Petitioners seeking to expand Deschutes County Commission from 3 to 5 turn in signatures in bid to make fall ballot

Isabella Warren will have an update at Five

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- Bend business owner and advocate John Heylin has been working around the clock in recent months on his effort to collect citizen petition signatures for a November vote on expanding the number of Deschutes County commissioners from three to five.

We spoke with Heylin at the start of the campaign in September to learn why he believes the expansion is needed.

Heylin and his small team of volunteers officially submitted all 6,800 signatures needed for a first submission. County Clerk Steve Dennison says Heylin will have to make up for any signature errors by August 7th to make the fall ballot.

Isabella Warren is sitting down with Heylin Thursday to learn about the signature-collection process and the efforts to make it to the November ballot. Her report is coming up tonight on NewsChannel 21 at Five.