Two people have announced their intention to run for a seat on Deschutes County’s Board of County Commissioners next spring. The current three-person commission is in the process of outlining districts for a five-person commission, after voters approved increasing the size of the commission in 2024.
One of the people who led the effort for expansion is John Heylin, who announced this week he’s running for Position #1, currently held by Tony DeBone. Heylin says persistent problems from housing and wildfires to water and transparency continue to grow worse. Heylin owned Unofficial Logging Co. in downtown Bend, which recently closed. In an email to the Source, he states, “I will bring the same urgency to the office that residents feel every day. I will work with, not against, our local municipalities. I will fight for transparency, accountability and a government that listens to its people… We need a Commission that leads with action, not excuses.”
Morgan Schmidt announced earlier this month she’s running for Deschutes County Commission Position #5. She previously ran against Patti Adair in 2022. In a message on social media, Schmidt says, “As the Executive Director of the Red Cross of Central & Eastern Oregon, I’ve had a front row seat to our communities’ most urgent needs, compounded by the increasing challenges of natural disasters. While I’ve deployed to disasters at home and across the country, what has struck me most is what we have known all along: we are in this together.”
Schmidt deploys as a chaplain for mass casualty disasters. On her campaign website, she says she’s committed to tackling housing affordability, stewarding rural lands, safeguarding communities against wildfire and ensuring public health services.”
The seats held by DeBone and Adair are both up for election next year. Voters will decide on County Commissioner Positions #1, #3, #4 and #5 which serve a four-year term. The primary is scheduled for May 19, 2026. Candidates can officially file to run starting September 11.
This article appears in Source Weekly July 24, 2025.
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The County is starving for competent leadership. Safe to say these two have zero experience/qualifications that would warrant handing over an entire County to them. From running an axe throwing business to running the County. You just can’t make this stuff up anymore. No one would believe you.