Not only on a national level, but now on a local level, the need for change has been a recurring theme among politicians running for office. That’s what the newest county commissioner candidate is touting, too.

“The same old ideas aren’t working,” said Coos Bay’s Stephen Pickering, who filed his candidacy last week. “It’s time for a new face. If you don’t think I’m change, you don’t want change.”

The 62-year-old may not be a new face to some, though. Pickering is a regular at Coos Bay City Council meetings. He stops in at county board of commissioner and airport meetings, too.

“I’m as up on what is happening in this county as any councilor or commissioner is,” Pickering said.

It’s not his first time running for an office either. Although he didn’t end up getting elected, Pickering ran for a spot on the airport board earlier this spring and for a Coos Bay City Council seat last August.

Pickering said he decided to run for Nikki Whitty’s seat about a year ago, because he wasn’t satisfied with how the day-to-day issues were being handled. Whitty said she intends to, but has not yet filed for re-election. Don Van Dyke of North Bend announced last week he  is seeking Whitty’s seat, while Sheriff Andrew Jackson is running for Kevin Stufflebean’s.

Pickering, a retired corporate manager, wants to see the jail restored to full occupancy and staffing, and would support a plan to tax federally owned forests to compensate for lost logging revenues.

But he says not every issue is black or white for him. He frequently finds himself in the gray, searching for the most economical answer.

“I’m a person with controversies on both sides,” the self-proclaimed activist said. “I focus my energy on seeing what I can do to find answers for the needs of the constituents. It’s time for politicians to go away and for citizens who want the good of the community to come forth.”