Sean C. Morgan
In the May 20 election, the Linn County Law Enforcement Levy and the School District 55 pool levy passed, and County Commissioner John Lindsey defeated challenger Chanz Keeney of Holley in the Republican primary.
Lindsey will move on to the general election unopposed.
In Republican primaries, Michael P. Spasaro was unopposed in Senate District 6. Republicans fielded no candidate for House District 11, while Sherrie Sprenger was unopposed in House District 17. Art Robinson was unopposed in the Fourth Congressional District.
In the Democrat primaries, unopposed state representative candidates included Phil Barnhart in District 11, which includes the area southwest of Sweet Home through Springfield, and Rich Harisay in District 17, which includes the Sweet Home area. Lee Beyer was unopposed in Senate District 6, which includes House District 11. At the national level, Peter A. DeFazio was unopposed in the Fourth Congressional District.
The candidates will face each other in the general election in November.
For commissioner, Lindsey received 6,133 votes, 63.72 percent, while Keeney, of Sweet Home, received 1,876 votes, 19.49 percent.
“It’s a flattering feeling,” said Lindsey, a Lebanon resident. “You take a look at the returns. It’s a good thing. People have faith in what we’re doing.”
Keeney, a member of the District 55 School Board, doesn’t have any plans to seek other offices at this time, but he isn’t ruling out running for something down the road.
“I guess I was excited to even be able to do it,” he said. “It was kind of a bucket list item. I had a great time doing it. I’ve had a lot of people come up to me afterward congratulating me on the effort.”
He knew going in the odds were stacked against him, he said. It’s difficult to unseat an incumbent, especially one who hasn’t messed up.
The county Law Enforcement Levy passed with 11,168 votes, 55.93 percent, to 7,205, 36.08 percent, with 1,594 not voting.
The levy increases the existing levy by 20 cents and replaces the last year of the levy, 2014-15. The levy will continue for four years.
“Linn County residents continue to support the necessary resources to keep our neighborhoods safe,” said Commissioner Roger Nyquist, and they’ve been “fairly consistent over the years.”
“Very, very pleased,” said Sheriff Bruce Riley. He and the district attorney have spent a lot of time talking to folks around the county, and Riley was very pleased by the winning margin, continuing a 30-year tradition with voters.
“I’m very appreciative to folks,” he said. “We know these are tough economic times for folks.”
The decision will reopen 48 beds in Linn County Jail that had been closed in budget cuts in 2011.
The vote will return the Sheriff’s Office to 2011 levels, Riley said, including the return of three deputies. The jail beds will open again after the county can hire eight correctional deputies and train them.
It will take some time to get those beds up and running, he said.
The 32-cent local option levy renewal for the pool passed with 1,429 votes, 58.71 percent, to 834, 34.26 percent. The levy will provide funding for five years to operate the pool at Sweet Home High School.
“The swim team is just absolutely elated,” said Sweet Home Swim Club President Bruce Davis. “We’re just happy to have some breathing room. We’re just excited the community came together.”
With a five-year levy, no one will need to worry about whether the pool will still be open in the near future, he said.
The pool is in the final year of a two-year levy, ending on June 30, approved by Sweet Home School District voters after the program was cut in the district budget.
The longer-term levy and seven years of approved funding, two in the past and five to come, should help the program to win grants, Davis said. Among them, pool supporters are seeking grants to replace the starting blocks and lockers.
The starting blocks may be as old as the pool itself, Davis said. They’re getting loose and slippery. The lockers are rusting and need to be replaced by high-quality plastic lockers.