Roberts, Dyer seek reelection to board; Sickler and Walker also running for another term at county posts
Rogue Valley Times staff report
Phoenix-Talent School District graduate Isabella Lee Tibbetts is running as a Democrat for the Jackson County Board of Commissioners position held by Republican Colleen Roberts.
Tibbetts is the only Democrat to file for the seat so far, and Roberts has already filed for reelection. There are currently no other GOP candidates who have filed. The primary election is May 19, leading to the November general election Tuesday, Nov. 3.
Upcoming deadlines for the primary election include a Feb. 27 deadline for any county/city/district ballot titles; a March 3 deadline for any incumbents to declare their bids for reelection; a March 10 deadline for all “other than elected incumbent” candidates to file; and a March 19 deadline for county/city/district measures to be filed. Anyone who plans to vote in the May 19 election must register to vote, or submit any needed changes to their registration, by April 28.
According to the Jackson County Elections website, incumbents for county positions up for grabs on May 19 have all filed for reelection. In addition to Roberts, Jackson County Commissioner Rick Dyer, first elected in 2014, will seek a fourth term. Jackson County Sheriff Nate Sickler — appointed in 2017 and subsequently elected — will seek a third term. Jackson County Elections Clerk Chris Walker, first elected in 2008, is also seeking reelection.
Tibbets plans an official campaign launch event from 1 to 3 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 15, at the Phoenix Civic Center. A media release by Tibbets’s campaign organizers said the event would “bring together community members, local leaders and supporters to hear directly from Lee Tibbetts about her vision for Jackson County and the priorities driving her campaign, centered on her slogan: ‘Progress over Politics, Results over Rhetoric.’”
The release said Lee Tibbetts is a transracial adoptee who was found as an infant in a rural village in Ecuador and raised in Jackson County. She is indigenous Quechua and the daughter of working-class parents dedicated to agriculture and healthcare. Lee Tibbetts, who is raising two children, said her campaign is “rooted in lived experience and a deep commitment to the future of local families.”
“My priorities are not political — they are personal,” she said. “I’m running because I want my children, and every family in Jackson County, to have a safe, affordable and healthy place to live. This campaign is about bringing governance back to ground level — with transparency, accountability and a focus rooted in the needs of our neighbors.”
Her key campaign issues include auditing public safety, modernizing zoning laws for affordable housing and building a countywide Community Resiliency Network, the release said.
The Sunday event for Lee Tibbets is open to the public and will include remarks from the candidate, opportunities to meet the campaign team, and ways for residents to get involved, according to campaign organizers.
See more at leetibbetts.com.
This story first appeared in the Rogue Valley Times.
