One of the most important function of a commissioner is to represent the interests of county residents. That’s especially true of whichever commissioner serves as chair of the board of commissioners. As a longtime Clackamas County resident, I’m extremely familiar...
9 April 2020
Getting Back to Basics
All too often, we see what happens when the government tries to do too much—cost overruns, lax oversight, mission creep between different agencies and core functions not being done well. That is one of the many reasons that I’ve always...
2 April 2020
Saving for a Rainy Day Before It Starts Pouring
Everyone is aware of the immediate impacts of the coronavirus, with regular news reports on the numbers of infections, deaths, product shortages, closures and restrictions on peoples’ daily activities. But much less obvious are its short and long-term impacts on...
26 March 2020
My Record on Taxes and Spending
One of the biggest reasons I’m running for chair of the Clackamas County Board of Commissioners is the continued fiscal irresponsibility being shown by that body. I strongly feel that the county is on the wrong track when it comes...
19 March 2020
Why the New Clackamas County Courthouse Would be a Horrific Waste of Tax-Dollars
The current Clackamas County Board of Commissioners has announced its plans to build a new courthouse. There are many reasons I am opposed to this horrific waste of taxpayer dollars. For one, polling has shown that 78 percent of county...
17 March 2020
My Approach to Taxing and Spending
Politicians often scoff at the idea that government agencies should budget the way that businesses and households do. We’ve seen the disastrous consequences of that approach at every level of government, from the trillions of dollars of federal debt right...
10 March 2020
How to Handle Homelessness
Everyone knows that rampant homelessness is a huge issue in the Portland area. But what people don’t know is that there is a solution available that Clackamas County can use immediately to help solve it. The current Clackamas County Board...
2 March 2019
Families Hurting as Most Are Just Working at Paying the Bills
By Tootie Smith Oregon Is A National Big Spender of Your Tax Dollars. Oregon ranks as the nation’s fourth-biggest for state government spending, per capita, according to the latest data from the National Association of Budget Offices. Oregon also ranks...
