Proposal of a "No Confidence" Vote for Non-partisan Position

Nancy Blankenship
Deschutes County Clerk

Nancy,

I see that the next Oregon Association of County Clerks meeting will be in Bend this February.

May I have your comments on this proposal?

I studied the two alternative methods of filling a county office position by either election appointment.

2017 ORS 204.005¹
Election or appointment of county officers
https://www.oregonlaws.org/ors/204.005

Evidently there is an opportunity for a county to choose between election or appointment methods
http://mailtribune.com/news/government-politics/assessor-won-amp-x2019-t-get-merit-raise-due-to-errors
Voters had the choice to make the elected assessor, county clerk and county surveyor positions into appointed staff positions in a 2011 election, but rejected all three measures.

It may depend on what method options are written into the county ordinance?

The framing of the "No Confidence" vote is that voters can make the choice of method on their ballot at the time they vote not by voting on a prior measure providing:

   a. The candidate is non-partisan

   b. The only candidate running for the position

 Fundamentally the candidate is running against a No Confidence vote.

If the "No Confidence" votes wins majority then the position is filled by Appointment in accordance with established procedures.

The choice of a more timely and efficient method, Election or Appointment, is therefore concurrent with and a function of the majority vote in the current election.   Not a separate preliminary vote on a measure to choose one method or the other for the next election.

In the case of a non-partisan election with a single candidate on the ballot the candidate is often the incumbent.  By informal survey and voting results voters are ambiguous about the meaning of voting for a single candidate.

There is little incentive for a single candidate to campaign on better qualifications or promises of better performance in office with no opponent.  "No Confidence" majority  vote against the candidate automatically defaults to an Appointment method.

Appointment to the position fills it with an occupant that has opportunity and incentive to perform better than the previous one and win a majority vote in the next election if they choose.

Voting ballots would require a No  Confidence box for voter selection and automatic tabulation in addition to a Write In line

Tim Lester
2098 NW Trenton
Bend