Fresh faces: Three new Bend councilors elected

Some fresh faces will offer new insight into Bend’s biggest challenges next year. Two of the three city council seats up for grabs Tuesday were pulled out from under the incumbents, while a third councilor’s bid to unseat a Deschutes County commissioner fell short.

“I can understand people are ready for change,” said Mark Capell, who has served on the council for eight years.

Challenger Nathan Boddie, a physician at St. Charles, will replace him.

“I felt good going into it,” Boddie says. “Obviously, you can’t be over-confident or know for sure.”

Voters also kicked Scott Ramsay off the council after four years.

“I’m disappointed,” Ramsay says. “It’s been a long, long battle.”

With a difference of 858 votes at last count, Ramsay will be replaced by fellow Bend business owner Barb Campbell.

“We did not have much money, so we worked for this victory,” she said Wednesday.

In the four-person fight for Barram’s seat, the candidate who faced scrutiny over his residency just outside of town for much of the past year grabbed the win.

Casey Roats says he’s thankful that people were able to distinguish between what his competitors claimed, and the issues at hand. Roats won by about 800 votes.

“I’m very happy to have the opportunity to work for the citizens of Bend,” he says.

Excitement from those sitting in these seats for the first time, and gratitude from those councilors leaving the chamber.

“It’s been an absolute honor to serve in the city of Bend for the last eight years,” Capell says.

Roats, Boddie and Campbell will take their seats in January.

The election results didn’t come up very much at Wednesday night, though Ramsay lamented how many people who voted in other items on the ballot didn’t mark the council races. He said it wasn’t about him personally, but that what the council does is important and has consequences. And Mayor Jim Clinton agreed, bothered by the “apathy” that has many leave that part of the ballot blank.