NEWPORT — Widely deemed as the preeminent pre-election forum in Lincoln County, the League of Women Voters Candidates Forum was held Tuesday, April 28, for the first time entirely via the internet.

The May 19 primary election is the rare ballot in which all three county commission positions are open, drawing a dozen candidates for the $100,000 yr. seats. Despite its pedigree, the LWV forum got off to a clunky start and devolved into a revealing free-for-all where unfamiliar names on a sample ballot came to life while positions mattered little.

With fuzzy images and sudden technical glitches, the roundtable at moments felt like a NASA flyby. “I can hear you, can you hear me? It’s a miracle!” declared the presenter when contact was reestablished with one panel member.

But blackouts and dropped signals couldn’t obscure sharp differences that emerged over flashpoints like raising taxes on vacation homes. Part anti-tourist, part tax-the-rich, the idea intrigued some nominees as a way to leverage worker housing on the backs of outsiders — 25 percent of coast homes sit mostly empty, by some estimates.

Here, the divide widened. Surveillance agent Dru Earls, terse but unseen, responded “Yes!” Entrepreneur Nicholle Moody cried “No” to all new taxes, calling for an end to the “piggybank” treatment of county taxpayers. Others aspirants played it safe with soothing bureaucratic palliatives or wait-and-see answers. Then there was Walter Chuck, who started with a ‘No’ but talked himself into a solid ‘maybe.’

In lightning-round fashion, 11 candidates for the Lincoln County Board of Commissioners staked-out their positions on quality of life, homelessness, the budget and how to fix Lincoln County’s dysfunctional government.

Incumbents Casey Miller and Walter Chuck, foes in the boardroom, were cozy with the idea of taming the weather. To the question, Miller called for a county “climate action plan” while Chuck offered kind words about “offshore” energy development. But when Dru Earls said he was “Pro-turbine in the ocean,” Joe Steere (Pos. 2) couldn’t help himself.

“The planet’s climate is dynamic,” said the veteran beef rancher and tree grower, a bellweather of north county common sense with a plan to repair the broken BOC. “I’ve seen higher floods, worse winters and hotter summers.”

Whatever the topic, the forum put candidates into a pressure cooker where stances were compressed to two minute reactions. Some were fearless, such as ex-teacher and businessman Eddie Townsend, who channeled countywide frustration over local government from the BOC to the planning department.

“Build baby build!” was his solution to scarce low-priced housing. Undaunted by cranky residents, Townsend said he would expand the tax-paying pool of rental homes.

Among the hopefuls were government insiders, masters of administrative jargon and wait-and-see responses. Conversely, Marci Baker stood out as frank and insightful, not the picture her tactless social media detractors paint. A businesswoman and city councilor, Baker described second homes as “a family heritage that shouldn’t be punished” and wanted to reduce stifling regulations.

Cheri Brubaker, a Congressional aid, ex-teacher and journalist, materialized from a low-key campaign with a welcome angle: “I’m not running to represent the loudest voices in the room, one side or the other. I’m running to represent all of Lincoln County.”

Moderator Jean Cowan, a former school superintendent-turned-successful politician, asked the question on everybody’s mind: how to fix Lincoln County’s broken government? Retired sheriff Curtis Landers answered with the certainty his 37-year career shaped.

“The number one issue is getting cooperation with the board,” he said, promising to reopen meetings to the exiled general public. “Without that nothing moves. People have to be heard. To make a good decision, you have to get all perspectives.”

Casey Miller, who has taken the brunt of a bureaucratic coup, concluded that “restoration of authority of the board” is the first order of business.

Cathie Rigby, who is working to square her claim to a master’s degree in the voter’s pamphlet with denials from her alma mater, addressed the issue without a hint of irony: “The community wants to know they can trust the communications being sent out to them.”

The League of Women Voters candidates forum attracted about 45 individuals in person for viewing in classrooms at Oregon Coast Community College in Newport and Lincoln City, plus as many as 79 attendees (91 if you count candidates and hosts) on Zoom. That number places the forum among the best-attended in recent elections. Attendance might have been even greater but for confusion surrounding the Zoom meeting link. An erroneous link was promoted in some promotions prior to the evening.

“We’re not certain how or where the meeting number confusion arose,” said Dave Price, OCCC’s Vice President of Engagement, “but we are grateful for the public’s understanding and the flexibility of the candidates and attendees.”

Anyone who missed the forum can watch a recording of the meeting:

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