There are two candidates for District 3, Valley county commissioner in the primary, profiles below.
Brandon K. Roberts
Age: 50
Occupation: Banker specializing in affordable housing
Where Born/Raised: Temecula Valley, California
Education: Bachelor of arts in communications from Santa Monica College
How Long Lived in Valley County: Three years
Family members at home: Wife April, daughters Faith and Vanessa, sons Ethan, Darius and Chris
Brandon Roberts said he is running for Valley County Commissioner to be a voice and representative for all local residents without conflicts of interest.
Roberts is running as a write-in candidate for the Republican nomination for District 3 Valley County Commissioner against incumbent Neal Thompson.
“While participating in local county meetings, it became clear that no one was representing the voting constituency that voted people into these positions,” Roberts said. “I would like to represent all of valley county voting residents and their interests considering the needs I’ve seen expressed over the last year.”
Roberts was motivated to run after watching current officials in action.
“I have been watching BOCC and P&Z meetings closely for a year and there appears to be a great deal of inconsideration of the local electorate,” he said.
If elected, Roberts said he would communicate with voters on how and why decisions are made and hold town hall meetings before all major decisions and votes.
“The heart of my Campaign is that I want to change how the BOCC engages with its constituents, how commissioners view their mandate and represent its voters,” he said. “I want its residents to feel like they have a partnership with its elected officials.”
Roberts was happy with the structure of county government but urged continuous review.
“I think wise governance should always review itself annually for a variety of reasons such as justice (fairness) efficiency, and balance,” he said. “Government should always have arms open wide to redress from its citizens, anything else is as form of tyranny.”
Roberts listed roads, bridges and other infrastructure as the most important capital improvements needed at the county.
“Adequate infrastructure should come before development is approved,” Roberts said.
“Everybody knows all of us residents are tax conscious, and we will always be,” he said. “But I believe that 80% of the wear and tear is from visitors and guests to Valley County from down in the valley and if we’re going to have strong revenue for wear and tear, we need to develop a way of applying a usage fee for all non-locals with clear language on it not impacting local homeowners that make up about 20% of the homes in the county.”
Valley County’s method of processing land-use applications is a “very good method,” but could be improved, Roberts asserted.
“There needs to be a better method to directly challenge developers or a stronger accountability for either the P&Z or the Board of County Commissioners to present resident questions and concerns to developers,” he said.
Neal Thompson
Age: 72
Occupation: Electrical Contractor
Where Born/Raised: Born Albany, Oregon, raised in Northern California
Education: One year of college before being drafted into the Vietnam War
How Long Lived in Valley County: 35 years
Previous government experience: Current Valley County Commissioner in District 3, Army Sergeant with honorable discharge, Valley County Planning and Zoning Commission Chair, McCall-Donnelly School District Board of Trustees
Clubs, organizations, other activities: Chairman of the Heartland Chapter of Friends of NRA, American Legion, Life Member of NRA, Valley County Gun Club Charter Member, member of Elk Creek Church
Family members at home: Wife of 32 years Faye.
Neal Thompson said he is running for Valley County Commissioner because he feels a “passion and commitment to Valley County and the communities that thrive here.”
Thompson is running for the Republican nomination in the race for Valley County Commissioner in District 3 against write-in candidate Brandon K. Robertson in the May primary election.
“I have a good deal of experience with business and organizations that will help me provide steady leadership with the County Commission,” Thompson said.
“I have experience as an employer as well as managing multi-million-dollar budgets and building projects,” he said. “I am committed to knowing the job and doing the best I can with that knowledge.”
If elected, Thompson said he would work to create a lasting partnership with federal forests to bring healthy management of the forest, trails, logging and usage.
“This will, hopefully, begin to bring back forest funds to continue with the work being done on the infrastructure of our roads and bridges and also provide capital funding for our local schools,” he said.
He said the long-term solution to funding county roads is already in progress.
“Right now, most of the road maintenance is maintained with grants and excess funds from property taxes,” Thompson said.
“Roads are getting worked on right now and I would like to continue to work with the other commissioners with the planning they already have in place,” he said.
The county is behind on road work with current growth, but improvements have been happening and roads are getting paved, all things of this nature take time, he said.
“With continued planning with the budget, we can continue to update and care for our roads and bridges,” Thompson said.
Thompson said that the county’s current method of processing land-use applications should continue as compared to traditional zoning.
“We have witnessed a great deal of applications over the past two years and in my opinion, because of the vast geographical area here in Valley County, the current process is the only viable one. We can take each application on a case-by-case basis,” Thompson said.
