County commissioners interview two finalists, but whether they can agree on a selection is very uncertain

By QUINTON SMITH/Lincoln Chronicle

Two finalists to serve on the Lincoln County commission answered 13 questions for 3½ hours Monday in an effort to potentially break a deadlock on the governing body with two members who can’t agree on much.

That was evident from the start of the marathon online session Monday morning when Commissioner Casey Miller announced that two of the four intended finalists – Chris Chandler and Matthew Harwell, both of Newport – had withdrawn their names from consideration nearly seven weeks after their selection.

That left Marci Baker of Lincoln City and Cristen Don of South Beach as the remaining finalists to temporarily serve on the commission until next year, filling the seat left by the January death of Claire Hall.

Don and Baker are also among the four candidates seeking the position in the May 19 primary. If no one wins a majority in May – Joe Steere of Lincoln City and Eddie Townsend of Newport are also on the ballot – then the top two advance to November. A candidate winning a majority in May would appear alone in the November general election but not take office until January – when or if the person temporarily appointed would step down.

And that’s what led Miller to ask Monday if they should revisit the 22 original applicants to add people to the interview list. Miller was quickly rebuffed by Commissioner Walter Chuck and county counsel Kristin Yuille, saying they had agreed on a process March 4 and should stick to it.

Miller also wanted to discuss questions for the candidates before the interview and asked if any of his suggestions were included in ones for Monday.

“I’ve never seen these before,” he said of the 13 prepared by staff.

Chuck said he did not submit questions and did not want to see Monday’s questions in advance. Yuille said staff followed the same procedure as when Chuck was appointed in 2025 – that staff developed the questions but that they also included themes from Miller’s suggestions.

Because the May primary is just a few weeks away, Miller asked if they should consider including someone not on the ballot — neither Chandler nor Harwell are. He also asked if the current process was fair to Baker because Chuck is regularly making campaign appearances with Don.

“This is really entangled,” he said.

Chuck responded curtly that he’s “not endorsed anyone.”

Miller, who was chairing the session, agreed to proceed “but open up discussion later” and indicated that would likely be at the next bi-monthly commission meeting, which is not until May 6.

Chandler, who was one of Miller’s two finalists, told the Lincoln Chronicle on Monday that she withdrew Thursday “for personal reasons. All of them positive.”

Harwell, who was one of Chuck’s two finalists, told the Chronicle he withdrew Tuesday because he objected to Miller sharing applicant information on a non-county website without his permission, which he contends violated county personnel rules.

Big range of questions

Monday’s session had 13 open-ended questions and untimed answers. The questions ranged from ones testing Baker and Don’s knowledge of county programs, to how they have implemented or improved a complex program, views of the county’s short-term rental licensing program, to how they would balance competing priorities with a limited budget.

Don is a former Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration employee and beginning her fifth year on the county’s budget committee.

Baker is a Lincoln City council member and restaurateur.

Both answered questions clearly, confidently and at length.

Don repeatedly talked about her experience as the first director of ODFW’s marine reserves to illustrate how she helped establish the program, helped set policies, worked with other agencies, oversaw employees and balanced budgets. As its director, Don said it required “constant communication” to work with interest groups and state and federal agencies and would use that model to help the county and to build partnerships and connections to leverage limited resources.

Baker repeatedly talked about her experience owning restaurants and her time on the Lincoln City city council and planning commission. Baker said she’s a “firm believer in systems,” the need for data and public involvement and that county commissioners must take an active, intentional “role in making sure things happen.”

While their answers to most questions did not show much difference other than their work backgrounds, they had slightly different takes on the county’s five-year-old short-term rental program which will over time drastically cut the number of licenses in unincorporated areas.

Don, who lives in an unincorporated area of the county, said the licensing program was set up to provide a balance of owner-occupied and vacation rental properties, but should be evaluated by staff and commissioners. “Overall, I think this program is working …” she said.

Baker stressed the need for measurements and communication from staff overseeing the program and feedback from the public how the tighter licensing is working. “I don’t feel I have enough data to know how people feel,” she said, adding that unincorporated areas are different than the heavy tourist areas in cities. “But I have ideas for STRs,” she said. “We want to incentivize what we want to see.”

• To see Marci Baker’s May primary election candidate website, go here
• To see Cristen Don’s May primary election website, go here

To listen or view the interviews, go here