Oakes sways some Republicans; Linthicum says he isn’t surprised

By ELON GLUCKLICH 

H&N Staff Reporter

October 23, 2010

     Some long-time Republicans are throwing their support behind Democrat Kirk Oakes in this year’s Klamath County commissioner race, but Republican candidate Dennis Linthicum says he’s not surprised.

   The names of Matt Walter and Karl Scronce, both registered Republicans and outspoken community members, appeared on a campaign ad in the Oct. 17 Herald and News supporting Oakes in the Nov. 2 elections.

   Walter and Scronce said several remarks made by Linthicum in the campaign have made them wary enough to cross the aisle.

   “I’m supporting Kirk Oakes, and I’m a Republican,” said Walter, a Sprague River resident and president of the Upper Klamath Water Users Association.

   Scronce, meanwhile, sees his support for the Democratic candidate as part of a trend in Klamath County.

   “There are some Republicans out there that are going to vote for (Oakes),” Scronce said.

   Looking for moderates

   Linthicum’s all-or-nothing approach on issues like taxation, public agency funding and the Klamath Basin Restoration Agreement prompted Scronce to take a more moderate look at issues, he said.

   Linthicum has said in candidate forums that the county was too eager to seek federal grant money to fund projects.

   On the issue of the Klamath Basin Restoration Agreement , Scronce said, he has been disheartened by what he called Linthicum’s unwillingness to hear arguments in favor of restoration and dam removal. Scronce is a supporter of the KBRA. Linthicum opposes it.

   “Kirk Oakes seems to be open-minded about the process, whereas I didn’t feel Dennis Linthicum was very open minded. He pretty much had his opinion set before even addressing people from the pro-KBRA side,” Scronce said. “I think he has a personal agenda in many issues.”

   Scronce is the former president of the Upper Klamath Water Users Association. He ran unsuccessfully against incumbent Oregon State Rep. Bill Garrard, R-Klamath Falls, in the May primary election.

   Walter is also a vocal supporter of the KBRA. That agreement, he said, is just one of the reasons he will break with his longstanding party affiliation.

   The commissioner’s race, Walter said, “shouldn’t be really partisan.” But, he added, a national wave of antigovernment rhetoric may be playing a role in the candidates’ views.    

    Walter said his preference would have been to re-elect John Elliott, the current commissioner whom Linthicum defeated in the May primary. But the current race has pitted “a radical right winger against a radical left-winger.”

   “That’s my personal opinion,” Walter said.  

   ‘Not surprised’

   Linthicum said he was not at all surprised to hear of Scronce and Walter’s defections. He said he was aware of their differences of opinion in regard to the KBRA, and he understood his stance against dam removal might not be popular with everyone.

   But he defended those positions, saying they are in the best interest of Klamath Basin water users.

   “The government and publ c policy makers should not be used to allocate natural resources,” Linthicum said. “The market should allocate natural resources.” He added that it was “a very slippery slope” when government officials were put in charge of an area’s resources.

   Frank Goodson, a supporter of Linthicum and an opponent of dam removal, said Linthicum’s views on the KBRA represent the wishes of the community.

   He pointed to a poll conducted last year by State Sen. Doug Whitsett, R-Klamath Falls, and State Reps. Bill Garrard, R-Klamath Falls, and George Gilman, R-Medford. That poll showed around two-thirds of likely voters in Klamath County opposed the KBRA.

   He added that the poll’s margin was similar to the margins that anti-KBRA   politicians — Garrard and Linthicum — won their primary elections.

   “Results of that poll showed 65 percent of the people oppose the KBRA and dam removal,” Goodson said. “The election proved the poll was right.”

   But Oakes said he felt more Republicans would vote for him based on the strength of his ideas and his bipartisanship.

   “If you listen to what my opponent has to say and what I have to say, there’s no rational reason you wouldn’t vote for me,” Oakes said.