Commissioner talks to H&N about his time in office

By JOEL ASCHBRENNER 

H&N Staff Reporter

December 21, 2010

H&N photo by Joel Aschbrenner   Klamath County Commissioner John Elliott and the board of commissioners secured funding to install railroad crossing gates at two Hill Road intersections, after a man was killed by a train as he tried to drive across the tracks several years ago. Elliott said installing the gates was one of his proudest accomplishments as commissioner.

      John Elliott peers out the window of his downtown Klamath Falls office.

   “I was born about 200 yards from this office,” the county commissioner   says.

   There’s no doubt Elliott is a man of Klamath County.

   He was born here. He went to school here. He graduated from Henley High School, where his father was a principal. He held several jobs in Klamath Falls and served as the county’s finance director and as a member of the budget committee and the library advisory board before being appointed Klamath County commissioner in 2000.  

   Elliott was re-elected in 2002 and 2006, before being unseated in May’s Republican primary by Dennis Linthicum, who gained support from a local Tea Party group and people who opposed Elliott for supporting the Klamath Basin Restoration Agreement.

   Elliott sat down last week to answer Herald and News questions about his time in office:

   Q: What was your biggest accomplishment as commissioner?

   Elliott said he was proud to be a part of the county’s construction of a new mental health facility, which opened in 2009.

   His involvement in the Klamath Basin Restoration Agreement was a talking point for those who opposed him, but a point of pride for him, Elliott said.

   He represented the county at KBRA meetings, supporting the water agreement, even when his fellow commissioners waivered on the issue, because he thought it would bring stability to the Basin.  

   Elliott said he is most proud of his work with the Klamath County Library.

   As a member of the library advisory board, Elliott helped form the library service tax district, which provides a permanent funding base for all the county’s branch libraries.

   “I think a lot of people understood that libraries have been and are storehouses of knowledge,” he said.       

   Q: What was your biggest disappointment?

   “I have not dwelt on disappointments,” he said.

   Q: How do you think you will be remembered as a commissioner?

   Elliott said he does not care to leave a legacy, but added that the county has accomplished several things during his time in office that will benefit the area for years to come.

   Klamath County paid $150,000 from its road fund to develop the Crater Lake license plate, which helps fund the Crater Lake Foundation. It also is Oregon’s most popular specialized license plate.  

   Building the county’s recently opened $10 million road shop, he said, will pay dividends when the county is able to sell the old shop near Washburn Way and South Sixth Street.

   Q: The road shop has been the focus of much criticism, does that bother you?

   “I don’t think we are elected to this office just to be a caretaker,” he said. “Sometimes you have to make some decisions for the future.”

   Q: How has Klamath County changed since you took office?  

   Overall, Klamath County has changed little, as it is still a generous and independent community, he said.

   Politically, Klamath County has become more polarized, he said, adding that the growth of the Internet and the ability for people to write anonymously has exacerbated this problem.

   “The discourse has become much more personal,” he said. “We don’t so much talk about an idea as much as the person presenting the idea … That’s a very disturbing trend.”  

  Q:  You were appointed Commissioner just before the drought of 2001 and you are leaving office following another drought. How did water issues affect you as a commissioner?

   “There is an old saying among commissioners in the rural West: ‘Lord may I serve in a time of budget surplus and adequate rainfall,’ ” he said. “This year, it turns out neither of those occurred.”

   Q: Were you surprised to lose the Republican primary to Dennis Linthicum?

   Elliott admitted that he was surprised by the loss.

   “I thought experience would count for more than it did,” he said.

   Elliott added that he thinks his campaign was hurt by his support of the KBRA and a sense of anti-incumbency that was evident across the country, especially in Klamath County.

   Q: Do you regret your support of the KBRA?

   “I told my wife when I was appointed that if she ever thought I was making a decision based on getting re-elected to give me a kick in the shins,” he said, adding that she has not had to kick him yet. “My role is not to make myself look good. It’s to do what I think is best for the citizens of this county.”

   Q: What advice would you give incoming commissioner Dennis Linthicum?

   “Study the budget,” Elliott said. “Meet with department heads and know their missions. Know why they do what they do.”

   Q: What will you miss about serving as commissioner?

   “The involvement, variety, complexity and working with community members and seeing them succeed with the support the board has given them,” Elliott said.  

   Q: What is next for you?

   Elliott said he didn’t yet know what he will do when his term as commissioner expires next month, but he   plans to say involved in the community, especially with natural resource issues like air quality, water storage and juniper encroachment.