In a May primary that might have otherwise been ho-hum, voters are selecting candidates in a raft of positions for the Deschutes County Board of County Commissioners, after voting previously to expand the commission from three members to five. Each race has a fairly large slate of candidates — except for Position 1, in which just three candidates are vying for the spot. One, Brooke West, doesn’t appear to be running much of a campaign and did not respond to multiple requests from our editorial board and reporting team for an interview. Thus, it’s down to incumbent Tony DeBone and newcomer Jamie Collins. If either gets 50% of the vote this May, they won’t have to continue their campaigns until November and will secure a spot on the Commission.
We like DeBone. We really do. He’s a genial guy and has governed in Deschutes County during a time of sweeping change. The Commission is getting bigger. The County exploding in size. And because of those changes, we agree with challenger Jamie Collins when he says what’s needed is a more strategic, thoughtful approach to the challenges ahead. We think Collins, a U.S. Coast Guard veteran, disaster responder and climate scientist, could be in a better position to do that.
During our interview with Collins for this endorsement, he talked about wanting to see the county commission better articulate the values of Deschutes County. We agree with his assessment that largely, the commission has been reacting to problems rather than leading on them. Case in point: The county commission dragged its feet for a long time about collaboration with the City of Bend on the issue of homeless camping on rural lands. These are not just humanitarian problems; they’re also real threats to everyone’s safety when it comes to fires, and more. The County, as the larger, more overarching government of the two, should be leading the charge in addressing this issue, and we have to lay at least some of that concern at the feet of Debone.
Collins’ ability as a strategic thinker was also on display when talking about land use. (When we’re talking about land use, we’re talking about the instances in which lands previously zoned as rural farmland or forest lands were re-zoned for more housing or denser development.) According to Collins’ own analysis, 90% of the land-use decisions that have come to the Commission during DeBone’s tenure have been in the wildland-urban interface. That can increase risk and raise insurance rates for everyone else. Collins, who said he’s in favor of denser, more compact cities, used that as one example of how he’d apply a more systematic approach.
With his experience in disaster response and his obvious investment in doing the homework of understanding the biggest needs in the County – including providing access to clean water and air, a living wage for residents and the ability for residents to continue to access wildfire insurance, we think it’s a safe bet to say that the challenger can outdo the incumbent here. Vote Jamie Collins in the May election for Deschutes County Board of County Commissioners, Position 1.
This article appears in the Source April 9, 2026.
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