Supporting a new kind of leadership
After reading a recent interview with County Commissioner candidate John Heylin, I’m convinced he’s exactly the kind of leader Deschutes County needs right now. Heylin’s background — growing up in a working-class family, serving in the Peace Corps and running a small business in Bend — has grounded him in real-world problem solving. He understands what working families are up against and focuses on action, not excuses.
As a nurse for 20 years, I value someone who sees issues and takes action to solve them. Heylin talks about affordable housing, wages that keep pace with costs and a county government that listens to everyone — not just the loudest or wealthiest voices. His priorities on property tax reform, wildfire preparedness and transparency show a commitment to fairness, accountability and collaboration. These are the values our community deserves from its leaders. Unfortunately, that’s not what we’ve been getting. Commissioner Tony DeBone has had years to bring people together and address these challenges, yet too often he chooses partisanship over problem- solving. He’s not accessible or community-minded and he’s become disconnected from the people he represents. John Heylin, by contrast, listens. He shows up. He’s running a grassroots campaign powered by local volunteers who care deeply about the future of this county.
Deschutes County needs leadership that’s practical, transparent and focused on solutions — not culture wars. Heylin represents a new kind of leadership — one that truly puts people first.
—Kenneth Goode
People power or corporate person
Acts of resistance must target corporations, the ROOT CAUSE of domestic and global problems. Resistance actions must have a direct financial impact on corporations.
Effective resistance actions include the following ideas: *Learn from the past, innovate for now and visualize for the future. *Develop resources and training programs for building local community resistance programs. *Establish community goals and strategies, organize and mobilize. *Learn, care, share and act for the common good domestically and globally. *Join and support other groups to build solidarity, share ideas, organize actions and increase power. *Utilize time tested resistance strategies including direct action, strikes, work slowdown and stoppage, union organizing, sit down sessions, boycotts, exposure of corporate owned politicians, art, music and independent community media. *Targe protests at corporate, military, judicial, political, administrative and relevant institutions. *Utilize “boots on the street” actions for media and public visibility directly exposing corporations. *Use stealth tactics and direct action for flexibility, mobility and effectiveness. *Create a system for tactical communication and safety of activists at rallies and protests. *Prepare for risks of resistance enforced by the corporate controlled police state. *Avoid establishing encampments and designating leaders which become easy prey for police.
Corporate “persons” have legal, police state and financial resources, but real people have the power of truth, fairness and justice. We are many, they are few.
John Lewis, the extraordinary nonviolent civil rights activist said, “We will not wait for the courts to act, for we have been waiting for hundreds of years. We will not wait for the President, the Justice Department, nor Congress, but we will take matters into our own hands and create a source of power, outside of any national structure, that could and would assure us a victory.”
“Good trouble, necessary trouble” to end corporate dominance and control.
—Sue Bastian
Preserve open space in new developments
I am writing to express strong concern regarding the proposed amendment to Bend Development Code (BDC) 4.5.200.E.4.d, which would remove the current requirement that open space in new Master Plan developments “must be open to the public.”
This change poses a serious threat to both the Bend Park and Recreation District (BPRD) and to the citizens of Bend. For decades, our community has valued open space as a shared resource — an essential part of what makes Bend livable, healthy and connected. The current code ensures that open space serves the public good, not just private interests. Eliminating that guarantee risks turning future parks, plazas and natural areas into private enclaves, inaccessible to the very residents whose taxes support the city’s growth and infrastructure.
This amendment would also weaken BPRD’s ability to negotiate for public parks in new developments. Without a clear public-access requirement, developers could meet the 10% open space requirement by designating private areas, effectively sidestepping the spirit and intent of Bend’s Comprehensive Plan, which calls for preserving and expanding outdoor recreational opportunities that enhance our community’s livability.
If adopted, this change would set a troubling precedent — one that could open the door to further loss of public access to open spaces in future developments. Once those spaces are privatized, they are lost to the community forever.
I urge the Council to preserve the existing language of BDC 4.5.200.E.4.d and reaffirm Bend’s long-standing commitment to open, accessible public spaces for all.
—Michael and Christin Zapp
Letter of the Week:
Michael and Christin, as letter of the week, you can stop by the Source on NW Georgia Avenue for a gift card to Palette coffee. —Managing Editor Nic Moye
This article appears in the Source November 13, 2025.
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So many great letters this week. Of moment may be the truly demoralizing news of John Heylin’s withdrawal from the County Commission race. I do certainly empathize with his personal reasons for doing so, and I can appreciate the stress of the tumultuous year he has had. But, what I truly do not understand is that more Democrats did not rise to support a man who is a certifiable local hero. John pulled off something that in my memory has never been done before in Deschutes County: Namely, a successful grassroots campaign that gathered the thousands of signatures required to place an initiative on the ballot. And in the subsequent election the voters passed County Commission expansion overwhelmingly.
John gave over his establishment as a meeting place to enhance the civic life of our community. Especially meaningful to Barb and me, as we gave over our shop’s party room to organizations concerned with promoting democracy, combating climate change, and protecting diversity and inclusion. I always think that those with that kind of feeling embedded in their very bones always make the best elected leaders.
Unfortunately, in my honest opinion, we are left with a Hobson’s Choice in the race John has departed. The remaining Democrat appears to be of the corporate variety and has brought in considerable out of town money into his campaign coffers. He has even accepted the endorsement of 3.14 Action, which he touts as an organization supporting scientists, doctors, and engineers, but in reality is a dark money Super PAC which reporting has identified as an AIPAC-astroturfed offshoot. In the 2024 OR-5 Congressional primary, though candidates Bynum and Skinner both have engineering degrees, 3.14 Action gave millions to Bynum, who at the time refused to back a ceasefire in Gaza.