BOARDMAN — Voters in the May 18 election will have plenty of choices in the race for Port of Morrow commissioners.

Two of the seats up for election feature a three-way race, while a third seat has one candidate. Those elected will take their seats on July 1 for a four-year term.

Rick Stokoe

For Commissioner Position 1, current chair Rick Stokoe is running for another term.

Stokoe has worked in law enforcement for more than 31 years and has been Boardman Police Department Chief since 2011. He was appointed as a port commissioner in 2015 and reelected in 2017.

Stokoe said he has always been involved in the community, and on regional and state boards. Some of his local volunteer work includes the Morrow Education Foundation, coaching youth sports and as a volunteer ambulance driver for the Morrow County Ambulance District. He said he sees his service on the Port of Morrow Commission as another opportunity to help Morrow County.

“It’s extremely satisfying to me to give back to the community,” he said.

Stokoe said if reelected, one of his biggest areas of focus will be on helping the port create and retain family wage jobs for the region. Part of that is making sure the infrastructure is in place to support development, he said, and being fiscally responsible.

He said he is proud of the work the port commission has done so far.

“We’re the second largest port in the state, and that comes with a lot of hard work,” he said.

Jonathan Tallman

Jonathan Tallman is one of two challengers running against Stokoe for position 1.

Tallman is an owner of the local, family-owned Boardman coffee shop The Farmer’s Cup. He said the business has seen “triple digit growth” but managed to avoid the waste that often comes with such fast growth. He said he can bring similar skills to the Port of Morrow, which has also seen rapid growth.

Tallman has been at odds with the Port of Morrow Commission and other local officials for more than a year now, as Umatilla Electric Cooperative has pursued an easement to build a transmission line through the Tallmans’ property to accommodate new growth, and threatened to use eminent domain if the family doesn’t sign an agreement voluntarily. Tallman said he feels there has been a lack of communication throughout the entire process from the port and others.

“This is the only way I can be part of the conversation,” he said.

Tallman also has criticisms about the way the port commission operates in general, and said he feels current commission members have too many conflicts of interest and are finding ways to use the position for their own gain (Commission members interviewed for the article denied this allegation and said they recuse themselves from any decisions that may have even an appearance of conflict).

He said he feels there is “a lot of waste” in what the port is doing, and as a commission member he would focus on reducing that waste. He also wants the port to do what it can to promote more housing development so that employees of port businesses have a place to live in the county.

John Kilkenny

John Kilkenny is running against Stokoe and Tallman for position 1.

Kilkenny said he is a lifelong Morrow County resident, other than a brief stint in Pasco, Washington, and has been farming in the area for 40 years. He has served on a number of local boards, including 12 years on the Morrow County Planning Commission and time on the Morrow County Rodeo Board.

“The port has done a tremendous job of growing and diversifying … and I’d just like to continue that,” he said.

While Kilkenny praised the port’s growth, he said there are some areas he would like to focus on improving if elected, including recruiting more small and medium-sized locally owned businesses.

He said he feels the port and county could work better together than they currently do, and would like to see more “synergy” in that relationship.

He also would like to see a stronger emphasis on job training locally, to retain more young people who grew up in Morrow County and are ready to start their careers. He said he knows the port can only do so much when it comes to housing development, but he would like to see the port commission find more ways to expand housing options in the county.

“Unfortunately, a lot of people who work in Morrow County don’t live in Morrow County,” he said.

Jerry Healy

Jerry Healy is running for reelection to position 3 on the Port of Morrow Commission.

Healy was born and raised in Morrow County and lived there most of his life, other than college and a stint in the Peace Corps. He said he has now been on the Port of Morrow Commission for about 27 years, but is ready to continue his service.

“It’s a dynamic position,” he said. “It keeps you excited about what you’re doing. There are tremendous things we have accomplished for our community and for the county.”

Healy said one of the most important things the port commission needs to continue to focus on is how to provide training and opportunities for people already in Morrow County, to encourage them to stay after high school graduation or come back after pursuing their education.

“For decades, our number one export from the county was our young people,” he said.

He said the port has already been improving on that through the workforce training center, internships and other programs. He said during his service on the commission, the port has also done a good job of diversifying its economic base, and of strategic planning — something it is important to continue.

“There are a couple of ports in the state of Oregon that have run out of property, and we don’t want to be there,” he said.

Rick Weiss

Rick Weiss is one of two candidates challenging Healy for position 3 on the commission.

Weiss is the pastor of First Baptist Church in Boardman. He said while that wouldn’t seem to lend itself to serving on the port commission, past experience would, including time working in public policy in Arizona, experience as a small business owner and his bachelor’s degree in political science.

Weiss and his wife moved to Boardman about 18 months ago, he said, and jumped into community involvement, including their instrumental work in starting the Boardman food pantry. He said the Port of Morrow is a significant part of the community, and “it just seems if I’m going to be involved in the community, that is an area where I could have some influence.”

He said as someone newer to the county who doesn’t own a local business affected by the port’s decisions and who doesn’t work for a local government entity, he feels he can bring an objective voice to the port commission, focused on what’s best for the community as a whole.

“I’ve got fresh eyes,” he said.

He said if elected he would work to bring additional transparency and communication with the public to the port’s proceedings.

Chandler Schaak

Chandler Schaak is the third candidate running for position 3, but did not return calls and an email sent to the contact information listed on the filing form.

According to the filing form, Schaak lives in Boardman and is an insurance agent.

Joe Taylor

Joe Taylor, a local farmer who grew up in Morrow County, has served as a Port of Morrow commissioner for 16 years, and is running unopposed for another term.

He said he was actually a little disappointed no one ran against him, as contested races help bring up good ideas and areas for improvement.

Taylor said he was motivated to run again by projects the port has been working on that are not yet complete, that he would like to see through. If reelected, he will also represent the port on the Columbia River Enterprise Zone board for the first time, which he said he looks forward to.

Taylor said he is proud of the work the port has done in recent years, including the transition to a new port manager and the port’s strong growth — a trend he said is likely to continue.

“That’s going to take some planning and foresight,” he said.

Taylor said he wants to see the port continue to do what it can to help bring more housing options to Morrow County.

“It’s not a big input we have, but we have a little bit and I think it helps,” he said.

Boardman Chamber of Commerce held a virtual candidate forum for Port of Morrow Commissioner Position #3 candidates on April 13, and the video is available on the Boardman Chamber of Commerce Facebook page.

The chamber will hold a virtual candidate forum on its Facebook page for Position No. 1 candidates on Tuesday, April 27.