Ashland City Council, Jackson County Commissioner candidates to take questions from students

By Holly Dillemuth, Ashland.news

Candidates for Ashland City Council and Jackson County Board of Commissioners will get another chance to show voters what they are about on Wednesday in Ashland.

Upper division Political Science students in Southern Oregon University’s course on political campaigns is partnering with SOU’s Office of Government Affairs to host a forum for candidates in all contested races for the Ashland City Council and the Jackson County Board of Commissioners. The forum, which is free and open to the public, is planned for 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 16, in the Rogue River Room of SOU’s Stevenson Union.

The forum aims to give candidates in local races an opportunity to discuss their positions and explain how they intend to support a good quality of life in the city of Ashland and in Jackson County. Questions for candidates will include topics such as the proposed new water treatment facility, homelessness, wildfires and more.

“It’s really those issues that are top of mind, for not only the students, but voters generally,” said  Rob Patridge, the course instructor and SOU general counsel, told Ashland.news via phone on Monday. “I think voters could get a lot out of it.”

Students will present both planned and unplanned questions to candidates with questions stemming from research on key issues in the community. The goal of the event is to help educate members of the southern Oregon community about issues and areas of civic life that may impact the region in general or local residents individually, according to a news release.

“It’s been good for the students,” Patridge told Ashland.news. “They’ve learned a lot related to the questions and getting ready (for the forum).”

“Political Campaigns” (Political Science 324) is a four-credit course that introduces students to modern American elections and the complex processes that influence them. The hybrid in-person and online course, taught by Patridge, examines the basic techniques of organizing and implementing a political campaign. It explores the relationships between candidates and the media, the psychology of political oratory, campaign finance, grassroots organizing, and use of the Internet, according to a news release.

“This is the first run out, so we’re encouraging candidates to get their people to turn out, too,” Patridge said.

“There will be room for a bigger crowd if one shows up,” he added. 

“We did it over the lunch hour because that’s the same time as the class runs … and plus people take breaks on the lunch hour, most other (candidate forums) are in the evening.”

“We’re kind of excited to see who shows up and what’s going to happen,” Patridge said.

Light refreshments will be served. 

Who are the candidates?

Six individuals are vying for three contested seats on Ashland City Council. These are the candidates:

Position 1:

Teresa Cisneros, an Indian Education Facilitator for the Southern Oregon Education Services District, is vying for an open seat against Douglas Knauer, a member of the Ashland Planning Commission who previously had a career in corporate management.

Position 2:

Incumbent Jeff Dahle, a small business owner and flight instructor, is facing off with Kelly Marcotulli, who is listed as a teacher currently, with a previous career  as a longtime elementary school teacher in Los Angeles.

Position 3:

Incumbent Dylan Bloom, an automotive operations manager, faces former Ashland City Council member Eric Navickas, who served from 2006 to 2010 and is currently an organic farmer. Navickas also formerly ran unsuccessfully against U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) in 2016.

Two candidates are vying for Position 3 on the Jackson County Board of Commissioners.

Position 3 Jackson County Commissioners:

Denise Krause, a Democrat, is a retired professor of Population Health and Biomedical Informatics and former director of Rogue Valley Transportation District (RVTD).

Randy Sparacino, a Republican, is Mayor of Medford and works part-time in insurance sales. He is a retired chief of police for the city of Medford Police Department and former chief policy advisor for the city of Medford.

For more information on the course or on the Oct. 16 candidates forum, contact Patridge at [email protected].

Email Ashland.news reporter Holly Dillemuth at [email protected].