Ashland City Council and Jackson County Commissioner candidates take questions from students
By Holly Diremus, Ashland.news
Candidates for Ashland City Council and Jackson County Commission will have another chance to show voters their ideas Wednesday in Ashland.
Senior political science students in Southern Oregon University’s Political Campaign Course are partnering with SOU’s Office of Political Affairs to host a forum for candidates in all contested races for Ashland City Council and Jackson County Commission. . The forum is free and open to the public and will be held on Wednesday, October 16th from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. in the Rogue River Room in SOU’s Stevenson Union.
This forum is designed to provide local candidates an opportunity to discuss their positions and explain how they intend to support a high quality of life in the City of Ashland and Jackson County. Masu. Questions for candidates include topics such as proposed new water treatment plants, homelessness and wildfires.
“Those are the issues that are top of mind, not just for students but for voters in general,” course instructor and SOU General Counsel Rob Patridge told Ashland.news by phone Monday. “I think voters can get a lot out of it.”
Students pose planned and unplanned questions to candidates based on their research on key issues in the community. The purpose of the event is to educate members of the Southern Oregon community about issues and areas of civic life that may impact the region as a whole or individual local residents, according to a news release.
“It was a good thing for the students,” Patridge told Ashland.news. “They learned a lot about asking questions and preparing (for the forum).”
Political Campaigns (Political Science 324) is a four-credit course that introduces students to modern American elections and the complex processes that influence them. In this hybrid in-person/online course taught by Patridge, you’ll learn the basic techniques for organizing and running a political campaign. According to a news release, the investigation includes the relationship between candidates and the media, the psychology of political speeches, campaign finance, grassroots organizations, and internet use.
“This is our first election campaign, so we encourage candidates to get their own people to vote,” Patridge said.
“If one person comes, there will be room for a larger crowd,” he added.
“We did it at lunchtime because that’s the same time that classes are held…and in addition to people taking a break at lunchtime, most of the other (candidate forums) are in the evening. It is located in
“I’m kind of excited to see who’s coming and what’s going to happen,” Patridge said.
We will provide light snacks.
Who are the candidates?
Six people are vying for three contested seats on the Ashland City Council. The candidates are:
Position 1:
Teresa Cisneros, an Indian education facilitator for the Southern Oregon Education Service District, is competing for the vacant seat with Douglas Knauer, a member of the Ashland Planning Commission and a former business executive.
Position 2:
Incumbent Jeff Dahl, a small business owner and flight instructor, is running against Kelly Marcotulli, a longtime elementary school teacher in Los Angeles who is currently listed as a teacher.
Position 3:
Incumbent automotive operations manager Dylan Bloom will face former Ashland City Councilman Eric Navicas, who served on the Ashland City Council from 2006 to 2010 and is now an organic farmer. Navicas previously ran unsuccessfully in 2016 against Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.).
Two candidates are vying for third place on the Jackson County Commission.
Position 3 Jackson County Commissioner:
Democrat Dennis Kraus is a former professor of population health and biomedical informatics and former director of the Rogue Valley Transportation District (RVTD).
Randy Sparacino, a Republican, is the mayor of Medford and works part-time in insurance sales. He is a former Chief of Police for the City of Medford Police Department and former Chief Policy Advisor for the City of Medford.
For more information about the course or the Oct. 16 candidate forum, contact Patridge at patridger@sou.edu.
Email Ashland.news reporter Holly Dillemuth at hollyd@ashland.news.
