By Fred Kirby

The downtown Coos Bay daily paper has started their campaign against candidates who they do not support early this election cycle. Regarding the newspaper (another apparent voice of the so called “dream team” candidates) editorial plus mea culpa of 19 June and editorial of 21 June; “vanquished”, “anointed”, “formidable”, “reckless gambit”, “struggling campaign”. Not so fast. The paper’s editorial board continues their not so convincing argument why candidates Messerle, Sweet and Cribbins should be elected. With 15 candidates seeking three commissioner’s positions, twelve were expected not to win. But “vanquished” – never!
Contrary to what the paper’s editor writes, the “primary election” voters did not “anoint” any member of the dream team, including the recently anointed county commissioner. The editorial board failed to mention that 61% of the voters chose an opponent of Cribbins; 58% chose an opponent of Sweet; and, 54% chose an opponent of Messerle. With Obama do over, a county charter, Bandon Marsh, and the knowledge that electing the dream team means hiring a county administrator and staff being before the voters in November, anything, including more voter participation, is possible. Sanne being offered as an alternate “write in” Position 2 candidate should also attract more voters.
Perhaps the “dream team” will soon provide the voters with insight into the editorial board reported relevant “experience in private industry and public service” that their anointed candidates “share”. The dream team candidates failed to mention same in their filing papers. Sweet has “industry experience” – as “industry” is defined by most dictionaries. I doubt that “industry experience” would include a career within a small family farming related business or as a water quality supervisor with a municipal water department. The “trio” does have some experience as political appointees. Perhaps, in the interest of the voters, and for the voters consideration, all six candidates should supplement their filing papers immediately with a complete listing of relevant and verifiable “private industry and public service” experience.
The editorial board appears to be telling its 9,537 customers that the dream team are the only candidates among the 15 who offered “competence and sound ideas”. What sound ideas? Hiring an all – powerful county administrator and staff at many hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars annually to do the job that the citizens will be electing and paying county commissioners to do? Where is that money coming from? The people with big bucks supporting the dream team can afford a tax increase; most citizens can’t. What will the dream team be doing as paid commissioners, if elected?