Linthicum, Oakes say county should participate even if voters approve measure

By JOEL ASCHBRENNER

H&N Staff Reporter

October 22, 2010

     The two candidates for Klamath County commissioner said they would continue to participate in Klamath Basin Restoration Agreement talks even if voters indicate they want the county to stop.

   Ballot Measure 18-80 asks voters if they think Klamath County should discontinue participation in the KBRA. The Nov. 2 vote is advisory, meaning it gauges public opinion, but it is not legally binding.

   The KBRA advocates removal of four dams and aims to resolve water disputes and stabilize power rates for irrigators in the Klamath River Basin. It also provides funding for habitat restoration and would help the Klamath Tribes purchase 90,000 acres of timberland in northern Klamath County.

   Democrat Kirk Oakes and Republican Dennis Linthicum both said during a roundtable discussion at the Herald and News last week that the county should continue to participate, regardless of the vote.     

   Linthicum, who said he opposes the KBRA as it is written but thinks some type of water settlement is needed, said he wished 18-80 asked if the county should discontinue “compliant participation.” He added he would stay involved in KBRA discussions because it will affect Klamath County residents even if the county does not participate.

   “I think it is paramount that Klamath County stay involved,” he said.

   Oakes said he would not have put Measure 18-80 on the ballot, as the current Board of Commissioners did in August, because the initiative was pushed on the commissioners by a “small group of people who were disgruntled and had a personal axe to grind.”

   He said he would stay involved in the KBRA so he could represent his constituents in the discussions.