No on Jack Tibbetts
This letter was a struggle. In part because Jack Tibbetts is such a friendly guy and is known by everybody around the Grove. Hard to know if it’s just becoming a rancher and land owner that made him do a 180. He talks about being older and wiser, but he’s still just a kid.
He seems like a really nice guy, and if I hadn’t read his website, I wouldn’t be writing this letter. He believes in opening up as many roadless areas as possible and in logging as much as possible. Oregon Department of Agriculture took action by telling ranchers they had to have a wastewater management plan for farm animals, and since they all contract to use more BLM land than they own, it seems like he believes farm animals should be able to take a crap and leave it on our public lands too.
He supports Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill,” especially for the child tax credit, but he does not support a woman’s right to choose. Gun rights are front and center, but homeless people are on their own. No money for them unless they, too, get a loan (like he did — a USDA loan of over a million to buy his vineyard).
No more mail-in voting because ballot harvesting is a real worry.
And no more sanctuary status for Oregon (he wonders who picks his grapes). He believes more people should be in jail — a class A misdemeanor should mean people should wait in jail until their trial because they are a danger to society.
It’s worth noting that once Jack Tibbetts became a Republican here in Oregon, and the Republican money started rolling in, his views are now perfectly in line with Trump. Read Policy issues of Interest on his website, and you will see exactly where his political interests lie.
Molly Nord
Cottage Grove
Dear Voters
The reason I’m writing you this, in letter form, is because I remember my mom telling me how precious the letters that she received from my dad when he was fighting against the Nazi’s in Italy during WWII. I completely understand how my mom felt after receiving my dad’s letters, because when I was sent to fight in the Vietnam War — letters from home were my saving grace. I’m sending this letter as if I’m personally writing to each and every one of you who hasn’t filled out your ballot. It’s vitally important because your vote has the power to save our crumbling democracy. Your vote has the power to stop the ICE thugs from murdering innocent citizens and undocumented, hard-working human beings living in this country. Your vote can shut down the deadly, inhumane ICE Concentration Detention Centers. Your vote has the power to stop Donald Trump’s never-ending corruption. Your vote has the power to release the Epstein files. Your vote has the power to stop Donald Trump’s war in Iran. If you are happy with what is happening with gas prices, grocery prices, the devastating tariffs, Trump’s hatred for Canada and the love Donald Trump has for Vladimir Putin then don’t vote! I sincerely hope you vote. The finish line is around the corner.
Frank Harper
Springfield
Vote for Kotek
Zach Klonoski’s column from last week, “Oregon is Paying for Washington D.C.’s Corruption,” was incomplete and would benefit from a quick addendum. Though Rep. Hoyle and a Democratic U.S. Congress are critical in restoring the checks and balances from a Republican majority that has abdicated its moral and constitutional duties, first and foremost Oregonians should take pride in the tireless work of their state leaders in opposing and holding back the Trumpian wave of malfeasance these last two years. We need those efforts reaffirmed by the voters as much as they are envied in other states.
Gov. Tina Kotek led a strong alliance of civic activists, brave frogs and elected leaders from both parties that pushed back against the deployment of uniformed troops into Oregon cities. In partnership with Attorney General Dan Rayfield, she led efforts to overturn Trump’s unconstitutional tariffs. She helped push for new benefit funding for the hungry and unhoused after the federal government cut SNAP benefits and other critical aid. And with the Democratic legislature and broad citizen support, she implemented restrictions on the insatiable resource demand of California data centers, even as the President pushed for them across the country, among other accomplishments. Now all that is at risk.
As we consider the message we send out with our vote this November, the resounding re-election of Gov. Kotek and Eugene-elected leaders in the Oregon Legislature like Oregon House Speaker Julie Fahey and Oregon Senate President James Manning are not to be minimized and should not go unmentioned. Mr. Klonoski writes a pretty good column, but the best politics remains local — and the best locals I know are Oregonians. Vote by Nov. 3 — it’s likely to be a squeaker.
Jake Klonoski
Colorado Springs
Vote Blue for Lane County
People coming together is a beautiful thing to see, and Lane County is watching it happen in real time. The local Republican slate of Jake Pelroy, Mike Clark, Jill Cuadros and their colleague David Loveall have come together in pursuit of a common purpose like a lying Voltron dedicated to cutting public services.
They have all been coordinating to spread the debunked lies about the CleanLane recycling project, to make up a story about someone stealing a lawn sign from Cuadros’s home and generally boosting their brothers in arms in the close of the campaign.
Given these efforts, it is more important than ever that local residents be wary of these last-minute manufactured crises that are attempting to muddy the waters during the middle of voting. It isn’t a coincidence that all of the local conservatives have the exact same talking points they are sharing at the exact same time: it is a deliberate effort to throw the elections with dirty tricks.
I hope that the voters will join me in rejecting these candidates for their underhanded politics and send a clear message that Lane County wants our elected officials to act with honesty and integrity.
Colleen Lewis
Eugene
Corruption on the Lane County Board of Commissioners
I first want to commend reporter Christian Withol for bringing to light Kathleen Jones-McCann’s corruption of two-thirds of the members of the Lane County Board of Commissioners. Sadly, we’ve all grown used to the rot at a national level under the Trump administration, but to see it making inroads right here in Lane County, wherein hefty campaign contributions resulted in the ludicrous retroactive approval of a massive illegal build in a flood zone adjacent to our beloved McKenzie River, the source of our drinking water, that is outrageous and disheartening.
Now, Heather Buch, the single voice on the Board of Commissioners who spoke out against the corruption and did not bend to the will of the rich timber heir who is facing off against another “paid for” would-be commissioner, Jake Pelroy. As reported by Withol, Pelroy’s campaign has been the recipient of over $100,000 traceable to Jones-McCann, who apparently wants to “own” the entire Lane County Board of Commissioners. Please, voters, do not let this happen! Do not let the rot take root in Lane County!