Battle of Phils: Henderson, Chang square off in KTVZ county commission debate

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) – Contrasting stands on a variety of Deschutes County issues, from land use and marijuana to COVID-19, were the focus Monday evening as Republican County Commissioner Phil Henderson squared off with Democratic challenger Phil Chang in a live half-hour debate broadcast and livestreamed by KTVZ.

Henderson, seeking a second four-year term on the board, noted it was the duo's fifth (and apparently final) debate of the campaign season, as thousands of county residents have already cast their mail ballots early.

He said in his opening statement that the main difference between him and his challenger is “background, experience and leadership,” touting his years in the private sector while “Mr. Chang, on the other hand, has worked all of his life in government.”

“I don’t think we need another government employee to run a county government that already has 1,000 government employees,” Henderson said.

Chang said he’s lived in the county for 16 years and “worked to steward our forests and rivers,” bringing “new strategies to solve problems.” He promised to encourage new patterns of development, but to “keep rural Deschutes County rural.”

“I know how to bring people together,” Chang said. “I know the difference between wasteful spending and investment in the future.”

The first question was about Measure 9-134 which, if approved, would allow more commercial marijuana production in the county.

Henderson said he spent three years trying to enforce regulations passed by predecessors and heard “a lot of complaints both ways, whatever we do.” He said asking county residents made the most sense, since “our county is split,” with Bend and La Pine allowing commercial marijuana sales while Sisters and Redmond don’t.

“It’s never been clear what county rural residents want,” he said, adding that since there are some 50 permitted grows, 30 of them active, that is “sufficient” and he will vote no on allowing more grows in the rural county.

Chang said he’ll follow the will of voters but that he plans to vote for the measure. He claimed Henderson has “tried to play a central role in overturning the will of the voters in 2014,” when they allowed legal marijuana, and tried to “dramatically restrict owners of farm-use lands to grow legal crops.”

“I’m not necessarily pro-marijuana or anti-marijuana, but I believe in the right to farm,” Chang said.

In rebuttal, Henderson said, “I haven’t stopped the grows. People quit applying because they couldn’t get approval at the state level.” But Chang claimed Henderson “has been behind active efforts to deny permits, wasted a tremendous amount of staff and commissioner time>”

Next topic: county efforts to allow development of non-productive farmland.

Henderson said there’s been an inadequate supply of land for housing and that relying on the cities’ urban growth boundaries “has failed in our county.” But Chang said he’s a “firm believer that the vast majority of growth (should be) within the existing UGB. “

“We have a large number of rural properties – some say the most in the state,” Chang said. “To say we need to use those lands to improve housing affordability is flat false. Land prices are high. If you can only build a 2- or 5-acre single-family home in rural residential zoning, there’s no possible way to make that affordable to the average working family.”

When the candidates got a chance to ask each other questions, Henderson zeroed in on Chang being supported by District Attorney John Hummel.

“My concern is, with his attitude toward law and order, the county is becoming less safe,” Henderson said, noting  as an example his support of Measure 110, the move to decriminalize possession of small amounts of heroin, methamphetamine and cocaine. “Do you support his actions?” Henderson asked.

“This election is not about John Hummel,” Chang replied. “This election is about you and I.” And he noted a wide variety of supporters, from timber to environmental interests, school board members and law enforcement leaders such as former Bend police chief Jim Porter, “a handful of labor unions,” farmers, outdoor industry leaders and restaurant owners.

Henderson chided Chang for not answering his question about Hummel: “Do you support what he supports, or not? He’s not in this race, but ... we approve the DA's budgets.”

Chang, in turn, asked Henderson about what he would do, specifically, in the next few months to avoid a sharp increase in COVID-19 cases.

“It’s surging throughout the country – many counties more than us,” Henderson replied. “All we can do is what we’ve been doing.” He said the commissioners have had many briefings from health experts and “we really don’t have control over this,” and likely cannot until there’s vaccines. Chang said places that have “crushed the curve” have done well at social distancing, contact tracing and pro-active testing.”

The last question from moderator Lee Anderson was how the candidates propose making up for revenue lost during the pandemic. Both candidates noted that the county has seen its gas and transient lodging taxes come back faster than some expected.

“I don’t know how we’ll make up for losses,” Henderson said, but strong reserve funds have helped, though not “enterprise funds” like the fairgrounds and Expo Center. “One big unknown is what the state will do,” he said, since it funds many programs, while federal funds just put the country deeper into debt.

Chang said with the country’s growth comes a larger revenue base, “assuming folks are not so economically distressed they can’t pay their property tax.”

“We nee do think about growing services to mee the demands of a growing community,” he said. Chang’s claim that Henderson ahs “pushed for” reductions in public and behavior health was denied as “inaccurate” by the incumbent.

At the close, Henderson again touted his “real-world experience” as a business owner, attorney and home builder, while Chang said he offers “a pragmatic, collaborative, problem-solving approach. Phil Henderson offers polarization and fighting over issues like COVID response, forest management or water conservation.”