The Coos Bay Visitors Center has begun to look like campaign headquarters for Fred Messerle. Reports have been trickling in for weeks that a red vehicle plastered with campaign signs has been parking for hours at a time in a 30 minutes parking zone north bound on Hwy 101 in front of the visitors center. The 30 minute parking designation is to allow quick and easy access to local information for passersby and the vehicle is believed to belong to someone working in the center who has ample parking spaces to choose from in the adjacent lot.

Another campaign vehicle is parked on the south bound side close to the visitors center but is not in a time limited space. Tonight at the Coos Bay City Council meeting a citizen brought the matter of illegal parking to the attention of the mayor and council so we will see if they act upon this information and stop the illegal placement of campaign material or if they really are acting as de facto campaign headquarters.

UPDATEAccording to witnesses the aforementioned red “campaign” vehicle was properly parked today in the parking lot. The black southbound vehicle pictured above is parked in a 90 minute zone and continues to stay well beyond the parking limits.