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PENDLETON — Umatilla County commissioner candidates were united Thursday night, Sept. 6, in their assessment that Oregon’s recent law decriminalizing small quantities of drugs is wreaking havoc in the county.

But none of the four supplied an answer about how to get more people into local addiction treatment programs.

Susan Bower, of Pendleton, and Cindy Timmons, of Milton-Freewater, are vying for the open Position 1 seat on the county board, while incumbent John Shafer faces a challenge from HollyJo Beers, both of Pendleton. The four answered an array of questions during a candidates forum at the Vert Club Room, Pendleton, which allowed them to lay out what each saw as major issues in the county and what they would prioritize.

The consequences of Ballot Measure 110, which Oregon voters passed in 2020 to make possession of a small amount of illegal drugs the equivalent of a parking ticket, was a frequent topic of the forum, along with homelessness and mental health. While Bower, Timmons, Beers and Shafer often agreed on what problems and challenges Umatilla County faces, not all their answers provided much in the way of details about how the county should address those matters.

Shafer often had the edge when talking about what the county is doing for homelessness because of PATH or Practical Assistance through Transitional Housing. The county is providing land for the project near Umatilla and partnering with cities on the west side of the county to bring it to fruition. Shafer said this is not just providing Conestoga huts as temporary housing for those without a home, PATH also will provide services onsite to help transition people from homelessness to permanent housing.

Timmons focused on the need to destigmatize the need for mental health so people are more likely to get help if they need it. She also called for more mental health services and the need for earlier intervention to identify school children, for example, in need.

Bowers pointed out the county has two programs for that, the wrap-around services of the CARE program and the use of school resource officers. She also said county commissioners serve on the boards of CAPECO and Community Counseling Solutions, local organizations that focus on providing mental health services to families and children.

CCS is the county’s provider for mental health and addiction treatment. Shafer said bringing in Community Counseling Solutions to replace Lifeways Inc. became one of his top priorities in 2021.

Beers, too, said the county needed more mental health services and advocated for getting rid of Measure 110. She emphasized several times how the law has allowed for lawlessness and exacerbated drug addiction.

County reels from Measure 110All the candidates had plenty to say on the question of how the law has affected the county.

Bower said the sheriff’s office has dealt with the brunt of the law, which has only compounded the problem of people suffering mental health issues. During a three-hour span observing the county’s dispatch center, she said, almost every service call the sheriff’s office responded to was drug related.

And Measure 110 goes beyond that, she said, with the law tying the hands of the district attorney’s office and preventing prosecution that could direct people to treatment programs.

Timmons also said the measure’s greatest negative effects have been on the sheriff’s office, and the law also plays into homelessness.

Shafer took the complaint one step further.

“Measure 110 is the biggest threat to Umatilla County today,” he said.

Shafer at one point said prior to the pandemic, law enforcement statewide cited 1,300-1,400 people per month for breaking drug laws, and of those roughly 80% completed treatment.

But since Measure 110 became law on Feb. 1 this year, law enforcement cited 2,100 people, he said, but only 19 of those sought treatment, and just three completed treatment. Shafer emphasized these figures were for all of Oregon, not just Umatilla County.

The four were unified in how bad the law is, and Beers said the ballot measure’s wording led people to vote for it. Shafer promised to work to repeal or change the law. Beers also called for repealing the law.

But no one presented a plan for how the county should deal with what Shafer called Measure 110’s “unintentional consequences.”

Other mattersOn the question of what role the county should play in ensuring access to higher and continuing education at Blue Mountain Community College, the candidates said BMCC plays a major role in the development of the local workforce, but Shafer had the leg up here.

He said the county just met with BMCC President Mark Browning about how it could help the community college with its budget shortfall. Shafer said the county is looking at using some of the federal funds it received for pandemic relief to give the college a boost.

“We’re in those talks right now,” he said.

Bower stressed the college plays a critical role in the recruitment of business and industry, which wants to know there is a workforce in place. She said the county needs to make sure it shares information with the college about economic development opportunities.

Beers gave perhaps her most pointed answer on the question of what contingency plans the county should have to deal with the effects of climate change.

“No. 1, I don’t believe in climate change,” she said. “I’ll tell you that right up front.”

Bower said she would want to form an advisory committee. Timmons said no matter the issue, public safety has to be the county’s top priority.

Shafer said it was the county’s responsibility to ensure its agricultural economy remains strong, and to that end he pushed for the project to draw water from the Columbia River to recharge an aquifer that will help irrigators grow crops.

Audiences gets its turnMore than 30 people attended the forum, and the last portion was open to questions from the audience.

Roberta Lavadour, of Pendleton, asked the candidates to speak to how they would take on poverty in the county.

Beers said that starts with acknowledging poverty exists and being willing to help people if they are in need and to refer people to organizations that can help them such as the Community Action Program of East Central Oregon.

Bower said she would have churches help, and Timmons said the county needs to address how to keep seniors in the homes they own but feel the threat of losing due to property taxes. Shafer referred to the county’s CARE program as a way to assist people.

One audience member asked the four which right the U.S. Constitution guarantees is the most important. Bower and Shafer said the freedom of speech, while Timmons and Beers said the right to bear arms.

The Pendleton chapter of American Association of University Women and the East Oregonian sponsored the forum.

Sound from an event going in the Vert Auditorium overheard at times threatened to drown out the forum. But the noise also prompted Shafer to deliver the best one-liner of the night:

“Sorry about the music. That’s my band. They follow me wherever I go,” he said.

You can check out Umatilla County commissioner candidates at the following forums:

•Tuesday, Oct. 11, 7-9 p.m. at Pendleton Center for the Arts, 214 N. Main St., Pendleton. The Umatilla County Board of Realtors is holding the event, which will focus on the local housing market.

• Wednesday, Oct. 12, 6:30-8:30 p.m. at Armand Larive Middle School, 1497 S.W. Ninth St., Hermiston. The Umatilla County Republican Central Committee is sponsoring the forum.

• Thursday, Oct. 13, starting at 6 p.m. at the Vert Auditorium, 480 S.W. Dorion Ave., Pendleton. The Umatilla County Republican Central Committee also is sponsoring this event.