County commissioner position 2: Sandy Cassanelli vs. Harry Mackin
From our weekly issue dated October 08, 2008
Henry Makin
Harry Mackin says he’s running for commissioner because he’s “ready for a new challenge.”
The county, he says, is not operating well, like a wagon with horses pulling in all directions. “We have seen mistakes being made over the past several years, and it’s costing us money, lots of money.”
To illustrate why people who run for county commissioner need to know how government works, Mackin cites a cascade of unintended consequences stemming from the county commissioners’ cost-cutting decision to eliminate deferred compensation match for unused sick leave and personal management time for county employees.
“To his credit, Jim Raffenburg cut those benefits,” Mackin said. “The only problem is he did it in such a way that it caused a strike, and an unfair labor practices lawsuit, which the county is dealing with to this day.”
Stable funding for law enforcement is the biggest problem facing a county which has never been given to long-term planning, Mackin says. “The sheriff’s districts is a great solution to the long-term stability of funding for the sheriff’s office.”
As for the near-term, Mackin would say that recent reinstatement of a portion of the O&C funding has now put the county in a better position to “sit down and plan,” but county residents will have to commit to paying for services they want.
“Everywhere in the U.S., people pay for local services with property tax,” Mackin says. “This is not anything new, but it would be for Josephine County. We have never paid for law enforcement. Half the county has never paid for fire service.”
Mackin also supports the idea of a hiring a county administrator, to whom the commissioners would delegate authority to supervise departments and personnel, and ensure adherence to budgets. But, he maintains, responsibility rests with the commissioners themselves.
And he would like to see an increase in the number of commissioners to five, due to the fact that under public meeting law no two members may meet without making a quorum, which requires public notice.
“You don’t work things out on the front page of the newspaper,” Mackin says, “You work things out by sitting down and asking ‘What are you thinking?’
“Right now they all have their little office. They all come together at a certain time and they have no idea where the other person is coming from.”
“I don’t believe in back room politics but I do believe in people being able to sit down and talk. And that would be the biggest advantage to going to five commissioners.”
Mackin is a very much in favor of reopening the libraries, and also is a proponent of the county fire district proposal. He is a resident in the district under consideration.
This is an interesting time, he says. “You have to prepare for the worst and hope for the best.”
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