Sean C. Morgan
Of The New Era
John Lindsey is seeking a third term on the Linn County Board of Commissioners.
He faces Democrat Glenda Fleming in the Nov. 7 election for the seat.
Lindsey, a Republican, has served for eight years.
His top three priorities are the “same as before,” he said. “And I think we’ve had a lot of success with it – Jobs, jobs, jobs.”
Lindsey thinks the commissioners have given an assignment to lure family wage jobs to Linn County, he said. “I think we’re making good on that.”
He points to Lowe’s Distribution Center in Lebanon and the proposed Pepsico bottling plant in Albany. The Lowe’s project is already resulting in related spin-off businesses planning to locate in the area.
“We’re going for quality,” Lindsey said. “These are businesses that are going to be geographically dependent. These have to do with the I-5 Corridor and shipping.”
As a commissioner, much of his contribution has been working mainly on transportation issues with Lowe’s and Pepsico, Lindsey said. Commissioner Roger Nyquist was the one who negotiated with the all of the players “to make sure we came up with a decent transportation package.”
While Linn County stepped up to the plate with cash for transportation improvements, the city of Lebanon handled sewer and water improvements, Lindsey said.
In the future, “we’ve got to make sure we stick to the script,” Lindsey said. “You’ve got to look at the long-term interests.”
He wants to make sure the county solicits businesses that are good community members, he said. “You want something that’s stable.”
In the end, maybe people from Sweet Home will only commute to Lebanon and Albany instead of Eugene, Corvallis and Salem, he said. “I’ve been really happy with what’s happening the last two years. I really think our cities have stepped up to the plate and are now starting to see the payoff.”
Lindsey said that a bypass around Lebanon is still on the burner.
“It’s being conceptualized,” he said. “It’s something that could happen in the future.”
Road money is scarce right now, Lindsey said, but “there’s been a lot of talk about people wanting this. I think it will become a priority.”
Development in Lebanon will ultimately drive the issue, he said. Right now, the county is finishing other projects, and the county is focused on Nyquist’s priority of widening Interstate 5. As soon as the county tackles that, it’ll be back looking at a Lebanon bypass.
“It is an option that needs to be on the table,” he said. Development is going to create more and more safety issues, and the important thing is staying ahead of that.
Lindsey has been active in lobbying for the extension of federal timber safety net funds, funds that are paid to timber counties that have suffered from the decline of the timber industry and lower timber tax revenues.
The money has been reauthorized for one more year, Lindsey said. That’s the result of counties in 40 states working together.
“I am the liaison,” Lindsey said. “I’m the one that’s working the national coalition.”
That involves many phone calls, reading, writing and commenting, he said. “We’re lobbyists now.”
Behind jobs, this is one of the most important things for the county, he said. Retaining those payments is important for schools and counties.
On crime and methamphetamines, “I think with Sheriff Tim Mueller we’re really going in a good direction,” he said.
Lindsey said his role is to support the Sheriff’s Office and aggressively handle things like contaminated meth houses when they come into the county’s possession.
Two weeks ago, the county demolished one at the end of 13th Avenue off Nandina Street.
“It is not right for us to take possession of a meth house in Sweet Home and leave it there,” he said. Demolishing the house means a buyer will need to build new, and that will help improve neighborhoods.
Fighting crime and meth is “all a bunch of pieces working together,” he said.