EDITOR’S NOTE: With the open Tillamook County Board of Commissioners position due to Commissioner Yamamoto’s early retirement, the Pioneer has sent the finalists selected for the position our “Questions for the Finalists.” Even though community members won’t vote on who fills the seat and finishes the one year left in the term (County Commissioners Bell and Skaar will select the person to complete the term), we thought the community would like to get to know the finalists. The County Commissioners will host a Candidates Forum on October 12 from 5-8 p.m. at the PRI Building in Tillamook. A second forum on October 16, from 5-8 p.m., at Tillamook Community College, will be a panel interview conducted by the County Commissioners themselves. We know that not everyone will be able to attend (there are remote audio options available.)
We will post the answers from each finalist as we receive them.
Tillamook County – meet Ken Henson.
Are you planning to run for Commissioner in 2024, regardless of if you are selected?
I would only run for election/re-election if chosen by the BOCC as an appointee. I believe the responsible thing to do is to allow the BOCC to have continuity and to build cohesion with the team of County Commissioners. If appointed, I would run for re-election for the same reasoning and would hope that if the people of Tillamook County would not vote for me in the election, that they would be vocal with the BOCC at this time as to their desire for whom they would re-elect. The last thing I want is to “stick with the job” for a year and not be able to continue the efforts made in 1 year.
What is your WHY – Why did you apply for this position?
I have been a Tillamook County resident for 20 years, have raised my family here and have seen the growth and challenges that Tillamook County residents have faced. I need to be able to look myself in the mirror and know that I am doing the right thing for my community and not just for myself. I can certainly work on the issues that challenge us (food insecurity, lack of/inequity in housing, over extractive tourism, healthcare for all residents, addiction and recovery issues, strategic planning ) but believe as a member of the BOCC, I would have the leverage to provide more value to our community than I currently have.
Relevant experience, qualifications for position:
A military veteran and business owner with experience in operations, leadership development, and job creation, active in Oregon Travel and Tourism, Board Chair of the Oregon Hospitality Foundation, active in creating future leaders with State level activity in ProStart and Future Business Leaders of America, Chair of the Tillamook County Solid Waste Advisory Committee, Tillamook Solid Waste Budget Committee, Board Member of Food Roots, Board Member of Partners for Rural Food Systems, and other local and State level groups focused on building strong and resilient communities.
What do you see as the top 5 priorities for the Commissioners this next year?
Budgeting, Housing access and security, food security, access to healthcare and mental health, access to addiction/recovery services.
How should the county be addressing the mental health/substance use disorder crisis?
We need to prioritize equitable access to medical therapy and treatment resources to include rehabilitation services and centers. We need far reaching drug and alcohol education, resources to provide parents with the tools to better prepare our children with in-home education and healthy role modeling. We also need social support networks to include after school and summer youth activities with strong peer support and adult youth mentorship that promotes healthy lifestyles and prevention programs.
Commissioner Yamamoto has focused on specific issues – such as logging/forestry, the FEMA BiOp, and wind energy; What is your stance on the Oregon Dept. of Forestry’s Habitat Conversation Plan? Wind energy?
I will start by saying that I am not an expert on the Conservation plan and won’t ever pretend to have solutions on issues that I need more education on but will commit to educating myself on any issue that needs addressing for the constituency of Tillamook and Oregon. I don’t have issue with the Conservation plan, but rather the lack of continued strategy. For example, what is the plan to replace the timber revenues that our county and (some of our) schools and other budgets rely heavily on? What is the plan to provide living/family wage jobs that we are losing in the process of trying to fight climate change and protect threatened species. I believe we need a smart combination of different sources of renewable energies to include wind energy and we need to create paid training and ensure that family wage jobs are created here in Tillamook County to offset any loss of jobs.
Housing continues to be a challenge in Tillamook County. The county is just completing a year-long process of updating the STR ordinance, and is facing a lawsuit from STR owners over “caps”. What is your view of how the BOC has addressed housing and STRs?
I must say that all of the questions you have asked are complicated and multi-faceted issues and the solutions are not as clear cut as this article will allow for a thorough answer. STRs are an ongoing issue in this county and across the State. STRs take potential workforce or family housing out of the workforce equation and bring in tourism that demands workforce to take care of them. The problem is there isn’t a balance of right sized housing that allows us to both bring people into our community and have the employees to take care of them while they are here. What we should be focused on is making it easy for private industry to build right sized family and workforce housing and apartments. If our workforce demands had housing options available, STRs would not pose an issue in our community.
What is your vision for Tillamook County in the future?
Whether I am appointed to the BOCC or not, I would love to participate in a strategic planning process that would see the future of a Tillamook County that celebrates our diversity and ensures equity and opportunity for all residents, where in all our thriving communities, residents and visitors have access to local, clean, healthy energy, food, and support systems. A place where all residents work together to ensure that each person is celebrated for their unique qualities, position, and craft they bring to the community. Where we work together so that residents and communities alike have the support to thrive, and all lives and voices are encouraged, nourished, and lifted.