By Kerul Dyer
The May 21, 2024 General Election ballots have now been delivered to residents of Jackson County. Registered voters from all parties will have an opportunity to voice their positions on three key ballot measures targeting the status quo of the Jackson County Board of Commissioners.
Measure 115-225 includes a restructuring of the governance of Jackson County through the addition of two seats on the Commission, bringing the total number of elected Commissioners to five. That proposal, in addition to Measures 115-224 and 115-226 that would make the seats nonpartisan and adjust Commissioners salaries to an established median wage more representative of residents in the county respectively, has created vocal controversy.
Arguments in favor and opposed can be found within the Oregon Voter Pamphlet, delivered to homes of Jackson County voters a week before the ballots arrived. Those in favor include former County Commissioners and members of the Jackson County for All group, including candidate Denise Krause, a second time contender for a seat at the Commissioners’ table.
“Increasing the number to five commissioners from three will give more representation. It will also give more people an opportunity to serve,” said Krause in a statement. “Lots of good people with a public service orientation don’t want to be involved in party politics. Making the office nonpartisan would also give the county’s largest group, non affiliated voters, a chance to help choose the nominees for the job.”
The opposition, who has created a Political Action Committee Stop Bigger Government and raised more than $20,000 to defeat the initiatives. Those involved rebuked arguments put forward by supporters, including more than 200 volunteers who collected 35,000 verified signatures of JaCo residents.
Outspoken opposition of the measures with statements on StopBigGovernment.com include seated Commissioner Rick Dyer up for re-election this year; Jackson County Sheriff Nate Sickler; and former Oregon Sec. of State Chief of Staff, Debra Royal. The arguments in opposition include that the County operates at a high standard and should not change. They also argue that reducing salaries will not attract the best candidates and could lead to legal challenges. And on the point of adding two commissioners, the PAC claims that the addition would “allow Commissioners to skirt public meeting laws and deliberate in private, enabling back-room deals.”
“In light of these substantive concerns, I urge the residents of Jackson County to unite in opposition to Measures 15-224, 15-225, and 15-226,” wrote Commissioner Dyer on StopBiggerGovernment.com. “Let’s uphold the values of prudent governance and fiscal accountability, safeguarding the vitality of our county for present and future generations.”
The question of whether the County has violated laws has not been answered or independently investigated, despite a request by Jackson County for All. The organization has made the correspondence with the state, including affidavits of witnesses to several contentious meetings and citations of public records requests on their website.
Salary increases for Commissioners have been made public and scheduled to go into effect in July, 2024. Many in Jackson County were shocked by the level of compensation, which is higher than the Governor’s salary.
“The highest-paid elected official fully on the county’s payroll is Sheriff Nathan Sickler at $175,552, or $84.40 per hour,” reported Nick Morgan for the Rogue Valley Times April 24. “The next highest-paid officials are commissioners Colleen Roberts and Rick Dyer. Both are at the maximum sixth step of the Director I classification, earning $150,009.60, or $72.12 per hour”
Jackson County for All will be hosting another public forum on the measures May 10 at 6 p.m. Registration can be found here.
