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Barbara Boyer best suited for county commission seat

It’s time for us to offer an endorsement in this year’s Yamhill County commissioner race. But first, a few preliminaries:

1) There are only two viable candidates.

Retiree David Wall lacks the public service credentials, campaign resources and willingness to engage needed for a credible run. This is a repeat of his candidacy of 2018, when he also failed to avail himself of an endorsement interview or mount a visible campaign.

Barbara Boyer and Lindsay Berschauer both check those boxes, so we will limit our analysis to them.

2) There is only one candidate with a deep understanding and affiliation with agriculture.

Without any hired help, Barbara Boyer and her husband have been managing a 400-acre farm for 20-odd years, and at one point were single-handedly managing another 600 rented acres as well. Holder of a degree in plant science from the University of Connecticut, she co-founded and served as the original manager of the McMinnville Farmers Market. She is an eight-year member and past chair of the state Board of Agriculture. She has served as an elected member of the Yamhill Soil & Water Conservation Board for 16 years and chaired it for 12.

Boyer has also held posts with the state Department of Land Conservation & Development, Oregon Agricultural Heritage Commission, Watershed Enhancement Board, SEDCOR and Department of Energy. On the side, she runs a Community Supported Agriculture operation supplying locals with fresh produce.

Lindsay Berschauer joins farmers along the right-of-way in opposing the Yamhelas Westsider Trail.

3) There is only one candidate for this non-partisan post who can credibly claim non-partisan status.

Barbara Boyer is an avowed “independent with a lower-case i,” by which she means she’s not affiliated with any party, not even the Oregon Independent Party. And she has been drawing both political and financial support across party lines.

Lindsay Berschauer is a deeply committed Republican. She’s been a political operative for statewide GOP politics for a decade, and will be appearing as a Republican on local May Primary ballots in a bid for a Republican Precinct Committee post. During her former residency in Wilsonville, she sought appointment to a legislative seat as a Republican. She boasts endorsements from Republican legislators Brian Boquist, Kim Thatcher and Bill Post, and has received a substantial funding infusion from the George family, headed by former Republican legislator Gary George. Finally, she operates a political consulting business deeply committed to Republican causes and candidates.

4) There is only one candidate with substantial local roots.

Barbara Boyer has lived and worked in Yamhill County continuously for more than 20 years.

Lindsay Berschauer is an Arizona transplant who settled in the Portland Metro Area before relocating to Newberg in 2015 and Carlton in 2019. She operates her consulting business out of her home, so it has moved with her.

5) There is only one candidate with a checkered criminal past.

Barbara Boyer had arrests in the 1990s in Clackamas County, under her maiden name, for driving under the influence, possession of marijuana, bouncing a check and disorderly conduct. She settled the first pair by completing diversion programs, the second pair by completing probation periods. Under the name she took when she married hay farmer Tom Boyer in 1999, she was cited for DUII in 2013 and failure to complete a diversion program on it in 2015, both in Yamhill County.

To the best of our knowledge, Lindsay Berschauer has left no trail of criminal misdoing.

Boyer’s key objectives are conservation, economic development and retention of rural character and livability. Berschauer’s are keeping taxes low, protecting gun and property rights, fighting metro creep and promoting an addiction recovery charter school. A concealed-carry permit holder, she favors declaring Yamhill County a sanctuary from enforcement of gun restrictions.

We are troubled by Boyer’s litany of scrapes with the law, particularly the two dating back less than 10 years. We are also bothered by her failure to disclose them up front and own up to them forthrightly when they came to light at the tail end of a heated campaign.

That notwithstanding, she still stands apart as a non-partisan listener and collaborator with both feet firmly planted in local soil. Berschauer is energetic and articulate, but we find Boyer the better fit for the job, blemishes and all.

[This editorial was updated from the print version to correct information regarding the timeline of Lindsay Berschauer's residency in Yamhill County, as well as the location of her consulting firm.] 

Comments

Raven

Thank you for a well written endorsement.

Jim

It becomes more obvious every day which way this paper leans. You are willing to back a left leaning candidate that has a very checkered past over a very conservative candidate. If you pair Boyer with Kulla on the BOC we will buried in taxes and politics like Kate Browns. Thanks but no thanks. Lindsay Berschauer has my and most conservative people’s vote.

Oregonian

That has to be the most guarded recommendation ever! You can see how painful it was to write.

madmacs

Jim, is anyone who isn't on the far right fringe considered left leaning in your estimation? Berschauer is indeed a far right fringe candidate, while Boyer is truly an independent. I'd much rather have someone who is willing to look at the facts and make decisions based on the facts than someone who is making decisions based on their preconceived notions and agenda. We already have an far right commissioner in Starrett, we don't need another one.

Jim

madmacs I consider anyone that wants to give me their opinions and are not willing to listen to mine to be left leaning. As far as Mary Starrett and Lindsay Berschauer are concerned you will have the same scenario with Kulla and Boyer. I would rather have some conservative people watching my money than another group like we have in Salem. The Democrats are so out of control at the State level it’s unbelievable. So it’s America pal and I’ll vote for who I want and you vote for who you want and we will see how it turns out.

Bulldog

I think the NR did a good job of weighing both candidates, their pros and cons. IMO, the biggest concern about this election is that if Berschauer is elected she will fully enable Starrett. Starrett thought that Springer and Primozich would do that, and when they didn't she distanced herself from them quickly. Starrett is a conspiracy generating extremist who operates at the behest of her brother. Berschauer shows no signs of independent thinking. I am highly concerned about that. Populist extreme positions will - unfortunately - get you elected in Yamhill County. Boyer is much more independent and not nearly as tied to Kulla as the extremists would want us to think. I find it interesting that the two candidates that have used the false Metro and Multnomah County narrative are also the only two candidates in memory who have come from the Metro area, Starrett and Berschauer. Some farmers seem to think that an out-of-state, Metro candidate who has never paid taxes in Yamhill County will somehow represent them better than someone who is actually a property tax paying Yamhill County farmer. I am amazed at how many in Yamhill County seem to like the Kool-Aid.

Stella

• Wall running a quiet campaign 🇺🇸
• Boyer has record of arrests
• Berschauer seeking $495,000 in lawsuit claiming emotional distress

David S Wall all the way 👍

Don

I guess being a Lay Member of the Yamhill County Buget Committee does not count or is not worthy of mention:
Lay Members [Note: Lay Members are appointed to the Budget Committee by the Board of Commissioners and the appointment constitutes automatic appointment to the Compensation Committee with the same terms.]
https://www.co.yamhill.or.us/sites/default/files/Budget%20Committee_0.pdf
Lindsay Berschauer
Appointed 04-04-2019

I also wonder why this "independent" (Boyer) is supported by the Rural Oregon Forward PAC (Independence, Oregon) with an attacked ad on Lindsay Berschauer that appeared in the
N-R last month.
An understanding of the County Budget is vital at this point.



Sponge

Stella, your favorite candidate couldn’t even be bothered to avail himself for an interview. Anybody seeking public office owes it to the voting public to make themselves available for public examination. His failure to do so is not evidence of “running a quiet campaign”, but rather, an example of hiding from the very public that he wants to back him. Not a great quality for somebody seeking a post of public leadership.

Treehouse

Attack mailer and website going after Boyer from extremist alt-Right sleaze merchants dropping today only reflect very poorly on Starret and Berschauer. If they are wise both of them will repudiate the mailer and webiste today and go on record telling AM Hate-Radio's Jeff Kropf to apologize.

This kind of nihilistic gutter politics is not the way the people of Yamhill County will move forward. It's a disgrace. And any decent person would be ashamed to be affiliated with it.

Raven

Lindsay and her supporters have shown what they are made of with the nasty mailer that was received by voters all over the county today. Instead of attacking Barbara they could spend their money in a positive way with positive mailers about Lindsay. This will backfire. Our Yamhill County voters do not respond to negative attacks on other candidates. Barbara has my support. Lindsay has no ethics.

yamhillbilly2

This race in particular, has caused me to spend time looking into the financing of campaigns. Lindsay is most definitely bought and paid for by Starrett. At least several of her husband’s businesses are listed with Mary’s home address but none of them seem to be registered with the Secretary of State as businesses operating in Oregon. The RAF LLC, listed repeatedly as loaning money and making donations to Mary and Lindsay, filed for dissolution in 2002 but still makes political donations using that name, why? Is this Mary’s way of attempting to disguise her personal contributions? I guess it will work out since they both use the same person, from Bandon, for campaign finance reporting.

Stella

Mary also donated to Paulette with her own closed business account “along comes Mary”

downtown

Treehouse, Raven, yamhillbilly2 - It's called corruption. LB has spewed lies and baseless rhetoric all along. She says no tax increases yet was part of a move that tripled the taxes of rural Newberg just last year. She takes credit for not increasing taxes last week in the budget committee yet doesn't seem to know anything about Oregon's property tax system wherein the permanent ta rate can only be changed by a vote of the people. In her campaign videos she says she will refuse PERS if elected so that she doesn't add to the county's unfunded PERS liability. Again either a complete lack of understanding or a flat out lie. If she was elected and took PERS she would be an OPSRP member which has no connection to the unfunded liability. BTW, public records will show you that Mary Starrett while not participating in PERS actually receives a higher contribution to her retirement than if she took PERS. Half truths or flat out lies. I hope the voters of this county are paying attention, really paying attention. LB should not be rewarded for her sleaze. Her and Starrett will be true to form and of course deny any knowledge of the mailer that arrived today, again more corruption that we don't need.

Stella

Sponge

If he didn’t speak to your group and you feel put off then don’t vote for him. He has spoken to many County residents personally and definitely checked the boxes for my friends/family.

Looking forward to Election Day 🇺🇸 Happy to have a choice.

Motherof3

Many family friends have lost children, fathers and kids to drunk driving. Why is News Register supporting someone with not just one but two DUIIs and why hasn’t Barbara mentored alcoholics and some community service? Instead her history was kept secret despite holding elected positions. This is a serious ethical and honesty issue. Her probation ended 3 years ago.

tagup

I wonder how many of those posters that are indignant about Ms Boyer’s DUI history .... voted the Bush/ Cheney ticket.....

Christmas has Talons

I'd like to know if Boyer is in recovery and if so when is the date she began in recovery?

I know that doesn't really matter to people who embrace drunk drivers but for those of us who have lost a loved one to a drunk driver we'd like to see an about face. In this case though there is not only not the appearance of an about face her party and supporters seem to embrace lawlessness and criminal behavior. Even in it's throes and agonal breathing the NR gasps the name Boyer. It made my day Local Paper endorses long time county criminal.
I miss people like Tim Duerfeldt he has a good man and the best candidate the D'S have ever had they've been dumpster diving ever since.

Chris Chenoweth

Let’s talk facts.

First the only candidate to receive a donation from a major political party is Barbara Boyer, from the Democratic Party.

Second while she was head of the Yamhill Soil & Water Conservation Board, they wrote a letter of support for cap and trade to the legislature, the only member of the current board who was in favor was Casey Kulla. While board chair Boyer allowed a letter of support, candidate Boyer has waffled. This smacks of political expediency as she knows Cap and Trade is too extreme for Yamhill County. This also kills the concept of independent as on almost all issues she is in lockstep with the most extreme side of the Democratic Party.

Third, any one claiming she is a representative of the agricultural base of Yamhill County has not actually driven through it in the last 30 days. If they had they would know the agricultural component of our county is overwhelmingly supporting Lindsay Berschauer.

Fourth, it is a shame that the largest paper in Yamhill County is attempting to white wash and push under the rug 2 DUI’s and refusal to comply with diversion. This attitude toward drinking and driving is exactly why 10,000+ per year are killed and near 300,000 are hurt each year in the US.

“It’s no big deal”, “She Didn’t Hurt Anyone”, “Everyone Does It”, “Doing it Shouldn’t Disqualify a Candidate”, “It’s just a mistake”.

No, it’s not just a mistake. Its. A. Choice. To. Put. Others. In. Harms. Way.

We are told from high school years on how dangerous it is and yet here we have a respected outlet like the NR minimizing it for what is clearly an ideologically biased political objective. Is that really the message we (you) should be sending to tweens, twenty somethings, etc? You can drink and drive and then flaunt the judge, "it's no big deal". You can even get the paper to endorse you five years later.

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