<p>Mick Dougharity</p>

CANYON CITY Six candidates four Republicans and two Democrats are seeking a spot on the Grant County Court.

They seek the commissioner seat now held by Scott Myers, who is running instead for county judge.

The May 15 primary will produce the final contenders for the general election in November.

Heres a look at the field:

Republicans

Chris Labhart

Chris Labhart says he believes in the three Cs compromise, consensus and cooperation, and he says he would work hard for the people even if not always in agreement with fellow court members.

Labhart says his experience working in or with every major stakeholder in the county would serve well in the commissioner job. Currently on the John Day City Council, he has been a mayor and city councilor in both John Day and Canyon City, and is on the Blue Mountain Hospital District board.

Labhart, a retired teacher from Grant School District 3, is concerned about the schools and the cities, which are facing desperate times. He sees room for more collaboration with the county, and for the county to communicate better with the other entities.

If we dont keep our schools, our streets and roads, and our buildings up now, it will cost us more, a lot more, in the long run, Labhart said.

He proposes that the county take the amount of money it distributed this year from its road funds to the cities and school districts, subtract 5 percent, and budget that funding for the coming fiscal year. The reduction reflects the cutback proposed in the Senate-approved legislation for a renewal of county payments.

Although a county payments extension hasnt yet been approved by the Senate, he feels the county should build money for schools and cities into its proposed budget now and decide later on spending it.

For the long term, hed like to see a longer version of the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act approved by Congress.

He said the county needs to attract new business and residents, and the first things those people will look at are the schools, the cities and the medical facilities. He has been an advocate for the new acute mental health care facility that broke ground recently near the hospital, and said he stepped up to help when the project faced bureaucratic hurdles and delays.

He also sees a need to work through regulatory overreach threatening the viability of the cattle ranching industry.

Labhart, 62, said he doesnt believe in micromanagement, but would expect elected or appointed managers to be accountable for their departments.

After retiring from the schools, he and his wife Kris started a pet-sitting business. They live in John Day and have two sons and four grandchildren.

Charlie Low

Charlie Low has always been interested and involved in political issues at the national level, but is looking more to the local level as he moves into the home stretch of retirement.

Low, 60, has lived in John Day about a decade. He and his wife were drawn to pristine outdoors and friendly people as they made trips here from Central Oregon. He was a homebuilder and general contractor for about 35 years, but is retiring.

The state and federal government are regulating me right out of business, he said.

He said his business experience and education, a bachelors degree in economics, could be a plus in the county post. He said his No. 1 goal is to help diversify the local economy, noting that it has shifted from forestry to a reliance on federal programs.

Hed like to see more happening at the John Day Industrial Park, and find ways to attract the kind of clean, high-tech industry now gravitating to places like Prineville.

We should have that industrial park filled up, he said.

He thinks better coordination among all governments state, county, city would help. Calling himself a conservative Republican, hed like to see less government regulation at all levels, and particularly for the countys ranching sector. He also said the economic times mean we dont have the money that we used to have, so theres a need to set clear priorities for spending.

In the private sector, I cant spend money that I dont have, he said.

Low has previous public service as a police reserve officer in Prineville and a planning commission member in Prineville. Low and his wife, Suzi, have two sons and a daughter, and five grandchildren.

Steve Parsons

An electrical contractor and business owner for 20 years, Steve Parsons says he feels its time for new ideas in local government.

Parsons, 60, has lived in Grant County since 1993, although hes been coming to the county for hunting and recreation since he was a child. He relocated his electrical contracting business here and expanded into the pump business, now being carried on by a son.

He said that while the local economy has faltered, he believes things can turn around. He sees the example of Facebook opening a site in Prineville as a case study in how to plan better for the future. He said officials worked with their electric co-op and the BPA to get a needed substation built there.

They did the infrastructure, he said. We havent done that here.

He sees potential for development in the John Day area, but thinks the industrial park was poorly sited, despite the known difficulty of access for trucks.

Parsons also sees a need to get a handle on the regulations imposed by government that limit local business and development.

He said ranchers should be able to shoot a wolf if it threatens their cows. But water quality issues may be an even greater challenge to agriculture, and Parsons said he would look for ways to help deal with the agencies making the rules.

He also supports his local sheriff, noting, we should not have Forest Service people running around with guns on their hips.

Parsons favors expanding tourism, supports efforts to bring more events to the fairgrounds, opposes new restrictions on four-wheeler travel on the forests, and offers a suggestion to the state game department: give Oregon residents a game tag as they turn 60. The spending of those hunters could jumpstart the local economies in rural counties, he said.

Tourists leave dollars in the community, he said.

Parsons thinks a lot of the issues that troubled the Road Department in recent years have been settled, and he likes the way the roadmaster is handling his budget and operations.

I think they are on track now, he said.

Parsons, who also is running for the Oregon Trail Electric Cooperative board, has been a vocal opponent of the utilitys new line extension charges, which he believes stifle economic development.

Parsons and his wife Dotty live in Mt. Vernon. They have three sons and a daughter, and seven grandchildren.

Dennis Voigt

Dennis Voigt of Prairie City said he decided to run because he wants to be involved in the governmental process.

Ive been thinking about it for several years, he said. Its easy for people to stand back and say they should have done this another way. But I thought, maybe its time to take my turn in the hot seat.

Voigt said he doesnt have a personal agenda or particular issue of concern, but hopes to learn more by getting involved.

Voigt has been a supporter for the Prairie City schools, and noted that proposals for county support for the local schools may require difficult decisions. He said hes willing to tackle those issues I have no problem saying what I think, and I can agree to disagree, he noted.

On most issues, he wants to get more details before taking a position.

With no prior political experience, Voigt said he tries to stay up on events through reading, and he gets a lot of input from people he knows in the county.

Voigt, 59, is a contracting electrician. He is married to Tee Voigt, and has three children: a son who works at Boise State University, another son enrolled at Boise State, and a daughter at Oregon State University.

Democrats

Mick Dougharity

Mick Dougharity, who lives in the Mt. Vernon area, grew up in the Bates area, went to school in Austin and Prairie City, and has lived in the county much of his life.

He worked for about 12 years as a foreman for the Grant County Road Department and has done consulting work on heavy equipment jobs, traveling as far as Texas and even Africa for that work.

For about 20 years he owned a logging and roadbuilding company in Union County, also operating in Grant County. He sold the company and moved back to Grant County in 1978. He empathizes with ranchers, as hes always had cows.

Currently retired, he raises cows and sheep in Mt. Vernon.

Dougharity said he isnt pleased with the countys spending on attorneys, and what he sees as continued conflicts at the Road Department. He doesnt believe the county should need a separate counsel on retainer for the departments labor issues.

Dougharity said he believes forest receipts are done, and the county needs to be frugal and invest its money wisely. As much as possible the county should support economic efforts that will create jobs, but he also said the County Court needs to take care of court business first.

Dougharitys prior experience in government includes terms on the Mt. Vernon school board and fire board. He has been a member of the Grant County Planning Commission since 1994.

Dougharity, 71, and his wife Charlotte have three grown children two sons and a daughter and five grandchildren.

Byron Haberly

John Day contractor Byron Haberly sees a need for more common sense and practical experience in County Court actions. Self-employed all of his working life, he said he could bring needed business experience to the job.

Haberly, 71, said he decided to run for commissioner because hes long been interested in county government and wants to be more actively involved. He formerly served on the Blue Mountain Hospital Board of Directors for 13 years, and also has been a member of the Grant County Road Advisory Committee.

As a commissioner, he said, he would try to help the ranching community and the timber workers in any way I can. Overall he sees a need to support efforts to create jobs in the community, by smoothing the bureaucratic processes not to cut corners, but to help move things along.

I like our community and the people here, but were struggling, he said. Id like to see some things take place to help.

He favors openness in government, and doesnt come to the campaign with any ax to grind.

Haberly has a grown son and daughter, eight grandchildren and one great-grandchild.

(Election coverage continues next week with stories on other local races and the Mt. Vernon Grange forum.)