LCSD livestream Lincoln County School District superintendent Majalise Tolan, left, and board members Peter Vince, Liz Martin, Jason Malloy and Mitch Parsons applaud after the board voted last month to put a $73 million bond on the May 20 ballot.

By YachatsNews

They determine school or college policies. They oversee port operations, help ensure firefighters can respond to emergencies, that water flows, or potholes are sometimes filled.

These are the mostly low-profile school and special service districts, many of whose board members are up for election May 20 around Lincoln County.

Candidates could file starting Feb. 4 – some already have — and the deadline for filing for office is 5 p.m. Thursday, March 20. But there are a lot of positions open and waiting for candidates to file.

A full list of election openings and filing procedures is on the Lincoln County Clerk’s website.

School boards and special service districts elect board members not in the busy November election cycle where they can get lost in the shuffle of big-name politicians or issues. Instead, they run in usually low-key races in off-year May elections where voters can focus on the small districts that provide many local services.

In Lincoln County, the elections range from a majority of the Lincoln County School District and Oregon Coast Community College boards, two hospital district boards, to port districts in Waldport, Newport and Toledo, eight fire districts, and more than a dozen small water and road districts serving rural areas.

But no matter how big or small the district, there is generally more work involved than just attending a monthly meeting or two. Sometimes a board has to fire and hire a chief executive, negotiate with unions, oversee budgets, and ask voters to increase taxes.

For large districts such as schools or the college, board positions are elected by geographic zones. For all others, you just have to live or own property in the district, be a registered voter and fill out a form from the county clerk’s office.

Instructions on how to file are available on the election section of the Lincoln County clerk’s website. Information is also available at individual district offices.

The mail election is May 20. If a board seat is not filled via an election, then a majority of the board can fill it by appointment.

There are also three money measures on the May ballot – a $73 million building bond for the Lincoln County School District that voters throughout the county will decide, and operations levies for the Central Oregon Coast Fire & Rescue District and the East Lincoln Fire District that just voters in those district will determine.

Here is a list of major districts and their board openings in Lincoln County:

Oregon Coast Community College: Four of five zoned board seats currently held by chair Rich Emery, Bud Shoemake, Chris Chandler and Patrick Alexander are up for election. Only Alexander, who was appointed to the board this year, has so far filed for election.
Lincoln County School District: Four of five zoned board seats are up for election – including two positions filled this year by appointment. The seat held by chair Peter Vince, Senitila McKinley, Jason Malloy and Mitch Parsons are up for election. Malloy and Parsons were selected to fill vacancies this year. McKinley, a Waldport resident, announced Tuesday she will not run for re-election.
Ports of Alsea, Newport and Toledo: Four of five board seats are up for election for the Port of Alsea, two for the Port of Newport and two for the Port of Toledo.
Central Oregon Coast Fire & Rescue District: Three positions – including one vacant seat – are up for election. The district is also asking voters to approve a new levy of $1.27 per $1,000 assessed property value to maintain its operations.
Seal Rock Fire District: Two of five seats are up for election.
Yachats Rural Fire Protection District: Three of five seats are up for election.

There are also board positions open on the Lincoln County Library District, the Pacific Communities and North Lincoln health districts, which oversee hospital properties in Newport and Lincoln City, and fire districts in Depoe Bay, east Lincoln County, rural areas east of Newport, North Lincoln and Siletz.

There are also positions on seven other water district boards, 12 road districts and three sanitary districts.

Important dates to remember: