I called for the non-partisan election of County Commissioners at the only major, pre-primary forum that included the Democratic candidates. Therefore, it’s gratifying to see Tammy Baney has now taken up the issue. My hope is her fellow commissioners will join us and put the matter before voters in November.
Housing
Deschutes County is a strong, vibrant and beautiful place to live. But, in the face of rapid growth, we cannot maintain our quality of life by standing still or looking wistfully backwards. Growth brings great challenges AND opportunities and, to meet them, we must recognize that housing, transportation and jobs are not separate issues.
Marijuana
“Regulating a new industry with a crop as complicated as marijuana is going to be an important challenge for a new county commissioner. On this issue, Adair needs to prove she will provide more thoughtful policy direction to earn voter support. Cook is already doing that.”
Rotary Club of Greater Bend: Candidates Forum
Below is my introductory statement to the Rotary Club of Greater Bend’s April 25th Candidates Forum. It was a pleasure participating and I appreciate that all the candidates were invited.
James Cook: Candidate Statement
Democrat
Occupation: Small Business Owner; Web Developer; Illustrator
Empowering Citizens
Local government is our best opportunity for addressing the challenges we face as a county and region. Unfortunately, except for interactions like paying taxes we rarely interact directly with our citizens. We need to explore new ways to bring citizens into the deliberative processes of government.