or Comments on Agenda Items Only.”

This change makes it difficult for residents to ask questions: they must do so before the topic has been discussed, then wait for the item to come up before they can hear a response. You can view BOC meetings, read the transcripts, and see the agendas on the Douglas County website by clicking on the Board of Commissioners tab at the bottom of their website page.

Before Boice and Freeman were elected, residents had more opportunities to speak. Now meetings are
very poorly attended, with one exception: during this election cycle the commissioners have spent considerable time at nearly every meeting recognizing and congratulating a wide range of groups and organizations.

Typically, there is little or no public input, and certainly no opportunity for discussion. In the first years after general comments were eliminated, some residents went to the podium at the beginning of meetings to protest the change. Those protests—and much of the public attendance—have since stopped. Agenda items are now passed quickly and at times almost robotically, sometimes with a brief comment from a commissioner and usually a unanimous vote.

Steve Hammerson is running against Chris Boice to bring transparency and citizen involvement back to
county government. He has promised that when elected, he will provide a continuous livestream from his office. See WeNeedSteve.com.

What Happened to Term Limits?

Steve Hammerson has promised “to listen to the 70% of Douglas County and recognize term limits,
pledging a maximum of 3 terms.” Commissioner Boice is now running for his 4th term.

In Nov. 2014, the voters of Douglas County, Oregon decided overwhelmingly (69+%) to place Term
Limits on their County Commissioners. The ordinance limited the service of county commissioners to “no
more than 8 years consecutively.” Incumbent Commissioner Susan Morgan sought election to a third term, but the county clerk refused to place her on the ballot due to the ordinance. In State ex rel. Smith v. Hitt, the Oregon Court of Appeals ruled that the eight-year limit imposed an additional qualification for county commissioner and therefore conflicted with Article VI, section 8 of the Oregon Constitution.

A county ordinance cannot override a conflicting provision of the Oregon Constitution. But Oregon
voters can propose constitutional amendments through initiative petitions. To qualify, the petition must receive valid signatures equal to at least 8% of the total votes cast for governor at the last gubernatorial election. The Constitutions’ requirements of commissioners qualifications would have to be changed with language that disqualifies candidates that have served the specified number of terms that the petitioners have chosen.

Appointments Disenfranchise Voters

Commissioner Tim Freeman explained at Jan. 11th 2023 meeting: “This is the 4th legislative appointment in 8 years that I have been involved in, and we have also appointed a clerk, a surveyor an assessor and …. a treasurer and an interim commissioner, that’s 9 elected officials appointed in a matter of 8 years. Nine elected officials that, but for one, one gentleman died and that was certainly not an intent of his
own, but the others left early. They created the problem. We are here today to try to solve a problem that we did not create. I want to make sure that folks understand that.”

It was the appointment by Commissioner Freeman, and the other 8 commissioners from three counties
that led to the next two vacancies. They chose David Brock Smith who then vacated his House seat and, a
month later, Court Boice (Chris Boice’s 2nd cousin) to replace Brock Smith and vacate his seat as Curry
County Commissioner, and that position was then filled by Jay Trost.

Previously, In the summer of 2021, a vacancy was caused by the death of House Representative Gary
Lief, his seat was filled by the appointment of a former Douglas County Commissioner Christine Goodwin in August of 2021 by the Commissioners from Douglas, Josephine, and Jackson Counties. Still earlier, In 2018 another series of vacancies ensued when Jeff Kruse resigned on March 15, 2018. Dallas Heard was
appointed to replace Senator Jeff Kruse, Douglas County Commissioner Gary Leif was appointed to replace Dallas Heard, and Christine Goodwin was appointed to replace Gary Leif.

Here again, the county commissioners “solved a problem” of 1 vacant senate seat by choosing 2
politicians that were already serving terms of office. Instead of 1 position being filled, the County
Commissioners “solution” necessitated the replacement of 3 positions. The effect of using midterm
Commissioners to fill vacant House of Representative seats was the loss of staggering of the commissioners election cycles. Now all three seats in Douglas County become vacant at the same time.

Appointments have been frequent in other Douglas County elective positions as well. County District
Attorney Richard Wesenberg was appointed by the state in 2008 and has been re-elected ever since. He had worked in the office since 1992 and replaced Jack Banta who retired July 2008. Assessor Heather Coffel was appointed to replace Roger Hartman who retired in July of 2018. Surveyor Ron Quimby was appointed on August 30, 2021 after the sudden and unexpected passing of Douglas County Surveyor Kris DeGroot.

The County Clerk and Recorder position has had the last three clerks enter the position by appointment; in 2019 Dan Loomis replaced Patricia Hitt, In 2013 Patricia Hitt was appointed to replace Barbara Nielsen, and in 2003 Barbara Nielsen was appointed to replace Doyle Shaver Jr. Each was later elected to the position as an incumbent.

The appointment of Clerk Dan Loomis on October 2, 2019 raised a controversy because Patricia Hitt had recommended either of two of her office personnel to fill her position; Rosemarie Wess who was the chief deputy clerk, or Andrew Taylor who was the office manager. Loomis, an outsider, reportedly said he would lean on their expertise to help him. Loomis said: “What better way to become the elected county clerk than to have 15 months of training in doing it?” To take the appointment, Loomis had to drop out of running for county commissioner and threw his support to Tom Kress, who then won the election. Tim Freeman and Chris Boice voted unanimously to appoint Loomis as clerk.

Many appointments can be avoided if elected officials would commit to fulfilling their term, or at least
resign within time periods allowing for replacements by election.

Steve Hammerson: ”The appointment system has very obviously been abused in Douglas County over
the past decade. My campaign offers a true “non-chosen” candidate when we haven’t seen one in over a
decade in paid elected office. I will bring transparency and accountability to this office, and am steadfast in protecting Douglas County’s first amendment rights. I don’t have to like what you have to say, but i must respect your constitutional right to say it.”