Endorsement for the Republican Primary for Deschutes County Commissioner Position 1: Tony DeBone | The Source Weekly - Bend

Endorsement for the Republican Primary for Deschutes County Commissioner Position 1: Tony DeBone

Tony DeBone for Deschutes County Board of Commissioners Pos. 1, Republican primary

  • Courtesy electtonydebone.com/

County commissioners handle the relatively mundane business of overseeing land use, the landfill, road maintenance, elections and the public health department, among others. It's an important role, and one that requires the ability to listen to the concerns of rural, suburban and urban constituents in a county with more unaffiliated voters than those of any party. Imagine our surprise then when candidate Scott Stuart started off our endorsement conversation by talking about his concerns with schools—something outside the purview of county government here in Deschutes County. Stuart made waves in Redmond by passing out gift cards to students to encourage them to defy mask mandates. He's also the person who dressed up as a Confederate soldier during a Redmond parade—a getup he also sports in a photo on his campaign site.

While Stuart is focused on Home Rule and interpreting the Constitution to ensure no future governor extends emergency powers as long as Gov. Kate Brown did during the pandemic, Tony DeBone is focused on the real—and yes, often mundane—business of county government, including getting a new courthouse built to help manage the needs of a growing population. He's also supportive of the Joint Office on Homelessness created to tackle that growing issue.

Some Republicans will get stars in their eyes at Stuart's ability to quote Scripture and the Constitution, all in the name of ensuring he will be able to give Deschutes County residents the far-fetched ability to govern themselves without the big mean state government getting involved. Unfortunately, Stuart isn't rooting his campaign in the pedantic issues he would actually have control over. DeBone is less flashy, to be sure—but unlike Stuart, he accepts the results of the 2020 election, and as a county commissioner who also has the county clerk's office and its elections division under him, that's the kind of Republican we need during these times.