County assessors are not the most loved of Oregon public officials. After all, they manage a key piece of each county’s property tax system, establishing the taxable value of private property each year.

Brian Huber, 49, has been the Crook County assessor for five years, and he’d like to continue in the job.

He’s opposed in the nonpartisan race by Jon Soliz, 50, an appraiser in the office. Huber’s experience, as an appraiser and as head of the assessor’s office, make him the best qualified of the two for the job.

Huber, who was born and reared in Bend, has worked in the assessor’s office for 19 years, 10 of them as chief appraiser. Before that, he worked in the appraisal industry for eight years, after a stint in the Navy. He oversees a staff of seven.

Soliz came to the office in 2006, after 18 years with a local grocery store. He grew up in Redmond. He attended Central Oregon Community College.

Like Huber, he is a registered appraiser. He says he wants a better-run office with better employee relations and improved dealings with the public.

But it’s not as if Huber doesn’t want the same things.

Huber oversees an office where jobs are largely technical by nature. Appraisers must be able to take into account the property being appraised and the value of similar properties. They must be aware of what’s going on in terms of local real estate sales.

And they must deal with a public that may have difficulty understanding a complex property tax system.

As the assessor, Huber is qualified to do any task in the office, from appraisals to preparation of tax rolls. He’s overseen improvements to the office website and greater use of social media.

Huber understands the need for the appearance and for the reality of fairness in his office. Providing fairness, he says, is the most important thing he can do. There’s no indication he’s done anything other than that. He should be returned to the job.