EDITOR’S NOTE: With the open Tillamook County Board of Commissioners position due to Commissioner Yamamoto’s early retirement, the Pioneer has sent the finalists selected for the position our “Questions for the Finalists.” Even though community members won’t vote on who fills the seat and finishes the one year left in the term (County Commissioners Bell and Skaar will select the person to complete the term), we thought the community would like to get to know the finalists. The County Commissioners will host a candidate interview forum on October 16, from 5-8 p.m. at Tillamook Community College, will be a panel interview conducted by the County Commissioners themselves. Link here to attend virtually – https://www.co.tillamook.or.us/bocc/page/candidate-panel-interview We know that not everyone will be able to attend (there are remote audio options available.) We will post the answers from each finalist as we receive them.
Tillamook County – meet Matthew Williams
Are you planning to run for Commissioner in 2024, regardless of if you are selected?
This question is thought provoking, and I appreciate the opportunity to address it. Based upon my Board experience, it takes a full year or more to become acquainted with the position. Should the newly appointed Commissioner not run or be elected at the end of their appointment, then the best interests of the community may not be served efficiently by a newly elected replacement. Without knowing who will be appointed or how they will perform, I cannot declare if I plan to run in 2024 if not appointed, but I can offer that my decision will be based upon what I believe will best serve the interests of Tillamook County and its members.
What is your WHY – Why did you apply for this position?
Though I am not native to the Oregon Coast, my 12 years as a resident in Tillamook County has instilled in me a great passion and love for it. I am grateful for the experiences and values a rural community offered my children while they grew up and I hope to make every effort to preserve what makes Tillamook County special, while ensuring that it will remain viable for years to come. For the past five years I have served as Board President for a 501c7 comprising approximately 6,000 to 7,000 community members in Southern Washington, a community that faces many of the same challenges with infrastructure, land use and related disputes, limited finances, labor force and more. While working with my associate board members, volunteer committees, community leaders, Clark County, and state entities, my leadership has resulted in community members engaging to combat and rise to the challenges encountered in a small city. I would love the opportunity to take what I have learned from my experience in another community and apply it to where I reside.
Relevant experience, qualifications for position:
I hope you will view my subsequent answer in the spirit of its intent, and that is to illustrate true deliverables on my part. It is a customary practice to list organizations and affiliates to which I can attribute my name and/or membership. But just because I hold a valid driver’s license, it does not necessarily follow that I am a good driver, nor does it follow that my membership in an organization affirms that I contributed to its purpose or betterment.
Though I have served on a few Boards, the Board to which I can attribute my most success is LMCH. While serving as Board President, I also served as General Manager of the community for 10 months during Covid 19 until such time that suitable management could be hired (This was unprecedented but necessary).
As President, I initiated and worked with Board Members to implement new election, sales, and office policies concerning handling of money and data. The business offices are currently undergoing significant revisions of labor force duties, systems and outdated equipment. With board support, I implemented new virtual meeting policies for Board and Member meetings, and communication policies including a new website, newsletter, and unprecedented introduction of Town Hall Meetings. I am currently leading the Board and management through a Bylaws update, revision of the general handbook, and handbooks for 12 standing committees. I currently serve as Ex Officio to said Committees.
I worked with the Board to obtain a vote from our community to change the Bylaws regarding investment, which once passed, increased annual interest investment earnings by 20 times the yields formerly received under old policies. Together, Board members have increased reserve capital funds from just over $200,000 to nearly $5,000,000 while I have been in office. Currently I am leading the Board and Management through an infrastructure upgrade encompassing electric, water and sewer for over 37 miles of road, electrical wire, and water lines for 1,500 connections. This will include a new LOSS waste management system, water reservoirs, etc. Wi-Fi is currently being revamped to provide service to over 600 acres of wooded and hilly terrain. In summation, the Board is revamping all aspects concerning infrastructure of a small city, laying the groundwork for projects that will span years.
Prior to my service as President, I worked for years in private industry in sales and marketing, where I developed a reputation for taking over regions under market distress and revitalizing and significantly growing them.
A board director must be able to assimilate data from multiple sources, draw conclusions, and vote in a manner that best serves the entire community. It is one thing to know the issues; it is another to be able to develop and implement solutions amidst controversy and political self-interests. Some of my greatest inspirations can be attributed to input from the various committees and community members where I now serve, and I have learned the value of volunteer organizations and their members. This is what has made me successful, and this is what I believe I can offer Tillamook County and its resident members.
What do you see as the top 5 priorities for the Commissioners this next year?
- The primary concern I see for next year and years to come is the projected budget deficit resulting from the predicted loss of timber revenue and finding new sources of revenue to replace the shortfall.
- FEMA mandates regarding flood plain and flood zones in Tillamook County have significant potential impact to our economy. Creating successful arguments to present to Oregon and FEMA is a big challenge.
- Housing – as a member of a family-owned business in Pacific City, I know the challenges we and our fellow business owners face when seeking to hire employees. Prospective employees desire to relocate to the coast, and while employment is available, housing is in short supply.
- Investment in infrastructure for the present and future is crucial. As a leader of a community that did not adequately invest in infrastructure upgrades, I can speak to the potential significant challenges inadequate investment will create.
- I see an increasing number of state and federal mandates under consideration that could have significant impact on Tillamook County, and it is imperative that the Board of Commissioners, supporting agencies and organizations, and community members be present and engaged in mitigating the negative impact when possible.
How should the county be addressing the mental health/substance use disorder crisis?
This topic is severe, complex, and fluid. Communities across the nation are grappling with this, and as such I would actively utilize community, state, and federal resources to gain a greater understanding of the scope of the problem, what has been tried to address it and with what success rates. Strategies must be devised and implemented to educate our youth about the lasting and often permanent effects that drug use poses to their life. For those currently addicted, efforts to fund and expand recovery are a priority. There are no simple answers to this crisis, and I expect that solutions will need constant review and revision as our understanding of the problem is revised by nature and severity of the crisis. Our greatest asset to resolving both mental illness and drug abuse is involvement of the community, that is where I would seek to direct my efforts.
Commissioner Yamamoto has focused on specific issues – such as logging/forestry, the FEMA BiOp, and wind energy; What is your stance on the Oregon Dept. of Forestry’s Habitat Conversation Plan? Wind energy?
The Oregon Department of Forestry’s Conservation Plan by purpose is valid and essential, yet even with my limited understanding I have concerns. One is that the plan is broad purposed and may not adequately consider its impact on communities around the state. I understand that it seeks to be less reactive and more proactive, but I question the wisdom of listing species as endangered before they are endangered, as the mandates for preserving endangered species that are not yet endangered may have significant negative impact on Tillamook and other Oregon communities.
As for offshore wind energy, I am not convinced. I would like to see hard data as to how electricity costs will be reduced, and how electric cables and magnetic fields will impact offshore fish. I struggle with federal mandates that are issued without proper investigation of their impact. Is it safe and viable to build wind machines capable of generating 30 gigawatts of electricity offshore? If so, I will be asking on behalf of Tillamook County to show us the data.
Housing continues to be a challenge in Tillamook County. The county is just completing a year-long process of updating the STR ordinance and is facing a lawsuit from STR owners over “caps”. What is your view of how the BOC has addressed housing and STRs?
Both the homeowners and owners of short-term rentals make compelling and valid arguments, and a compromise was the most logical outcome. I believe that the compromise put forth is fair, as it is not a clear win for either party. As for a resulting lawsuit, it is part of the sometimes-necessary legal process that comes with living in a free society. With over 27,000 residents in Tillamook County, it is unrealistic to expect that all parties will agree on the myriad of issues facing our community, and it is up to the judicial branch to weigh in when called upon.
What is your vision for Tillamook County in the future?
Answer: I believe it would be more accurate to describe my vision as a mission. Industries responsible for generating vital revenue are predicted to shrink in the foreseeable future. The challenge is to seek to replace those revenue losses with new revenue by identifying new industry and revenue resources for our community, all the while preserving what makes our community desirable and unique. Since the Pandemic, telecommuting has opened up the Tillamook area to opportunities that previously did not exist. AARP cites a recent study of the American workforce which has determined there has been a major paradigm shift – 40% of American workers are permanently not returning to a traditional office environment. These workers have also discovered they do not have to work from home, they can work from a hotel while they travel, their boat, RV, etc. This shift can potentially lead to new industries that will service the needs of this mobile workforce, needs that they possibly have not even identified themselves. My vision for Tillamook County is that it will tap these yet undiscovered opportunities and utilize them to not only augment budgetary shortfalls but grow.
Fast, reliable internet service will be crucial to these yet undiscovered opportunities, and Tillamook County is fortunate that efforts to enhance access to high-speed internet are already underway.
