It’s time for change at the county helm

We had a surprisingly easy time deciding on Grand Island farmer Casey Kulla for the county commission seat currently held by longtime insurance agent and investment adviser Stan Primozich.

Primozich has a distinguished record of service, including 24 years on the McMinnville School Board, 25 on the St. James Administrative Council and four on the Oregon School Boards Association. During his term with the county, he has championed the Riverbend Landfill, Newberg-Dundee Bypass, Westsider Trail and an array of transportation and economic development initiatives.

But we think it’s time for a change and Kulla is well-positioned to provide it.

Kulla brims with enthusiasm. He displays a commendable penchant for planning ahead and establishing common ground. If elected, he promises to infuse the county with new ideas, openness to change and fresh ways of thinking.

In a recent editorial, we argued, “It’s time the county started looking forward instead of backward.” Kulla embodies that quality in spades; Primozich, more reactive than pro-active by both personality and long habit, does not.

This is a race pitting youth against the old guard. In this case, we feel youth is better suited to the job.

Kulla is a fifth-generation Oregonian with an exceptionally diverse educational and employment background.

A Taft High grad, he holds a bachelor’s in biochemistry and master’s in forest ecology from Western Washington University. Before launching Oakhill Organics 12 years ago, he was employed by turns as an agricultural intern, chem lab instructor, plumber, biochemistry researcher and construction worker.

In addition to running the Grand Island farm, he and his wife are raising a young family. On the side, he has served with the Yamhill County Water Task Force.

Primozich enjoys backing from the Oregon Firearms Federation, Oregon Right to Life, Yamhill County Republican Party and the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde, as well as landfill and trail interests. His goals seem largely rooted in preserving the status quo, with incremental advancements. We don’t see that as the answer in a world beset with increasingly rapid and wrenching change.

Kulla encourage the county to put more emphasis on farming and forestry, update its leadership structure, concede that Riverbend has run its course, and  champion co-existing uses of public space, including the trail corridor. He would like it to plan more effectively for meeting long-range housing, transportation, facilities and disaster prep needs.

Working with the city of McMinnville, he would like it to be more engaged and pro-active in addressing homelessness. He would also like it to take employee concerns about turnover, burnout, workloads and wage scales more seriously, noting they recently led us to the very brink of a strike.

Primozich has served his community well, and likely will continue to do so in other ways if he is unseated. But we think it’s time he stepped aside and turned the tiller over to a newer hand.