By QUINTON SMITH/YachatsNews
Walter Chuck still has a few things to do before he’s sworn in as Lincoln County’s newest commissioner.
Because the county commission gig is a full-time position, Chuck, 57, needs to give notice for his job with a private water plant operations company. He also plans to resign his seat on the Port of Newport commission and check his son’s Coast Guard training schedule so he can attend the swearing in ceremony.
Once all that is settled and he goes through orientation, Chuck expects to participate in his first commission meeting March 19.
And that gives him 14 months before the May 2026 primary election, where he will likely face an onslaught of challengers seeking the $94,000-a-year position. Chuck, who ran unsuccessfully for the commission in 2022, plans to seek election as well. Wednesday’s appointment lasts through December 2026.
In a show of agreement that has largely been missing lately, commissioners Claire Hall and Casey Miller said Wednesday that Chuck was their choice out of three candidates to fill the remainder of Kaety Jacobson’s four-year term, praising what he could bring to the commission and voting 2-0 to appoint him.
Hall said Chuck’s experience at the Port of Newport helped make him “the right candidate at the right time.”
“My goal is to show up and get as much information as I can,” Chuck told YachatsNews later Wednesday. “We still have to work together; it’s a team effort.”
Chuck was selected over two other finalists from the 26 people who applied to replace Jacobson. The others were Newport city councilor Ryan Parker, who also ran unsuccessfully for commission positions in 2022 and 2024, and Catherine Rigby of Newport, the grants administrator for the city of Newport.
Chuck has been on the Port of Newport commission for 12 years and said he will resign from that position after a Port-sponsored trip to Washington D.C. to lobby Oregon’s congressional delegation on coastal issues.
Chuck and his wife, Rebecca, have lived in in the county since 2003. Rebecca Chuck, who worked nearly two decades for the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service in Newport, is project leader for the Tualatin River National Wildlife Refuge. Their daughter is an emergency medical technician for Pacific West Ambulance and their son is stationed in Bandon and going through the Coast Guard’s surfman program.
A calming influence?
It’s hoped that Chuck’s appointment will help ease some of the tension in the commissioners’ offices.
Miller has been working mostly from home since mid-September while a harassment investigation was underway – he was cleared – but awaits a meeting on county personnel and confidential rules before he can return. Hall, who was selected as chair in January after narrowly winning her sixth term, is working with counsel Kristin Yuille to oversee administrative duties since the departure Feb. 7 of administrator Tim Johnson.
Before Wednesday’s vote, Miller acknowledged the stress the county had been under for months and told Hall he was grateful they were able to easily find agreement to appoint Chuck.
“You and I may have had some disagreements lately, but it’s great to know we are in alignment and I feel strongly about that,” Miller said.
During interviews last week, final statements submitted afterwards and comments to YachatsNews, Chuck was the only finalist to quietly address issues in the commission offices.
“At this stage of my life, I believe there are things that I can help the county with, whether it’s my experience, my temperament, or my ability to work with others,” Chuck said Wednesday.
In a closing statement sent to the county after last week’s interview, said his more than 20 years in the county as a parent, volunteer, adviser and elected official would help him navigate some of the county’s issues. Those challenges include hiring a new administrator and dealing with a soon-to-be-developed budget for fiscal 2025-26 especially with the funding uncertainties coming from the federal government.
“I have been on different state and local boards, associations and advisory bodies for over 15 years and been on the executive board or officer on most of them,” Chuck wrote in his closing statement. “All these positions required me to work and collaborate closely with fellow board members, city, state and federally elected officials and their staff, state and federal agencies, residents from many parts of Oregon and other states.”
In a news release from the county, Chuck said he’s coming in “with an open mind.”
“I think that when you’re the new person, your first job is to listen, talk to the people around you and see what their needs are,” he said. “Of course, I have things I’d like to get done, but the priority is making sure that the county runs properly, and everyone has access to the essential services that the county provides. As a commissioner, that means making good policy, going out all over the county and talking to residents, and effective communication.”
- Quinton Smith is the editor of YachatsNews.com and can be reached at YachatsNews@gmail.com
Great choice. Congratulations, Walter Chuck!
I am glad the two commissioners were able to come to an agreement, but still can’t quite understand why Rick Beasley wasn’t chosen? After all, he obviously was the people’s choice in the election. Meaning no disrespect to Walter Chuck, I do not know him but we have to move forward and give him a chance to do the work before judgement can happen. Casey — you’re elected, they cannot keep you from the work you were elected to do, no matter how many strange things happen behind that desk. Please, commissioners, let’s work for the people, not for your own agendas, be transparent, show us your best and let’s make Lincoln County great.
Because he is a self-avowed disruptor which isn’t necessarily a bad thing except that in him, it is. He disrupts without having the knowledge or position to disrupt from. Have you ever watched him, actually watched him, in action at a Depoe Bay council meeting? He’s one of those who has a lot to say but won’t do anything to actually improve anything. He just likes to talk. And for pete’s sake, the Beacon? Have you not ever read one? Talk about sensationalism in journalism. All he does is stir the pot. I don’t care how many voted for him — he did campaign well but people believed the things coming out of his mouth. That’s on them. Thank the Lord he wasn’t selected — all he would have done was further continue the fighting.