Illinois Valley News

Simon Hare (Photo by Michelle Binker, Illinois Valley News)

Josephine County Commissioner hopeful Simon Hare took his message before the Illinois Valley meeting of the 9/12 Project group on Wednesday night, March 24 at the RCC/Belt Bldg. in Kerby.

Hare, 31, believes that his breadth of legislative experience, despite his relative youth, is a unique asset among candidates.
The 9/12 Project, organized by conservative Fox Television personality Glenn Beck, espouses a return to constitutional limitations on government activities.

Hare began by talking about his upbringing in Illinois Valley, and the values he“d acquired through life on a working ranch, where wanting for something to do meant being assigned a task.

“I was never bored,“ said Hare, a graduate of Illinois Valley High School. After receiving a bachelor of science degree in agricultural business from Oregon State University at Corvallis, Hare moved to Washington, D.C. where, for three or four months, he served as an intern in Sen. Gordon Smith“s office. He then went to work for the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association and sat on various rural advocacy boards.

Returning from D.C., Hare said, he was imbued with a love for the country, but dismayed by conditions he found at home. He noted:

“We have a tight community, people who look out for each other. There are resources in this town that you can“t put down on paper, but they count for something. And that“s what makes Josephine County strong.“

“There are too many people that I went to school with who would love to live here but they can“t because there is nothing to do here. There is no livelihood to support a family.“

Industry, said Hare, is needed “like nothing else.“

Hare“s passion to improve opportunities for rural communities and ability to bring together people who did not hold similar values was a large part of his D.C. experience.

“I was working with state legislators, bringing people who didn“t agree together to work on model legislation that fed into state legislatures.“

Hare stated that he shared many conservative values with numerous members of the 9/12 group, including the meeting“s vice chairman, Ward Ockenden and rival commissioner candidate Jack Brown, who also attended.

“Our wealth comes from the soil,“ Hare said. “If we are not mining it, growing it or harvesting it, it isn“t true wealth. Me giving you a dollar, and you handing it back for some sort of service is not a creation of wealth.“

Among possible solutions to Josephine County“s revenue woes and impending loss of O&C funding from the federal government, Hare noted that a solid-waste combustion facility, attractive as a “green“ project and with good return on investment, would generate energy as well as revenue.

“Someone is going to build this facility somewhere in Southern Oregon in the next five to 10 years. I guarantee it,“ said Hare. “If we had this facility added to the tax base, we can distribute the taxes to pay for the sheriff“s office and other services.“

Also, though admittedly not a fan of O&C payments, Hare believes an effort should be made to extend those payments to counties for a while longer.

Hare said that he would be an active commissioner, and work to promote an informed constituency through direct contact.

“I guess it“s my age, I“ve still got a bit of energy,“ he said. “I am willing to dedicate that to the people of Josephine County. I will be here, I will be in Williams, I will be in Sunny Valley because it is important to the people who live there, and it“s important that I hear what they care about.

“I am really passionate about the right things happening for Josephine County,“ Hare concluded. “I“m pretty sure, and I feel in my heart, that I am the right person for the task. I have a lot of experiences that put me in a little bit different category then some of the people I am running against.“

Hare encouraged the audience to get involved, regardless of who they“d like to vote for.

“Whether you are getting behind me or getting behind Jack Brown, do it with your entire heart in the race,“ he said. “If you don“t and you expect somebody else to, we“re not going to get anywhere.

“Do whatever you can at 110 percent to make sure that this county has an opportunity to go in the right direction,“ Hare stated.

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