By QUINTON SMITH/YachatsNews
There are retired executives, current and former government employees, real estate salespeople, a restauranteur, travel executive, four city council members and a dozen others all seeking appointment to the Lincoln County board of commissioners.
Some 26 people filed applications by 5 p.m. Tuesday to seek appointment to the seat being vacated Feb. 14 by Kaety Jacobson, who is resigning with nearly two years left on her second, four-year term.
Her replacement will be decided by commissioner Claire Hall, who narrowly won re-election to a sixth term in November over one of the commission applicants, and Casey Miller, who is still working outside county offices after the conclusion of a four-month personnel investigation.
Hall and Miller have been asked to rank the 26, whose scores will be combined into one number and then ranked 1-25. They will then determine by Friday how many applicants to interview during a work session Wednesday, Feb. 5 with the potential of another work session Feb. 12.
The three Lincoln County commission positions are nonpartisan and considered full-time jobs with a salary starting at $94,000 a year, not including a full range of benefits.
It is the first commission appointment since 2012 when Newport banker Doug Hunt was chosen to replace Don Lindly, who resigned with two years left in his term. Hunt went on to be elected to two terms before retiring in 2022.
The only legal requirements to apply are that an office seeker have been a resident of the county for one year and be a registered voter.
But the county’s unusual five-page application asked a range of questions ranging from political affiliation, whether they had filed for bankruptcy, been cited for a breach of ethics or unprofessional conduct, involved in a civil lawsuit, or associated with a person, group or business which could be used to impugn their character – and also asked their age. Only one question inquired about issues facing the county.
Miller told YachatsNews on Wednesday that he’s pleased with the large number of applicants.
“I’m grateful that so many people applied,” he said. “People are paying attention and it’s encouraging to see the large interest in this important position in local government.”
In alphabetical order, the applicants are:
- Keith Barnes of Seal Rock, the veteran’s services officer for Lincoln County;
- Kevin Battles of Seal Rock, the manager of the BMO bank branch in Newport and former member of the Central Coast Fire & Rescue District board;
- Rick Beasley of Depoe Bay, a Depoe Bay city councilor and former newspaper reporter and publisher who lost by 115 votes to Hall in the November general election out of 26,000 votes cast;
- Amanda Cherryholmes of Lincoln City, director of Coast Support Services, a navigation center for the homeless;
- Chris Chandler of Newport, a former Economic Development Association of Lincoln County executive director, and former community relations officer for Central Lincoln People’s Utility District and currently a member of the Oregon Coast Community College board;
- Walter Chuck of Newport, the Hiland Water District plant operator and longtime board member of the Port of Newport who ran unsuccessfully for Miller’s seat in the May 2022 primary;
- Michael Dean of Tidewater, a self-employed concrete contractor;
- Jesse Dolin of Yachats, the central coast destination coordinator for the Oregon Coast Visitors Association, a regional arm of Travel Oregon;
- Sheahan Griffits of Lincoln City, a human resources consultant who was the county’s human resources director from 2010-15;
- David Hansen of Alsea, the retired director of Oregon Sea Grant extension;
- John Heath of Gleneden Beach, a real estate agent and the retired former mayor of Sheridan, Wyo. who is on the county’s budget committee;
- Christian Henderson of Newport, an escrow officer for a Newport title company;
- Riley Hoagland of Lincoln City, who is a Lincoln City councilor, real estate agent and host at Chinook Winds Casino;
- Patricia Patrick-Joling, a Newport real estate agent and former member of the Newport city council and Port of Newport commission;
- Oscar Juarez of Waldport, an early childhood education faculty member at Oregon Coast Community College;
- Scott King of Seal Rock, a real estate agent in Newport;
- Stephen Lovas, a Newport real estate agent and treasurer of the Newport Chamber of Commerce board;
- Dylan McEntee of Newport, vice president of operations for Mo’s Seafood, whose wife previously attempted a write-in campaign for commissioner and whose son, Carter McEntee, lost to Miller in November 2022;
- Ryan Parker of Newport, an Oregon State Parks beach ranger and Newport city councilor who ran unsuccessfully for commission positions in May 2022 and May 2024;
- Mitch Parsons of Lincoln City, a healthcare reimbursement assistant for the Siletz Tribe who is also a Lincoln City councilor and appointed this month to the Lincoln County School District board. Parsons ran unsuccessfully for Miller’s seat in the May 2022 primary;
- Christine Pebley of Newport, a former self-employed businesswoman and currently secretary of the Lincoln County Democrat Central Committee;
- Catherine Rigby of Newport, the grants administrator for the city of Newport;
- John Rodriguez of Newport, who has been the county’s building official since 2022 and previously worked for the city of Umatilla;
- Eddie Townsend of Newport, a real estate agent and former teacher and basketball coach in Newport and Toledo;
- Don Williams of Lincoln City, the former mayor of Lincoln City who now runs a local news website that often skewers county government; and
- Amy Williams of Lincoln City, a former employee of the Pacific Marine Mammal Center in Laguna Beach, Calif.
- Quinton Smith is the editor of YachatsNews.com and can be reached at YachatsNews@gmail.com