In an occurrence not likely to repeat itself this side of a blue moon, the headquarters of the county Democratic Party served as host for a debate between two Republicans on Tuesday night. Timm Slater and Kevin Stufflebean, both Republicans running for a nonpartisan county commissioner position, faced off at the Democratic enclave in the Pony Village Mall for about an hour. They discussed issues ranging from liquefied natural gas to economic development and took questions from the roughly 30 people in attendance.

The event's format eschewed the traditional response and rebuttal debate form, and instead opted to give each candidate roughly a half hour uninterrupted at the microphone. The candidate was first asked to give a five-minute statement on why he felt most qualified for the county commissioner position being vacated by Gordon Ross. Then, before answering questions submitted to them anonymously on note cards by audience members, they were asked to address five issues determined by moderator Matt Christensen, Coos County Democratic Party chairman.

The issues were as follows:

- whether the candidate supports the siting of a liquefied natural gas holding facility on Coos Bay's North Spit;

- whether the county should look into renewable energy sources;

- whether the county dedicates enough of its budget to human services;

- what the candidate sees as impediments to economic development in the county; and

- what the candidate sees as sources of revenue for the county in the future.

In his opening speech, Stufflebean spent most of his time highlighting his experience in local government, pointing out that he had been on the budget committee for 12 years and the Urban Renewal Agency for six, as well as his current position on the Coos Bay City Council.

“My experience is very diverse,” said Stufflebean. “It's important that we have someone who's been involved with all different aspects of economic development as commissioner.”

Slater, in contrast, spent the most of his opening speech on the time he's spent outside of government service, mainly as a land use technician for Weyerhaeuser.

“In 1972, I rolled into Coos County in my Ford Pinto to work for Weyerhaeuser, and it was in all the years I was involved in land use planning that I learned the importance of working with people to get things done,” said Slater. “I took that with me to the North Bend City Council, where I spent 18 years as either a councilor or mayor. And I learned something else there. I learned how much you could impact people's lives doing local government work.”

When addressing the pre-determined issues, the candidates often were similar in their positions. Both supported the siting of an LNG facility in Coos Bay, with Stufflebean saying he was “very supportive at this point” and Slater saying “it should be a safe and valuable addition to the area.”

Both also supported research on renewable sources of power, such as energy generated by wind or waves.

The candidates both said too little of the county's money was spent on human services, though each had a different take on this state of affairs.

Stufflebean said that human services “absolutely don't receive enough,” and complained that county officials didn't place enough priority on the county's “social economy.”

“Only about 8 percent of the budget is dedicated to human services,” said Stufflebean. “The Mental Health Department doesn't get anything from the general fund. ... Most elected officials unfortunately don't understand that social economy and real economy go hand in hand. If we don't address social problems, nothing will work.”

Slater agreed that too little money was spent on human services, but countered that the county budget should not be depended on to provide all of it.

“If we're going to aid and help people out, we should be doing it mostly with grant writers,” said Slater. “No, we don't allocate enough to human services, but we don't allocate enough to roads, parks, and all sort of other things that help people. It's a fact of nature and the amount of money you have in the budget.”

Stufflebean said one of the biggest impediments to economic development in the county was the lack of “shovel-ready land,” which he described as properties in which all land and Department of Environmental Quality issues had been taken care of.

“There's only about 18 acres of shovel-ready land in the county, and that can hinder some businesses that want to come and invest in the area,” said Stufflebean, who added that the unrealistic cost of real estate in the area was a further hindrance, “because if employees can't afford housing in the area, businesses won't be successful setting up here.”

Slater agreed that the lack of shovel-ready land was an impediment to the county's economic development, but said that “the biggest problem we have is attitude.”

“I have to say that sometimes our attitude could be better,” said Slater. “To borrow a word from Shirley Liberante (of the Bay Area Chamber of Commerce), we need more ‘positivity.' We need to work together.”

On the issue of future sources of income, Stufflebean suggested that the county “look into an inmate housing fee. We keep the beds in the jail full most of the time. If we were charging each of them just $5 a night, that would be enough money to put new (police officers) on the streets.”

Stufflebean also said the county should look into increasing the minor in possession fines for tobacco and alcohol, possibly by “holding parents responsible, too.”

Slater said the county should expand the “amount of timber land” to generate income, and come up with “market-based loans” in response to “the cell towers that are coming to the area.”

During the question-and-answer session, the candidates were both asked if they actually supported the siting of an LNG holding facility in Coos Bay, to which they repeated they did at the current time.

The debate ended abruptly, with no opportunity for closing statements given to the candidates.

Though the candidates were not able to rebut each other or give closing statements, Christensen said he felt the debate's format was a success. He acknowledged the irony of having two Republicans debate at the county's Democratic party headquarters, but said that this was “the product of a nonpartisan race.”

“It's good that, on the county level, we have these contested races, even if it is two Republicans competing,” said Christensen. “It gives people choices, and that's what it's all about.”