2 candidates vie for Jackson County Commissioner seat

The Jackson County Commissioner race is a chance to get some new blood on the board. Two of the commissioners are currently serving their third terms, while Commissioner Dave Dotterrer has decided not to run again.

Vying for his empty seat are Democrat Denise Krause and Republican Randy Sparacino.

Krause said she’s running for commissioner to address local issues that affect residents’ lives, like problems with the county animal shelter and concerns about government spending.

“I didn’t set out to do this, but it’s a matter of just living in the county,” she said. “These county issues are local issues. All politics are local, and they affect me every day, and they affect all of us every day.”

Sparacino is the mayor of Medford and turned down multiple requests for an interview with JPR, via email, phone and in person.

But he did an interview with the Christian media company The Dove in April to talk about his candidacy. In that interview, he said he’s running for commissioner to continue his long career of public service.

“It just drives me. I just want to do more for this community, and I think the county commissioner seat fits my personality better, my character better. It’s more in the decision-making factors, the policy-making factors, that I don’t get to do as the mayor,” he said.

Both Krause and Sparacino have been endorsed by their respective county political parties.

If Krause wins, she’ll be the first Democrat to be elected to the county Board of Commissioners since 2006, when Dave Gilmour won his second term.

Krause previously ran for county commissioner in 2022 and lost. She serves as the director of the Rogue Valley Transportation District, on the Rogue Valley Transportation Budget Committee and as a precinct committee chairperson for the Democratic Party.

Earlier this year, she also led a group trying to change the structure of the county’s board of commissioners, which was not successful. The three ballot measures were voted on in the primary election in May and would have made the county commissioner positions nonpartisan, increased the number of commissioners from three to five and decreased the commissioners’ salaries. The third was the only measure to be approved by voters. However, its text says decreasing the salary is dependent on the passage of the measure that would increase the number of commissioners, which failed.

Krause said if she’s elected, her priorities would be addressing the overcrowding of the county jail and a lack of transparency in local government.

“I feel like we need to be more transparent in the process. Somehow it’s gotten to be where just a few people are making major decisions about our tax dollars,” she said. “Government is supposed to serve the people that elect them. And so I want to open the doors to county government. I want to invite community engagement.”

Sparacino previously ran for State Senate in 2022 and lost. He formerly served as Medford police chief, and he’s been endorsed by Commissioner Rick Dyer, as well as Commissioner Dave Dotterrer, whose seat he’s trying to fill. He also serves on the Rogue Community College Board of Education and the Jackson County Airport Advisory Committee.

Related: Jackson and Josephine counties will vote on measures to restructure local government

In his interview with The Dove, Sparacino said he would prioritize the overcrowded jail and focus on developing more housing.

“We need to ensure that we are not putting up roadblocks and barriers for developers to get housing done. The longer it takes to build a house, the more costly it is, so if you want to do housing affordability, you gotta make the process streamlined,” he said.

Both candidates also say they’d work to address homelessness. On her campaign website, Krause says she would work with the community to come up with creative solutions. On his campaign website, Sparacino says he would work with local organizations to provide support services and speed up housing construction. According to reporting by The Rogue Valley Times, illegal campsites in Medford have dropped by more than 90% over the last three years.

Krause said she’s learned a lot since she last ran for commissioner and would prefer to be considered based on her qualifications rather than her party affiliation.

“I really am more of a unifying candidate, and that’s why I just want to be judged for what I bring to the position, what skills I have, what I can offer, how I can bring people together,” she said. “I’m not going to draw any lines in the sand and say, ‘I don’t serve you because you didn’t vote for me.’ No, I want to be a commissioner for everyone.”

Sparacino, meanwhile, said in his interview with The Dove that the county is well-run right now and needs to continue working on crucial problems.

“Attracting businesses, making it more [easy] for developers to build houses and address our housing needs, ensure the public safety — those are the things we should be focusing on,” he said.

Ballots for the upcoming election must be turned into a dropbox by 8 p.m., or postmarked, on Election Day, Nov. 5.

This story comes to you from the Northwest News Network, a collaboration between public media organizations in Oregon and Washington.