Buckles leads Sheridan council race
Newcomer Jim Buckles is leading the race for three seats on the Sheridan City Council based on early-morning returns Wednesday.
He had received 965 votes, or 23.95%, followed by incumbent Aaron Baer’s 768 votes, or 19.06%, and 671 votes, or 16.65%, for incumbent Roxie Acuff as of the 1:37 a.m. report.
The top three vote-getters will earn seats on the council.
Trailing the top three were incumbent Chrissy Davis, 590 votes, or 14.64%, followed by Faith Dauvin, 552 votes, or 13.70%, and Walter Brewster, 429 votes, or 10.65 percent.
Leading up to the general election Buckles said he encourages fiscal responsibility and strong code enforcement, for which the city has been criticized in the past.
“The citizens of Sheridan deserve to know what is happening in Sheridan city government and how decisions are made and how they impact citizens,” Buckles said.
He described Sheridan as a “distressed city” and said the community has struggled because of the economic downturn.
“We need to find ways to make Sheridan a clean, safe and more enjoyable place to live,” Buckles said, adding that requires the council and residents working together toward a common goal.
“The council is in charge of how the city is managed,” Buckles said. “The council represents the residents of Sheridan. The council needs to find ways to help allot the limited available funds toward what the residents want and need. I want to see the residents’ goals met.”
Buckles graduated from Sheridan High School in 1974, and said he has always thought of the community as his home.
He is retired after serving as a meteorological technician in the Air Force for 40 years.
Baer served on the city’s budget committee and planning commission before securing a council seat in 2016.
Prior to the election, he said improved code enforcement is of great importance, particularly throughout the downtown area.
Baer said Sheridan could expand its economy in the downtown core, but first residents and visitors must feel safe. It needs to be a desirable location for everyone to enjoy.
“We have several unkempt buildings, some empty and some occupied, that are visually undesirable and a deterrent to downtown growth,” he said.
Baer lived in Sheridan in the early 2000s, moved away and returned in 2013.
He has been an Oregon State Hospital Associate chief of psychology for four years, and manages a group of “high performing” psychology department staff members who provide direct services to residents.
Baer previously was the hospital’s admissions manager for five years and a program manager of an Oregon Department of Corrections’ inpatient psychiatric unit.
Acuff was seeking her fourth full term. She was appointed to the council in January 2008, was elected the following November, and was re-elected in 2012 and 2016.
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