Community members expressed concerns about a perceived disconnection between the public and Douglas County leaders at a forum, and asked candidates for the County Commission how they plan to address this issue.

Seven candidates running for the four open seats on the County Commission attended Tuesday’s forum hosted by the Douglas County Rural Preservation Association. Absent were Republican candidate Timothy Bruce from District 4, as well as Democratic candidate Erica Anderson and Libertarian candidate Kirsten Kuhn, both running for District 5.

The candidates in each district, including the newly established 4th and 5th districts, are as follows: In the 2nd District, incumbent Democrat Shannon Reid will compete against independent Brad Chun. In the 3rd District, incumbent Democrat Karen Willey faces Republican Pam McDermott. The 4th District features Democrat Gene Dorsey, Libertarian Steve Jacob, and Bruce. Finally, in the 5th District, the candidates are Republican Rich Lorenzo, Kuhn and Anderson.

During the forum, community members posed questions to the commission candidates, with a significant focus on issues of transparency and ways to enhance community involvement in county decision-making should they be elected.

Lorenzo agreed that there was a disconnect between the people and those that were elected to represent them at the county level. He said that people in Douglas County were livid about high property taxes and felt like the County Commission wasn’t listening to them.

Dorsey said he thought the current commissioners hadn’t been attentive to the public’s input. He recalled how he addressed the commissioners during public comment at a business meeting to request a correction in the transcription of minutes from a previous meeting, but said that they did not follow through on that correction.

Chun mentioned a time when a community member came forward during public comments to address what he claimed were misstatements in the county’s 2023 audited financials. That commenter was also in attendance at the forum and said he hadn’t yet received a response to his questions.

Willey said that, as a current county commissioner, she regularly meets with many Douglas County citizens and is accessible wherever she goes. She emphasized that connecting with people is her full-time job and said that while she may not be able to respond to every email, she values interactions with community members and encourages anyone with questions to reach out.

Reid also said that even though she doesn’t respond to all of the messages she receives, she would encourage people to continue reaching out. She added that growing the commission to five commissioners would mean that there would be more people on the commission for the public to reach out to.

One community member at the forum said they felt disillusioned as they listened to current commissioners apologizing for not returning missed calls and emails. “Isn’t that your job?” they asked.

McDermott said that while it isn’t something that we can control at the national level, local government should be a place where the public can decide and have an influence, and people elected to the County Commission should listen. And Jacob said that he was glad the commission was expanding to five seats; he said that would help ensure that all points of view in the county would be heard.

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The deadline to register to vote or update your voter registration for the 2024 general election is Oct. 15. In-person advance voting begins on Oct. 16, and the last day to request an advance voting mail ballot is Oct. 29. All mail-in advance ballots must be postmarked by Election Day and received by Nov. 8. In-person advance voting will conclude on Nov. 4 at noon. The general election will be held on Nov. 5, with polling places open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.