Convenient allies

Published 5:00 am Sunday, October 28, 2012

Four Bend City Council candidates whose names appear together on a piece of campaign literature say they’re not running as a slate, or even necessarily endorsing one another.

Candidates Barb Campbell, Doug Knight and Sally Russell are listed alongside incumbent Councilor Jim Clinton on a card hung on voters’ doors by Campbell’s campaign. The piece states that the four candidates are opposed to the city’s $68 million Surface Water Improvement Project. It draws attention to the recent court injunction that put the project on hold and the steep rate increases the city projects will be needed to pay for it.

Contacted Thursday and Friday, the candidates said they’ve had no discussions about what they might do if elected, and that they have little in common politically aside from a skeptical view of the water project.

“I don’t think we’re running as a slate; I don’t think we’re running as a pact, and we’re certainly not trying to be a band of misfits,” Knight said. “We’re independent-minded people who just happen to agree on the water project issue.”

Campbell said the collaboration between the campaigns began with Clinton, the only council member who voted against moving forward with building 10 miles of new pipeline from Bridge Creek to a new water treatment facility on Bend’s west side. Campbell said she and the other two challengers didn’t know one another at the beginning of the campaign, and were introduced by Clinton due to their shared views on the water project.

“If we had been in there, we would have backed up Jim Clinton, and he wouldn’t have been the only no vote on the water project as it is now,” Campbell said.

Slates of City Council candidates are probably less effective than they were in past years, Clinton said, recalling the “Men Without Ties” campaign of 1992. Back then, four newcomers coordinated their efforts and won a majority on the council while knocking off three incumbent councilors. In 1992, all council candidates ran in a single election in which voters chose multiple candidates, with seats awarded to those who finished at the top of the pack. Since then, the city has moved to a system in which each seat is contested separately.

Clinton characterized the campaign piece as “voter information,” and acknowledged his track record identifying electable council candidates has not been good. Four years ago, he took out newspaper ads listing “Jim’s Picks” in three council races, all of whom lost while Clinton easily won his second term.

“The reason I’m enthused about this particular group of candidates is because I think they’d be good colleagues to have in my initiative of changing the way the city does business,” he said.

Russell said the alliance among herself and the other three candidates occurred spontaneously, and that she views their campaign piece on the water project as a matter of practicality. As Bend has grown, candidates and their supporters have difficulty knocking on enough doors to get their message out to voters, she said, but a shared campaign piece can help all four candidates extend their reach.

It’s too early to guess what might happen if candidates skeptical of the water project win a majority on the incoming council, Russell said. Regardless of how they do on election day, she expects the project will receive a critical re-examination early next year.

“(Our election) could be a message, but even the level of conversation around this issue should already be a message,” Russell said. “It’s an active conversation today, already, and I think that in itself should be a significant message to the decision makers around the city.”

Seats at stake

For full coverage, visit www .bendbulletin.com/election.

The Bend City Council approved the Surface Water Improvement Plan, 6-1, on March 7.

Councilor Jim Clinton voted no. Councilors Tom Greene, Kathie Eckman, Mark Capell, Scott Ramsay, Jodie Barram and Mayor Jeff Eager voted for the plan.

The council positions held by Clinton, Greene, Eckman and Eager are at stake Nov. 6.

Eager and Greene are not seeking re-election: Eager is stepping aside, and Greene is making a bid for the Deschutes County Commission.

Barb Campbell, Wade Fagen and Victor Chudowsky vie for the seat held by Greene. Fagen has said he, too, opposes the water project. Chudowsky supports moving ahead with the project, but would look for ways to trim costs.

Doug Knight, Ed McCoy, Ed Barbeau and Charles Baer are candidates for Eager’s position. McCoy has said he needs to know more before making up his mind about the project; Barbeau said the city must replace the aging water pipelines; Baer supports the project.

Sally Russell and Ronald “Rondo” Boozell would unseat Eckman, who seeks re-election. Boozell’s position on the project is unclear.

Clinton seeks re-election; he’s challenged by candidate Mike Roberts. Both have said the city should proceed with pipeline replacement but re-examine other aspects of the project.