Ballot Measure Proposed to Increase Number of Deschutes County Commissioners

Community member and local business owner John Heylin started a petition to create a ballot measure that would increase the number of county commissioners from three to five members. Heylin hopes to get enough signatures for the November ballot this year. 

If approved by voters, the proposed ballot measure would also set a schedule for the election of county commissioners to coincide with Presidential election cycles. The two extra Deschutes county commissioner seats would go up for election in 2026. Under the terms of the petition, the commissioners would have two-year terms, said Heylin, with seats coming up again in 2028, so that the majority of commissioners are elected during a presidential year.  

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Julianna LaFollette

The proposed ballot measure needs 6,581 official signatures by July 23, but Heylin said he’s shooting for 8,000 to account for any invalid signatures. Heylin, who owns the Unofficial Logging Company bar in downtown Bend and is leading the ballot initiative, wrote about the need for a larger Deschutes County Commission to keep up with the growing population in Deschutes County.  

“It is time to expand the county commission and better meet the needs of the people who live here,” he wrote.  

Heylin also brought up the number of members in other county-wide boards and committees. “Out of 41 boards and committees at Deschutes County alone, only two have as few as three members,” wrote Heylin. He believes more representation would offer more serious deliberation.  

While he just started getting signatures about two weeks ago, Heylin said he hopes to obtain enough signatures by attending local events and getting volunteers to help support the initiative.  

“You can see the result of having not enough representation on the county level. It shows how Thornburgh got approved, it shows how houselessness isn’t really being taken seriously by them, it shows how they were able to vote in their own pay raise,” Heylin told the Source Weekly. “The frustrations with them are really a result of the dysfunction of a three-person government.” 

The annual base pay for a Deschutes County Commissioner was $111,317 for the 2022-23 fiscal year. For the 2023-24 fiscal year, the Elected Official Compensation Committee recommended an increase to $125,149. A two-to-one vote by commissioners approved the $13,700 pay increase.  

“I think that Commissioners are already decently compensated, especially compared to City Councilors, state Representatives and Senators, the Governor, etc.,” Commissioner Phil Chang told the Source Weekly in an email. “I voted against the Committee recommendation, but was outvoted. I then refused to take anything beyond the basic 4% Cost of Living Adjustment that all other County employees would receive for the year."