In the Sisters City Council election, three incumbents and two challengers are seeking election. We urge voters to elect challengers Nancy Connolly and Bob Wright and to return incumbent David Asson to his post.

Connolly, 53, is a teachers’ aide in the Sisters School District, where she works with individuals and small groups of students and advocates for those considered at risk.

She was born and raised in Prineville and earned a degree from Oregon State University. Connolly returned to the area in 1998 after working as a community relations specialist for the city of Portland and as a manager for the Association for Portland Progress.

During controversy about a proposed amphitheater and renovation of Creekside Campground into an RV park, she became concerned that residents weren’t being consulted by the council early enough in the process. In addition to making the council more open and accessible to the public, her priorities include affordable housing and jobs.

Wright, 69, grew up in John Day and earned a degree in urban planning from the University of Washington. He served on Navy submarines and later worked in energy and aerospace projects in several national and international locations.

Recently retired, Wright has been on the Sisters Planning Commission since 2012 and has served on the city’s Fiscal Advisory Committee. He wants to bring greater transparency to the workings of Sisters’ city government and help find consensus on goals for the city’s future. He would focus on promoting the ideals expressed in the city’s vision statement, advocate for affordable housing and family-wage jobs, as well as work to preserve the city’s lifestyle and natural resources.

Asson, 77, is nearing the end of his first four-year term on the City Council. He grew up on an Idaho farm and is a retired CPA with degrees from the University of Portland and University of California Los Angeles. He also served in the U.S. Army Reserve.

Asson moved to Sisters from Beaverton in 2006 and is treasurer of the Sisters Country Historical Society and a member of the executive committee of Economic Development for Central Oregon.

He said he has been in the minority on issues such as the amphitheater and Creekside Campground, consistently challenging whether the plans made sense financially. He is running again, he said, because it has taken time to learn about the city’s issues and he thinks it’s important to have someone speaking up with different viewpoints.

The other candidates are incumbents Brad Boyd, 53, and Wendy Holzman, 58.

Of the five candidates, the two with the top vote total will win four-year terms, while the third highest will serve a two-year term. Two other councilors, McKibben Womack and Chris Frye, are not up for election this year.

We believe Sisters would benefit from some new approaches and attitudes on the council, with Asson, Womack and Frye providing continuity. We urge votes for Connolly, Wright and Asson.