BEND, OR -- A Deschutes County Commissioner is supporting a local push to change how voters choose candidates for his position. "There has been a group of citizen petitioners who have been gathering signatures for the last year and a bit, for a ballot measure that would be referred to the voters - probably this November - to make County Commissioner a nonpartisan position in Deschutes County," Commissioner Phil Chang tells KBND News.
"Less than 25%, less than a quarter of the counties in the state of Oregon still have partisan County Commissioner seats. And, in my opinion, this pulls a whole bunch of toxic, national level partisan dynamics into local government decision making." Chang adds, "And, it also disenfranchises all of the non-affiliated, Independent and other minor party-registered people in the county from having any kind of input on who the candidates are going to be for County Commissioner when we get to a November election."
The group behind the initiaitive petition says it needs about 400 more signatures before the August 10 deadline. Click HERE to learn more about the effort. If the issue makes it to the ballot in November and if it’s approved by voters, County Commissioner elections would be non-partisan. Which means there would be no primary and all registered voters - regardless of party affiliation or non-affiliation - would have the chance to vote on any candidate in a General Election.
