CAMPAIGN - Cordial Election Analysis

     Tonight, I'm putting on my "reporter's" hat when writing this column, instead of my "candidate's" hat. Granted, one can't objectively separate the two when I have my own bias about the Douglas County Commissioner's race. But it will help explain why I'm writing this column from an observer's perspective.
     With only one month to go before the election, the campaigning process in this commissioner's race has been very cordial and statesmanlike. Aside from the brief tiff that Roseburg multi-millionaire Bill Woods had with commissioner candidate Mark Vincent, there has been no negative publicity against other candidates. At least none that's been publicized.
     I have taken to task the leadership of the Douglas County Republican Party endorsing candidates before the May primary, something that's never been done before....but that discussion was between myself and another entity, not another candidate.
     What brought this issue home for me, and prompted me to write this column, was reading the Friday article in the Roseburg News-Review. The article said the "cordial candidates rarely criticized each other, except with indirect references about whether political experience was a plus or minus." In reference to this subject, I've always been able to take advantage of the best of both worlds: I have prior governmental experience as an "insider" while serving on the Oakland School Board, but I also have twenty years of experience as an "outsider," observing how government conducts its business while I worked as a reporter.
     Indeed, looking at the newspaper photo of all seven commissioner candidates sitting in front of the News-Review's conference room table, one might have had the impression we were preparing for the Last Supper. All of us shared a common goal of running for the same office, while none of us attacked (or barely attacked) any of the other candidates.
     Contrast that with the current contention between Democratic candidate Susan Acree and Republican candidate Roger Hartman in the Douglas County Assessor's race. I'm almost envious of these candidates, because they appear to be receiving more attention than the commissioner candidates. Hartman threw his hat into the ring at the last minute, upset because the incumbent Acree had removed public access computer terminals from the assessor's office.
     I admire Hartman for being an issue-oriented candidate who decided to run for political office in order to correct what he sees as a "wrong." But I don't admire the negative press releases that have been flying back and forth between the two campaign camps. Hartman claims Acree has an 80 percent failure rate in winning appeals that are brought before the assessor's office, while Acree has "done the math" and shown exact mathematical calculations in her press releases that show her failure rate in making accurate appraisals is less than one percent. Or something to that effect.
     THIS is the basis on which voters should choose the best assessor candidate? Figuring out which candidate is telling the truth in the actual percentage of successful land value appraisals?
     In reflecting on the commissioner's race, I have been pleasantly pleased SO FAR that there haven't been any public attacks against the candidates. In fact, it's been so "cordial" that I've begun thinking about positive things to say about the candidates. Don't worry. I won't allow myself to make this column a "love fest" where we all sit around singing Kum Ba Yah. But there are a few observations I would like to make, in as objective of a manner as possible.

*  I was blown away when Tim Freeman endorsed ME as the next candidate he would vote for, if he were forced to drop out of the race. ME over the other five candidates. Freeman told the News-Review editorial review board that there was only one other candidate in the room with experience, and that is Monte Muirhead. Wow!
     Before Freeman had given his answer (which was before I gave my answer), I had already decided that I would "split" my endorsement between Tim Freeman and Monte Smith. I had been around both of them about the same amount of time in recent years, and so I chose both....which was still better than four of the commissioner candidates who gave no answer at all.

*  One voting outcome that I will monitor on election night is the precinct returns for Oakland. When I've run in the past for Douglas County Commissioner, I've always come in first in Oakland. Because I'm from that town, I've previously received more Oakland precinct votes than the other commissioner candidates.
    This election could be different. Tim Freeman hasn't lived in Oakland in years, but his mother worked as a counselor at the high school until 2012. So there is a strong family connection that still exists, which means Oakland has two "hometown" candidates in this race.

*  During the News-Review editorial board meeting, I jokingly made an offhand comment about part of me wishing that Tim Freeman does win this election, so that he can break the Roseburg City Council "curse" that plagues commissioner candidates.
     Doug Robertson was the last Roseburg City Councilor who was elected to the Board of Commissioners back in 1980. Since then, numerous candidates from the Roseburg City Council have run for county commissioner and lost significantly: Roseburg Mayor Jeri Kimmel, City Councilors Bob Free, Tom Ryan, Dan Hern. So, as a former Roseburg City Councilor, it will be interesting to see if Freeman can break that 34-year-old "curse."
     When I mentioned the "curse" at the editorial board meeting, I didn't want to make it appear that I was being negative, and so I digressed and said, "of course, Tim has served in the state legislature since he was on the council, so he's obtained other government experience since then." At that point, the timer went off because my speaking time was up, and I said I needed to be quiet now.
     Tim then responded, "No, that's okay, keep going." (Laughter in the room)
     I had said that I didn't know why I gone off on that tangent. Mick Fummerton said, "It's sounds like you're supporting Tim Freeman for commissioner." (Laughter)
     Just another example of how cordial this race has become.

     I can honestly say that I walked away from the editorial board meeting with more respect for all of the candidates in the race. I may not agree with all of them on subjects like garbage dumping fees, but at least I can see them now as people, and not just politicians with political ideologies. That's one of the reasons why I find it difficult to bash President Obama as much as some other Republicans do. I've MET the presidential candidate face to face, and talked with him, albeit for a short two or three minutes. When you see the human side of someone, it's more difficult (at least it is for me) to get in their face and criticize them for their beliefs.
     Don't get me wrong. I feel strongly about a about a variety of issues, and I will always disagree and debate anyone who has a different opinion than mine. But I always try to attack the issue, and not the person. Kind of a secular version of  "love the sinner, but hate the sin."
     When the North Roseburg Rotary Club sent me overseas to Brazil for one year to help foster global understanding, it wasn't time wasted. When one meets people of different political beliefs, or is exposed to other cultures by "walking a mile in someone else's shoes," it's much more difficult to vilify the person.