Central Oregon primary election races all set

It’s shaping up to be a tough primary election, as several candidates are competing in local and state races.

The primary election will be held on May 15, with mail ballots going out in late April.

DESCHUTES COUNTY

Both incumbents are being challenged in the Deschutes County commissioner races for Positions 1 and 3.

For Position 1, Tony DeDone, who is the Republican incumbent and current commission chairman, is seeking re-election. He faces a Republican primary challenge from Ed Barbeau, a restaurateur, and the winner will advance to the fall election against Amy Lowes, a small-business owner who previously worked as a registered nurse.

For Position 3, Commissioner Tammy Baney is being challenged in the primary election by Patti Adair, who is the chair for the Deschutes County Republican Party. The winner will advance to the November general election and face Democrat James Cook, who is the owner of a small business and chairman of the Redmond Planning Commission.

STATE REPRESENTATIVE

District 54

The seat is currently held by Knute Buehler, who is stepping down to run for governor.

Two candidates seek to replace him. Dr. Nathan Boddie, a Democrat, is currently a Bend City Council member.

Cheri Helt, a Republican, is a business owner and is on the Bend-La Pine Schools board.

They are unopposed in their respective primaries and will square off in November.

District 53

The district covers Sunriver and a small part in Bend. Four people are vying to replace Gene Whisnant, who announced he’s retiring.

Eileen Kiely, a retired businesswoman, and Bill Trumble are the Democratic candidates.

Ben Schimmoller, a grass-roots activist, and Jack Zika, a real-estate agent in Redmond, are the Republicans seeking the seat.

NewsChannel 21 spoke with County Clerk Nancy Blankenship about what her office is seeing when it comes to voter registration.

“We are continuing to see our constant 300 to 600 (new registrations) every month,” she said. “We’ll probably see a little bit of activity because people are tuning to the candidates and we’ll see some activity in April, when people change party affiliations.”

The deadline for registering to vote or changing registration is April 24.

The deadline to file ballot measures will be next week.

But already, there are numerous money measures set to face voters, including the five-year fire-EMS levy renewal for the Bend Fire Department and Deschutes County RFPD No. 2, a five-year levy renewal for the La Pine Rural Fire District and five-year local option levies for the Sisters School District and Sisters Park and Rec District.

The city of Bend also will be asking voters if they want a directly elected mayor, rather than chosen by councilors, and whether to remove councilors’ pay from the city charter.

Blankenship also shared steps being taken to make sure the votes are secure and accurate, amid much discussion nationwide about hacking efforts.

“One of the things that you can’t stop is people coming and knocking on your door, so to speak — rattling the sabers,” she said. “But what you have to do is be sure they can’t actually open the door, so that is what the secretary of state is doing.

“Our Oregon registration system, Orestar, links to the public, as well as what we are doing with our systems keeping anything that would be susceptible, like our voter tabulation system, is offline.”

Blankenship also shared steps being taken to make sure the votes are secure and accurate, amid much discussion nationwide about hacking efforts.

“One of the things that you can’t stop is people coming and knocking on your door, so to speak — rattling the sabers,” she said. “But what you have to do is be sure they can’t actually open the door, so that is what the secretary of state is doing.

“Our Oregon registration system, Orestar, links to the public, as well as what we are doing with our systems keeping anything that would be susceptible, like our voter tabulation system, is offline.”

Blankenship, by the way, drew no opposition in her bid for another four-year term, nor did county District Attorney John Hummel, Assessor Scot Langton and Treasurer Wayne Lowry.

JEFFERSON COUNTY

In Jefferson County, Commissioner Mae Huston faces challenger Kimberly Schmith, while three candidates — Mary Kendall, Courtney Snead and Kelly Simmelink — are running for the commission seat being given up by Mike Ahern.

Four candidates have filed for the county clark’s position being vacated by Kathy Marston: Charity Dubisar, Yoonsun Reynolds, Brian Crow and Kate Zemke.

Jefferson County Sheriff Jim Adkins is running unopposed for another four-year term.

CROOK COUNTY

There’s only one Crook County commission with more than one candidates, as Assessor Brian Huber faces a challenge from Jon Soliz, an appraiser for the county.

County Commissioner Brian Barney and County Clerk Cheryl Seely are both running unopposed.