Candidates emerge for commissioner race
From our weekly issue dated January 20, 2010
Former Cave Junction mayor Tony Paulson has thrown his hat in the ring for Josephine County Commissioner, Position 1.
Paulson officially filed his papers with the county clerk“s office on Wednesday, Jan. 13. He is the third candidate to file thus far for the May 18 primary election.
Incumbent Dave Toler, an Illinois Valley resident, filed last year. Grants Pass resident Jack Alan Brown, chairman of the Constitution Party of Oregon, also has filed. Brown narrowly lost to Commissioner Dwight Ellis in the November 2008 general election.
Why is Paulson running“
“I thought I could do a better job,“ he said.
Paulson served as mayor from 2005 to 2009, and was on the city council from September 2002 to 2005. He has been a volunteer firefighter with Illinois Valley Fire District since 2009, and has coached high school and Little League baseball.
As mayor, Paulson participated in union negotiations and helped hire three employees who he said have served city residents well. That stint also involved passing multiple budgets, and increased Paulson“s public profile, which he said could prove beneficial for a countywide race.
“People recognize me, and I think that“s an advantage I have over some of the other candidates,“ Paulson stated.
He said that his experience as mayor enabled him to bring together people with different ideologies, and ensure that members of the public were able to voice their opinions at council meetings.
During the years that Paulson was in office there was rapid growth and development in Cave Junction. It also put him in the position of having to make some unpopular decisions, such as closing the municipal pool and skateboard ramps at Jubilee Park due to liability concerns.
The city lost a Community Development Block Grant for more than $400,000 in 2008, and had to pay it back. In response, Paulson quit his day job at Fire Mountain Gems to focus on his position full-time.
“As a full-time mayor, I think I would have caught that,“ he said.
Paulson currently works as a school bus monitor for First Student, a company that contracts with Three Rivers School District. He graduated from California“s San Juan High School in 1977 before enlisting in the U.S. Navy, where he served until 1981.
According to the paperwork Paulson filed with the clerk“s office, the candidate doesn“t plan to spend more than $300 on his race.
Also considering a run is Selma resident Mark Seligman. He has stated publicly that he plans to file, but had yet to do so as of press time.
Grants Pass resident Rycke Brown said that she also intends to campaign for Toler“s seat.
Besides Paulson and Toler, another Illinois Valley resident also might join the election fray.
During the Thursday, Jan. 14 talk show on KAJO Radio, Simon Hare said that he plans to make a run.
Hare grew up in rural Cave Junction and attended Evergreen Elementary School and Lorna Byrne Middle School. He graduated from Illinois Valley High School in 1997 before attending Oregon State University (OSU) in Corvallis.
In 2003, Hare earned a bachelor“s degree from OSU in business administration, with an emphasis on agriculture. Hare interned at the Washington, D.C. office of former U.S. Sen. Gordon Smith, and spent several years working as a senior adviser for outreach affairs for the National Rural Electrical Cooperative Association.
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