Don Van Dyke outlines his political principals using the acronym C.R.A.F.T. He wants to put them into action, so the North Bend man has filed his candidacy for Coos County Commissioner Nikki Whitty’s seat in the spring primary election.

C is for communication.

“I am a master of communication,” said Van Dyke, who for the past three years has run Coos Community Media Center, on which each board of commissioners meeting is broadcast.

R stands for results, because, as the 68-year-old said, he “just gets things done.”

Followed by A for accountability.

Fundamentals.

And transparency.

“I will govern as if there is not going to be a re-election,” said Van Dyke, emphasizing he has no intention to run for a second term. “I will constantly remind myself I am a servant to the people.”

His main agenda items are: a fresh approach to economic survival without timber revenues and adopting a more expansive scope when it comes to making county decisions. He used the Coos County Courthouse as an example of expanding the scope of thinking within the county.

“Right now, we are fixing the roof because it is leaking,” Van Dyke said. “But we have no overall maintenance plan. We’re running without long-term plans,”

Van Dyke, before moving to Oregon in 2004, worked in marketing, naturopathic medicine and computers — but not politics.

“The direction the current government is heading has moved me to become active,” Van Dyke said.

However, he does not think Whitty has done a poor job. The New York native said he is only running for her seat, because no one else had filed to run for it.

Sheriff Andy Jackson is running for Kevin Stufflebean’s seat and there is plenty of time for more contenders. Candidates have until March 9 to file for the May election.