Abortion, climate change and housing were among key wedge issues in the race for Deschutes County Commission at a debate Thursday night, where incumbent commissioners Patti Adair and Tony DeBone defended their records in the face of opposition from challengers Morgan Schmidt and Oliver Tatom.

The candidates have appeared in debates together multiple times this election season, often discussing the same topics. Thursday’s debate, hosted by the League of Women Voters and the City Club of Central Oregon, brought up three key issues that highlight the stakes of the race.

On Wednesday, in a 2-1 vote, the commission voted to exclude abortions in the county health care plan, except for those caused by rape or incest or that threaten the life of the mother. Adair and DeBone voted in favor of the exclusion, while Commissioner Phil Chang voted against it. At the debate Thursday, Adair and DeBone said they were pleased with the current health plan they provide employees.

Schmidt and Tatom expressed strong opposition to the commissioners’ comments.

“I was deeply disappointed by the decision the commissioners made yesterday. I know I’m not alone in that. And deeply, deeply disappointed in, especially, my opponent’s comments after the vote that she was curious why pet insurance hadn’t been brought up as a benefit right after voting to rip reproductive health care options away from our county employees,” Schmidt said.

DeBone said the county health plan does a good job in serving everyone, and abortions are still safe and legal in Oregon without including it in the coverage for county employees.

Both Adair and DeBone dodged a question asking if climate change was real. “Weather is changing. It changes all the time,” Adair said.

“It’s not a crisis. Let’s not all panic right today,” DeBone said.

DeBone, who drives an electric car himself, said he sees electric vehicles, forest management and a pilot project for a biomass facility at the Mt. Bachelor ski area as ways to work with climate change and reduce rising temperatures.

Tatom, his opponent, said, “Climate change is not dissimilar from our housing crisis or our labor shortages in the sense that it is not just a national problem, it’s a global problem.” Amid such a widespread problem, Tatom said, acting locally is the solution to mitigating the effects of climate change. Local action could include investment in sustainable construction practices to make buildings as energy efficient as possible and avoiding rural sprawl, which relies more heavily on vehicle traffic and, in turn, more fossil fuel emissions, Tatom said.

He said building more densely in cities instead of building out in rural parts of the county is one solution to both climate change and the housing shortage.

Schmidt has already publicly opposed the commissioners’ 2-1 decision to rezone 710 acres of agricultural land near Coyner Avenue west of Redmond and Terrebonne into separate 10-acre parcels for residential use. Adair wrote her own column defending the commissioners’ decision. She said Schmidt seemed to be against the “rural lifestyle” and didn’t acknowledge the public support for the rezoning.

On finding solutions for housing for those experiencing homelessness, DeBone said he was in favor of sanctioned camping on campgrounds and safe parking for unhoused people, but he said, often the state can stand in the way of building more rural housing. Adair said she is working toward plans to build manufactured homes on the north side of Bend to increase housing stock.

More services and more enforcement are necessary, but more housing is the solution, Tatom said. He emphasized county-city collaboration as a way to overcome barriers to building rurally while using existing infrastructure.

The League of Women Voters and the City Club of Central Oregon are hosting two debate forums in Redmond at 12 and 2 p.m. on Saturday at the Redmond VFW. The first is for mayor of Redmond, and the second is for Redmond City Council. All forums are free and open to the public, and they are posted online for later viewing.