The Northwest Connection Endorses Breeauna Sagdal for Clackamas County Commissioner Position Number 4

In a recent live debate hosted by the Pomona Grange, Breeauna Sagdal came out on top, sealing her candidacy as the primary front runner, and winning our hearts with her broad scope of knowledge on the issues. She’s a champion for humanity, and the people of Clackamas County. Sagdal knows her stuff. We proudly endorse her, and wish her the best in what we hope will be a long tenure on the Clackamas County Board of Commissioners.

Following is a summary of the hour-and a-half debate, with summations of Sagdal’s points and responses.

Question 1: What should the county’s role be in extending broadband connection?

Sagdal stated that she would never advocate for impositions upon the free market, or policies that might corner markets or create a government monopoly. She also said that at first it was not clear to her why broadband connectivity was an issue, as she lives in rural Molalla, and area that has amazing high-speed internet. Sagdal pointed out during the debate that her Position 4 opponent, Ken Humberston, bought a home in an area that does not have high-speed internet, and thus made it a county-wide issue. Sagdal suggests instead to support companies like Molalla Communications, which has created infrastructure and built-out their network with gig-e service. (In case there’s any doubt, Sagdal has NOT received campaign contributions from Molalla Communications, we’ve checked). We love this type of “go getter” attitude and support for the free market. We also like the fact that she expressed safety concerns with 5G.

Question 2: Should rural residences be allowed to have Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs)?

Sagdal Believes that ADUs, are a fantastic idea to address many issues, including homelessness. She proposed a property tax waiver for home owners willing to build an ADU, and enter into an intergovernmental agreement or memorandum of understanding with the county for housing of individuals who qualify for assistance. This would save the taxpayers on housing costs, and save homeowners on yearly property tax.

We love this idea, and she’s right. Most yearly property tax assessments average around $4,500, which is about half of what we pay per person for public housing assistance each year. Win-win.

Question 3: Should the County build a new Courthouse?

Sagdal agrees that we do not have another 10 years to wait for a new courthouse, but also feels strongly that we have buildings currently unused, or underutilized, that can be repurposed for a fraction of the cost. She also points out that “When the county has a shiny new toy, they tend to like to play with it.” She posits that more tickets, infractions, and arrests are extremely unproductive right now, especially when we have limited jail space, and inmates are set for early release due to COVID-19. We like the fact that Sagdal is more concerned with the injustices occurring within our courthouses than the structure itself, and applaud her broad knowledge base on this issue.

Question 4: What is the county’s responsibility towards those that are homeless?

Sagdal, once again, hits hard, with a solution-based answer. “There are things that we can do right now to help people get off the streets and save money.” She then highlighted the fact that in 2015, Oregon Health Authority cut the contracts to large Coordinated Care Organization providers who carried mental health and addiction services under one roof. Predatory clinics sprang up overnight to fill those contracts, causing a scattering of services, a situation that resulted in quadruple increases in the amounts being charged to the state Medicaid system.

“People began falling through the cracks,” said Sagdal during the debate, “and before we knew it our opioid epidemic got out of control, as did the homeless population.” She suggests restoring these contracts, as a start to addressing the issue.

Question 5: Transportation

Sagdal hit a home run on this topic, stating that the money being appropriated for our roads is not being allocated to our roads, but instead to side projects for pedestrian traffic and bike lanes. She believes that the county should be sticking up for the taxpayers to ensure the money we’re paying for transportation infrastructure is actually going into our roads. She also points out (in reference to the vehicle registration fee hike passed by the board without voter approval) that when the taxpayers say no, it is unacceptable for elected officials to railroad constituents and pass a measure anyways. We agree, and are excited to hear a candidate be so bold, and frank in addressing this issue.

The Northwest Connection would like to point out that Mr. Humberston along with Chair Jim Bernard have often stated that there were no local resources to use in order to fund transportation, that they had to “ take responsibility,” and “not hide behind the old trope that the voters said no’”. At the NWC, we have this funny notion that the people own the government, not the other way around, so Humberston and Bernard’s explanation isn’t one we agree with. We do realize it takes money to create infrastructure, and that’s why we liked Sagdal’s response, which cut to the core of the lack of road funding.

Sagdal, in a debate rebuttal, reminded attendees that forests–previously the number one local revenue source–have been shut down, which were, taxes from timber harvests paid for all our transportation, infrastructure, and schools. “Taxes from timber harvests paid for all our transportation, infrastructure and schools,” she said, adding, “We could put Clackamas County back to work right now, and in time to mitigate fire season.”

Sagdal then stated, “despite closures of mills, and our logging industry, due to Covid-19, this industry has been in decline since the spotted owl days, leading to more catastrophic fire seasons each year, and costing the taxpayers billions in lost revenue, property damage, loss of life, and firefighting. Opening our forestry industry has a multitude of positive effects on our County and our State.”

Question 6: Sanctuary Cities Should the county work with the federal government to detain for Immigration and Customs Enforcements (ICE)?

Sagdal made clear she’s quite passionate about this issue and heatedly explained that our justice system needs to be blind, equitable and applied equally, but also stated her belief that it is not. Agreeing with Humberston that a detainer is nothing more than a bureaucratic piece of paper, Sagdal detailed how it’s used to kick in doors and take Oregon children from their loving homes, or used to red flag an individual and remove their guns without due process. “How can a county that passes the sanctuary city act, not pass a sanctuary second amendment act?” she asked.

She wants equality within our justice system, and it showed in the debate. She then went on to state that many people who come into this country to work are not doing so without proper documentation, and clarified that farms can be liable for heavy fines and get shut down during the peak grow season if they hire illegal aliens. It’s the individuals without documentation that suffer the poorest conditions, and are often trafficked.

Question 7: What part of the budget would you cut now?

Sagdal believes at this point in time it’s negligent to promise either tax hikes, or budget cuts, without opening the county’s books to a forensic audit. She compared the county’s current situation to a business that’s going bankrupt and needs to have its books checked. She also said that rapid layoffs nor deferring $300 million in needed road maintenance amounts to a balanced budget.

Question 8: Where do you see the Clackamas County in the next 10 years?

Sagdal has a vision that CC will be one in which people are not afraid of their government, but an active partner within it. She sees the county being one that we can all live, work, and play together in. A county that focuses on the health and well-being of the individual, and individual rights. Sagdal wants to build a community that partners with landowners and developers to provide solution-based outcomes for all. She wants to cut through the bureaucracy and get to the root of issues, rather than in her words, “Continuing to place band-aids on hemorrhaging wounds”. She advocates for a board of county commissioners who will look at the action of policy, and move away from the intent or rhetoric of policy, and stated in her closing remarks that “county residents are owed that due diligence from their elected officials.”

We find Sagdal’s measured approach to be the perfect balance between Ken Humberston’s rushed “get there now, regardless of the cost” approach to policy making, and Mark Schull’s “just wait and see attitude.” (Schull is her Republican primary opponent.)

We agree with Breeauna Sagdal: there is hard work ahead. We believe she is the right person for the job. Her experience and passion for the people equate to a well-rounded, knowledgeable candidate who we believe has the best chance at winning the November 3^rd general election. We are confident that if elected, she will serve her community to the fullest for years to come.

We urge all Clackamas County citizens to watch the CCB candidate debate at Sagdal’s website www.VoteSagdal.com. Find out more about why we decided to jump on the #VoteSagdal train.