Scott Ezell, of Irrigon, on Dec. 20, 2023, at the Morrow County Board of Commissioners in Irrigon explains his opposition to changing the county’s ambulance service plan. He and his wife, Karma Ezell, have worked as EMS providers for more than a decade.

MORROW COUNTY — For the May 21 primary election, residents have four candidates to choose from for Morrow County Commissioner Position 1.

Richard Drake, Gus Peterson and Kelly Doherty are all vying for the spot Commissioner Roy Drago Jr. holds.

Drago was appointed to his position as commissioner in 2023 after voters recalled Jim Doherty — Kelly’s husband — from the seat. He grew up in Boardman and was a Boardman city councilor before taking the commissioner seat. He formerly worked at Tidewater Terminal Co.

Drake is a retired teacher and general contractor. He grew up in Heppner, where he still lives now. He has a master’s of teacher education degree from Eastern Oregon University.

Peterson is a lifelong Ione resident and farmer who attended Oregon State University, where he earned bachelor’s degrees in agricultural science and political science.

Doherty is a cattle rancher who lives in Boardman and serves as a Port of Morrow commissioner as well as on the Port of Morrow Education Committee. She has a bachelor’s degree from EOU and is working on a master’s degree from the University of Arizona James E. Rogers College of Law.

We emailed each candidate the same four questions with word limits. Doherty did not respond.

What follows are those questions and their answers, which we placed in alphabetical order according to the candidates’ last names. We edited the answers for grammar, punctuation and spelling. Otherwise the answers are as-is from the candidates themselves.

1) What do you consider are the top three priorities or needs for the county, and if you win the election, what will you do to address those priorities or needs?

Drago: Priority No. 1 would be completing the Ambulance Service Area plan, circuit court location and the process of water solutions in the Lower Umatilla Basin Groundwater Management Area as there has been much controversy in these issues as well as much progress.

The ASA plan has been approved by both Oregon Health Authority and Morrow County, meaning there will be resolution within the 90-day window.

The circuit court has been somewhat of a moving target lately, with the determination being made that it can be outside the city limits of Heppner. This opened up a few other options for location, but this didn’t necessarily make it any easier for the board of commissioners.

County involvement in the LUBGWMA is more difficult due to the vast involvement from state and federal agencies as well as the many stakeholders involved, so I would tend to focus on the area of finding solutions for safe drinking water as a mid-term issue and relying on the many players involved in the LUBGWMA on the long-term issue of groundwater nitrates.

Priorities No. 2 and No. 3 would be focused on the needs for housing and child care as well as infrastructure. Collaboration with cities and businesses is the best process for the county going forward, and these processes have already started and will continue.

Drake: 1. Water nitrate issue: This has been a known issue in northern Morrow and Umatilla counties for over three decades.

I was kicked off a private well in Hermiston in the mid-1980s. There are hundreds of private wells still untested. If needed, I will personally ask permission to test (them). Clean water is essential for life. We must find the contaminated wells and get them offline for potable water use. We must provide these affected people with potable water for household and livestock use. We must stop further contamination of wells and vulnerable aquifers. (We must) identify the culprits, be it feedlots, dairies, food processors, corporations, affluent disposal, over fertilization or any other source and stop further contamination.

2. Ambulance Service Area: “The Authority is pleased to approve Morrow County’s Ambulance Service Area Plan.” (Quote from the Oregon Health Authority dated March 24, 2022). More on this under item No. 4.

3. Amazon/windmill/solar tax abatement/deferral programs. As our board of commissioners has negotiated for large corporations moving into our county, to entice their business they have deferred taxes to the detriment of the citizen taxpayer. Much of these new tax dollars have been redirected to different entities — Columbia River Enterprise Zone, strategic investment program and others — rather than be directed to the general tax fund. This leaves the county responsible for county operations, maintenance and new infrastructure without sufficient new tax revenue.

Peterson: My three top issues are water safety, Ambulance Service Agreement and trust.

As to water safety, there is not a single expert that I have spoken with that believes the nitrates in the groundwater at the north end of the county will be resolved in the next several decades. Given that information, we need to prioritize getting safe drinking water to people, and to accomplish this at scale, I propose the creation of a water district — or districts — where water can be cleaned at scale before being piped out to those who have been affected.

For the ASA, there is a great deal of tension across the county with regards to how the services will be awarded and if favoritism will be given to any one single organization or community. My solution is to look at the actual proposals that are given to the county and judge them based on their merits, not by who is in charge or where they are from.

The last issue of trust is present in every problem we face. I have received consistent feedback from folks across the county that feel like it is tough to trust our leadership. If elected, I will host regular town hall meetings throughout the county, once a month, to ensure an open line of communication and to establish the kinds of relationships that we as a county need in order to trust and to thrive.

2) County commissioners have to approve the county’s budget. What departments or functions should the county spend more on, and what departments or functions should the county cut back on?

Drago: First, I would like to see the positions filled that are open in the county. We have been successful in filling almost half of the vacant positions in the last year. The road and bridge plan should be completed by the end of this year, making this an area we should focus on as soon as the information becomes available.

We have already increased our budget for public safety by adding three additional patrol deputies to the sheriff’s department that helped get the coverage needed for the county as well as for the cities of Heppner and Irrigon, which have contracts with the sheriff’s office.

Drake: 1. Highest priority for the county is the security of our citizenry. Without that we have no community. Why do we have such a high turnover in our police force? Is it poor wages? Dangerous conditions? Lack of support? Find the answer and fix it.

2. Health care of our citizens and a great ambulance/health system are a must. This includes a permanent solution for the high nitrate situation in the north end and preventing it from spreading to other areas. This includes stability in what used to be Morrow County Health District with great doctors, nurses and ambulance service.

3. Continuing to grow and improve our infrastructure in all our communities must be a high priority for our county. We have communities that need upgrades in water and sewer systems. This lack limits growth in those areas and forces people to commute. How can we grow as a viable part of the county if we have no place or services for new housing or new businesses to establish themselves?

4. I have questions about certain entities and funds provided to them while other departments are left without — for example, the Boardman Fire Rescue District getting millions more in funding than Irrigon Fire. Why? The off-highway vehicle park?

Editor’s Note

Morrow County does not include any fire districts in its budget. You can view the county’s budgets www.co.morrow.or.us/finance/page/budget.

Peterson: The first department that the county should spend less on is the county commissioners themselves. The current wage of $79,000 is absolutely absurd, in my opinion, and there are discussions of raising it further. In the 2023-24 proposed budget there was discussion of further increasing this pay. I think that the commissioners’ compensation should be tied to the median wage of the county so that our leaders are not shielded from how their constituents are doing. This would also create a further incentive for the commissioners to consider policies that will lift all boats, rather than just those who are already doing well.

Editor’s Note

According to Morrow County’s pay scale for elected officials, county commissioner receive an annual salary of $63,949.50. You can find that here at www.co.morrow.or.us/hr/page/pay-scales.

In the planning and development department, a water planning fund, item 245, has been created to oversee water quality and quantity improvement efforts. I would like to see this expand into real action such as the creation of a water district or districts to ensure that those who have been impacted by nitrates in groundwater can have the clean water they need and to deliver an actual solution rather than spending money on talking about doing something.

3) Fair or not, the county board has received criticism for lack of transparency. What will you do as a commissioner to ensure the county board is transparent to the public?

Drago: The board of commissioners will continue to follow statutes and rules that govern meeting law and continue to run the commissioners meetings in a civil manner. Commissioners meetings are for conducting county business and are not debate meetings with the public. We want to hear public comment and concern, but this is not the platform for debates, if it is necessary to have these debates, we will conduct those in public hearings. The Oregon Government Ethics Commission voted 7-2 to dismiss the ethics complaint against the board for an illegal meeting based on transparency of the circuit court siting.

Drake: There is an old adage: “Say what you do and do what you say.” The county commissioners have not kept their word on more than one occasion. Case in point: on Jan. 25, Commissioner David Sykes published in his “Fact Sheet,” “Future meetings will be held in each city once (Oregon Health Authority) has completed the legal review.” No meetings were held. There have been meetings held, for example, Irrigon, where the will of the people was strongly voiced to no avail. The citizens elect the commissioners. Commissioners must work to find what the public wants, not their own agenda.

Peterson: As leaders, our strategy is only as good as our ability to communicate it. In politics, we have to be able to convey to people why what we are doing is the right thing, not just be right. I will establish a regular rotating town hall meeting where community members can come and discuss issues with me and truly have an opportunity to interact with me. I do not think that effective leadership can be done alone, and I am committed to working with the people I serve so that we can all grow, work and lead together.

How do you view the county’s handling of ambulance service and why?

Drago: My view on the County ASA Plan is that for the first time in 20-plus years we finally have a legal ASA plan. This is about getting the county in full compliance with OHA, who is the regulatory state agency of ambulance service plans. For decades, this issue has failed to be in compliance with statute and rules, straying from its intention of those statute and rules. By following Oregon Revised Stateute 682.063, we are now in the process of selecting providers for service areas, providing the best service for the county as a whole.

Drake: The MCHD ASA was a valid service for the entire county for over 30 years. It had been found in compliance and approved on March 24, 2022. This approval was for a five year period giving the BOC time to find solutions to their perceived problem with the health district. Instead of giving MCHD an extension of their existing contract, one that would allow time for working out details, the BOC chose to rush the issue with the perceived intent of ousting MCHD. They have tried to push this blame onto MCHD. Sorry, the facts prove otherwise.

Peterson: I wish to be clear from the outset that I believe that multiple parties have erred in this situation; the current mess does not solely fall on the shoulders of the county, but a large piece of it does. The county handled the ambulance service extremely poorly and this has led to serious issues in trust and a public fight that I think could have been avoided. As is a common theme throughout my answers, communication was at the center (and) where competing narratives developed, the county often felt absent or aggressive and failed to adequately address people’s fears and concerns.

The primary election is May 21, 2024.

Doherty, Drago, Drake and Peterson will be on the ballot for Morrow County Commissioner Position 1.