Susan Morgan joins commissioner race

<i>Note: This story has been updated, Oct. 18, 10:45 a.m. The original version can be found below.</i>

Speaking from the steps of the Douglas County Courthouse, state Rep. Susan Morgan announced this morning she will run for Douglas County commissioner.

Introduced by Riddle mill owner Lynn Herbert and surrounded by over 125 supporters, Morgan said she would file to oppose Commissioner Marilyn Kittelman.

Morgan, who entered the Oregon Legislature in 1999 and has served on the powerful Ways and Means Committee, said the county needed a new leader to focus energy on problems that really matter, such as battling methamphetamine usage and sales, increasing the number of family wage jobs and finding future funding for county services.

“I bring home to Douglas County almost 10 years of experience in problem solving in the public sector,” Morgan said. “I bring a strong proven record of working with diverse groups of people to get things done. From protecting and growing family-wage jobs to restoring Diamond Lake, I’ve worked hard and successfully to keep people at the table and moving toward a goal.”

Morgan’s entry in the race had been rumored for weeks. She announced last month she would not run for re-election to her District 2 seat but at that time said only that she was exploring her options for the future. That fueled speculation that she would seek the seat held by Kittelman since January 2005.

Morgan, 58, said she had become saddened watching the discourse at Board of Commissioner meetings deteriorate into a lot of sniping between commissioners and spending time on issues that have little to do with running the county. If elected, she said she would work hard to focus attention on issues to improve the lives of county residents. She said she would also work to include more people in discussions and to respect those with differing points of view.

“Douglas County used to be held out as an example of how to do things. We’ve been known for our innovation and thinking outside the box and designing efficient programs that work on the ground,” Morgan said during an interview Wednesday. “Over the four years, I think we’ve lost that. There are people that routinely ask what the heck we’re doing in Douglas County, why are we fighting over the things we’re fighting over, what’s happened to change it all.”

Morgan did not criticize Kittelman by name. She said only that the county has been embroiled in increasing controversy and upheaval since the first-term commissioner came into office.

Morgan vowed to run a positive campaign that would focus on her attributes for the job and why she believes she would be a better leader for the county than Kittelman.

She said her experience at the statehouse, where she worked with other legislators during periods where her Republican Party was in the majority and most recently in the minority, taught her to respect opposing views and to look for common ground that could lead to a solution that was universally accepted.

She pointed to her work on ridding Diamond Lake of the tui chub as an area where that philosophy was put into practice.

“There were a large diversity of federal agencies and state agencies, Douglas County, the stakeholder groups, the fishermen, the cabin owners, the lodge owners, the environmental groups that were involved in the thing (and) came at the issue from a whole diversity of angles. But the vision that everyone had in their minds was a fishable, swimmable Diamond Lake,” Morgan said. “That group stayed together through the six years that it took to find a path through all the regulatory layers and all the political stuff that we needed to thread our way through. It’s that kind of pulling together a consensus group that honors that diversity of perspective and points of view ... and forming a group identity where people are willing to leave some of their differences aside and move forward with the idea.”

Morgan said she would like to have a discussion with residents from all parts of Douglas County over how they would like to see the county government operated.

“No one has led a discussion where you can talk about what we want public safety to look like in Douglas County in five years, in 10 years, 20 years. What do we want in law enforcement? What do we want for courts? What do we want in all of those areas? What do we want in water impoundments? What do we want in our ability to provide human services? There’s no cohesive Douglas County vision for the future that’s held in people’s minds.

Roseburg Mayor Larry Rich previously announced his candidacy in the same race. Lookingglass resident Patrick Starnes set up a campaign committee but has not yet announced whether he will also run against Kittelman.

This is the first election where Douglas County commissioners will be selected on a nonpartisan basis. Last year, voters chose to discard the Republican and Democratic primaries in favor of an open primary where the top two vote-getters in the May primary, regardless of party affiliation, will meet in the November general election.



• You can reach reporter John Sowell at 957-4209 or by e-mail at jsowell@newsreview.info.

<hr>
Rep. Susan Morgan will announce this morning she is running for Douglas County commissioner.

Morgan, who entered the Oregon Legislature in 1999 and has served on the powerful Ways and Means Committee, said she would file later this morning to oppose Commissioner Marilyn Kittelman.

The Green resident scheduled an official announcement for 10 a.m. today on the steps of the Douglas County Courthouse. Morgan sent out invitations to friends and other supporters to join her for the announcement.

Morgan’s entry in the race had been rumored for weeks. She announced last month she would not run for re-election to her District 2 seat but at that time said only that she was exploring her options for the future. That fueled speculation that she would seek the seat held by Kittelman since January 2005.

Morgan, 58, said she has become saddened watching the discourse at Board of Commissioner meetings deteriorate into a lot of sniping between commissioners and spending time on issues that have little to do with running the county. If elected, she said she would work hard to focus attention on issues to improve the lives of county residents. She said she would also work to include more people in discussions and to respect those with differing points of view.

“Douglas County used to be held out as an example of how to do things. We’ve been known for our innovation and thinking outside the box and designing efficient programs that work on the ground,” Morgan said during an interview Wednesday. “Over the four years, I think we’ve lost that. There are people that routinely ask what the heck we’re doing in Douglas County, why are we fighting over the things we’re fighting over, what’s happened to change it all.”

Morgan did not criticize Kittelman by name. She said only that the county has been embroiled in increasing controversy and upheaval since the first-term commissioner came into office.

Morgan vowed to run a positive campaign that would focus on her attributes for the job and why she believes she would be a better leader for the county than Kittelman.

She said her experience at the statehouse, where she worked with other legislators during periods where her Republican Party was in the majority and most recently in the minority, taught her to respect opposing views and to look for common ground that could lead to a solution that was universally accepted.

She pointed to her work on ridding Diamond Lake of the tui chub as an area where that philosophy was put into practice.

“There were a large diversity of federal agencies and state agencies, Douglas County, the stakeholder groups, the fishermen, the cabin owners, the lodge owners, the environmental groups that were involved in the thing (that) came at the issue from a whole diversity of angles. But the vision that everyone had in their minds was a fishable, swimmable Diamond Lake,” Morgan said. “That group stayed together through the six years that it took to find a path through all the regulatory layers and all the political stuff that we needed to thread our way through. It’s that kind of pulling together a consensus group that honors that diversity of perspective and points of view ... and forming a group identity where people are willing to leave some of their differences aside and move forward with the idea.”

Morgan said she would like to have a discussion with residents from all parts of Douglas County over how they would like to see the county government operated.

“No one has led a discussion where you can talk about what we want public safety to look like in Douglas County in five years, in 10 years, 20 years. What do we want in law enforcement? What do we want for courts? What do we want in all of those areas? What do we want in water impoundments? What do we want in our ability to provide human services? There’s no cohesive Douglas County vision for the future that’s held in people’s minds.”

Roseburg Mayor Larry Rich previously announced his candidacy in the same race. Lookingglass resident Patrick Starnes set up a campaign committee but has not yet announced whether he will also run against Kittelman.

This is the first election where Douglas County commissioners will be selected on a nonpartisan basis. Last year, voters chose to discard the Republican and Democratic primaries in favor of an open primary where the top two vote-getters in the May primary, regardless of party affiliation, will meet in the November general election.



• You can reach reporter John Sowell at 957-4209 or by e-mail at jsowell@newsreview.info.