New Redmond pool bond fails, Jefferson County Jail levy passes

(Update: Later results; Sheriff Adkins reaction)

A bond measure for a new Redmond pool and recreation center was defeated in Tuesday’s special election, along with a companion levy, but Jefferson County’s second, scaled-down attempt at a jail operating levy won approval.

The Redmond Area Park and Recreation District sought voter approval for a $40 million bond to expand programs, at 55 cents per $1,000 of assessed value. A companion measure would assess 19 cents per $1,000 for a five-year operating levy to fund existing and expanded programs.

In the last ballot counts early Wednesday, the bond measure was defeated, with about 55.5 percent opposed, and the levy lost by a 53-47 percent tally.

Elsewhere, a second try to keep the Jefferson County Jail at full staffing passed, with 55.5 yes votes to 45.5 percent opposed.

The money measures shared Tuesday’s ballot with several contested school, park, fire and other board races across the High Desert in an off-year election that drew relatively little voter interest. Ballot returns reached about 29 percent in Jefferson County, nearly 25 percent in Deschutes County and 18 percent in Crook County.

You can check all the latest results, in Central Oregon and elsewhere, at the state’s election results website. (Deschutes County had newer numbers posted early Wednesday at their website.)

Jefferson County Sheriff Jim Adkins won voter approval of a jail operating levy, one scaled down and of shorter duration than a measure defeated by nearly 63 percent of voters last November.

The previous measure was for five years and $15 million and would have tacked 46 cents onto the current jail operating levy of $1.24 per $1,000 of assessed value.

The new proposal was a three-year local option tax that would add 15 cents, for a total of $1.39 per $1,000, raising $6.8 million over that period. If that had failed, Adkins had said there would be deep cuts, perhaps 10 of the 21 jail staff.

Along with higher costs, the 160-bed Jefferson County facility is losing a revenue stream as Crook County is about to open its new jail and will no longer need to rent beds at the jail in Madras, as it has done for nearly 20 years, helping with the roughly $6 million a year needed to operate the jail.

Adkins expressed relief Wednesday at the levy’s passage but noted, ‘Now the work starts for the next levy,” which will he’ll need to start campaigning for in about two years.

In Deschutes County’s contested races, newcomer Shimiko Montgomery defeated incumbent Bend-La Pine School Board member and chair Andy High in the Zone 3 contest, 57 to 43 percent.

Caroline Skidmore won a three-way race for the Zone 1 school board seat, with about 58 percent to about 30 percent for former mayor Mark Capell and nearly 12 percent of the votes for Chet Liew.

And in Zone 6, Melissa Barnes Dholakia easily won a three-way race with 72 percent of the votes to 18 percent for Michael Way and 9 percent for Richard Asadoorian.

On the Bend Park and Recreation District Board, Ariel Mendez easily defeated Travis Davis for Position 1, 72 to 27 percent. In the race for La Pine Park and Rec Board Position 4, Gary Gordon defeated Deren Ash 55 to 44 percent.

On the Sisters Park & Rec Board, Peggy Than defeated Rosemary Vasquez 60 to 40 percent.

The race for the Central Oregon Community College Zone 5 seat found appointed incumbent (and another former mayor) Jim Clinton handily defeated challenger John Short, 78 percent to 21 percent.

Redmond School Board member Johnny Corbin was soundly defeated in a bid to retain his Position 5 seat, losing 71 to 28 percent to Liz Goodrich.

Sisters School Board Chair Jeff Smith defeated Stephen King, 59 to 30 percent, with David Thorsett third at about 11 percent. In the board’s other contested race, former board member Don Hedrick defeated Mandee Seeley, 63 to 37 percent.

The Deschutes County Rural Fire District No. 2 Board had a contested race, with Raymond Miao defeating Ben Schimoller 66 to 33 percent. On the Sisters-Camp Sherman RFPD board, Kristie Miller defeated Ken Jones 59 to 33 percent, with Stratton Poindexter third at 8 percent.

In Crook County’s only contested races, Jerry Brummer won a three-way race for Crook County Fire & Rescue Board Position 3, with 53 percent of the vote to 37 percent for Beth Mitchell and about 10 percent for George Ponte. Gary Abrams was defeating Jim Dean in the two-way Position 5 board race, 57 to 43 percent.

In Jefferson County, the 509J School Board race for Position 4 saw Courtney Snead defeat Casandra Moses, 58 to 41 percent, while for Position 5, Kevin Richards won a three-way race with about 53 percent of the vote to 30 percent for Carina Miller and 16 percent for Taylor Lark.

The Crooked River Ranch Rural Fire District Board Position 3 race saw Jeff Green defeating William Burt, 59 to 40 percent, while in the Position 5 race, Mark Wilson was defeating Bob Bengtson, 62 to 37 percent.

In a Culver School Board contested race for Position 5, Seth Taylor defeated Brian Silbernagel 57 to 42 percent.