10 vie for 4 seats on Medford City Council – Medford News, Weather, Sports, Breaking News – Mail Tribune

Ten candidates are running for four Medford City Council seats Nov. 8, and the dominant issues for all of them are homelessness and the lack of housing.
Ballots will hit Medford mailboxes this week, and Medford voters will be deciding who they want to represent them in four council wards.
Over the past decade, homeless issues and a worsening housing market, particularly after the Almeda Fire and the pandemic, are foremost on the minds of many local residents.
Medford City Council has spent $18 million over the past three years addressing the homeless crisis and has created numerous incentives to encourage developers to build houses and apartment buildings.
Council candidates shared their thoughts on homelessness, offering various solutions — from creating a city jail to expanding addiction and mental health treatment.
One thing candidates generally agree on is the success of the Medford police Livability Team, a group of police officers who patrol the downtown and surrounding areas to deal one-on-one with homeless people and affected business owners and residents.
In two of the nonpartisan races, incumbent councilors Alex Poythress, who represents Ward 1 in northeast Medford, and Mike Zarosinski, who represents Ward 4 in southeast Medford, decided not to run for reelection.
Medford is divided into four wards, each represented by two city councilors. Every other year, one of the councilors in each ward is up for reelection.
In Ward 1, Jessica Ayres, a business banker, is running against Curt Ankerberg, a retired CPA who ran afoul of the IRS for tax evasion and has gained a reputation for spouting foul-mouthed barbs. Ankerberg has run for various offices more than a dozen times but has never won.
Ayres has been endorsed by Oregon Rep. Kim Wallan, Medford Mayor Randy Sparacino and Jackson County Commissioner Rick Dyer.
Ankerberg didn’t list any endorsements.
Councilor Clay Bearnson, who represents Ward 2 in southwest Medford and is a downtown business owner, is facing challenger Zac Smith, a finance manager at Blue Dog RV, who has been endorsed by Dyer, Wallan and the Builders Association of Southern Oregon.
Bearnson has been endorsed by the Independent Party of Oregon.
Councilor Kevin Stine, a member of the Navy Military Honors Team and a substitute teacher in Medford schools, faces two challengers in Ward 3 in northwest Medford — Bob Shand, a retired nurse, and Jessica Freedom Allen, a dental hygienist.
Stine has been endorsed by Councilor Alex Poythress, Councilor Chad Miller, retired Medford police Chief Scott Clauson and the Medford Firefighters Association.
Allen has been endorsed by Clauson, Wallan and former state Rep. Sal Esquivel.
Shand didn’t list any endorsements.
Another three candidates are vying for Ward 4: Nick Card, vice president of operations for Combined Transport; Matt Roberts, Southern Oregon University public safety sergeant and manager of Cigar Cave; and Kathleen Blackshear, owner of Blackshear Veterinary Housecalls.
Zarosinski has endorsed Card, along with Jackson County commissioners Dyer and Dave Dotterrer as well as Jackson County Sheriff Nate Sickler.
Roberts didn’t list any endorsements.
Blackshear has been endorsed by former Jackson County commissioner Carol Doty, former state Rep. Peter Buckley and Councilor Sarah Spansail.
Jessica Ayres said, “Everybody’s hammering to find solutions to the homeless issue. It is top-of-mind.”
She said society in general has become somewhat complacent about the homeless issue and the associated drug problems that have affected so many communities.
“I don’t think our city is complacent,” she said. “I think our Livability Team is doing good work.”
Ayres said part of the solution is to provide proper mental health and addiction recovery programs and, at the same time, getting the homeless off the streets.
“Until we can find a place to put these folks, it’s going to make it difficult to work,” she said.
In the meantime, the downtown is suffering, and it will become more difficult to attract new business owners and retain existing owners, she said.
The Bear Creek Greenway is a beautiful area, but Ayres, a lifelong Medford resident, said, “We’ve got an asset in our community that most people are afraid to use.”
While she supports treatment programs, Ayres said there has to be consequences for those who break the law.
Ayres said her strengths include her business background and having worked with many nonprofits in the community over the years.
More housing, particularly in and around the downtown, is needed, she said.
Housing and making downtown more businesses-friendly would bring more people to the downtown and create more activities to change the increasing public perception about the homeless in the downtown.
Curt Ankerberg, according to the Voters’ Pamphlet, said, “Medford is more corrupt than a Banana Republic.”
Because of past issues with Ankerberg, including several run-ins involving Medford police, the Mail Tribune did not interview him.
In the Voters’ Pamphlet, he called the City Council “corrupt” and took issue with Ayres having lived in her ward for a short time. In fact, Ayres said she has lived in Medford all her life but moved recently from one ward to another.
Clay Bearnson said homelessness and the housing problem are two facets of the same issue.
“You can’t deal with one without dealing with the other,” he said.
He said the council has a number of projects in the works to deal with homelessness, including the Navigation Center, which will eventually offer wraparound mental health and addiction services, and securing a permanent location for the Urban Campground.
He said the missing component Medford urgently needs is more support from Jackson County and the state for mental health and substance abuse.
Bearnson said he often hears people complain about the cost for these support services for the homeless.
“Society’s costs for the homeless are greater,” he said.
Bearnson said his downtown business sees firsthand the cost homeless issues have on the community, putting a strain on emergency service providers, including ambulances, hospitals, police and fire.
Measure 110, which decriminalized possession of various drugs in 2021, has been blamed for the increasing issues with homelessness and substance abuse.
“In all fairness, what was happening before Measure 110?” Bearnson said.
Homelessness and drug abuse were major problems in Medford and other communities around Oregon before the measure passed, he said.
Going forward, Bearnson said he hopes the state will better fund mental health and substance abuse programs, and as part of Measure 110 more state funding for these programs should become available.
“Our mental health care, the status of the health care system, is ridiculous,” Bearnson said. “In Oregon, it is extremely difficult to admit people to psychiatric treatment.”
Bearnson said he doesn’t think throwing people in jail will solve the problem of homeless people on the streets of Medford.
“We can’t enforce our way out of this problem,” he said.
Bearnson said the council needs to do as much as it can to promote multifamily housing projects.
The local housing market, particularly for lower-income people, is a “wreck,” he said.
Zac Smith said he grew up in a rough background and was raised by his grandmother while both of his parents struggled with addiction.
He’s got his own family now, with two kids and a third on the way.
As a result, Smith is particularly concerned about the homeless crisis in Medford.
“My kids, I don’t want them to be worried about needles in the park when they’re going down the slide,” Smith said.
While he sees a lot of effort being made to address homelessness, Smith said he’s seen an influx of homeless people from other areas, and he sees a disconnect between the communication among officials at the local, state and county levels.
“Medford has being doing stuff, but their hands are tied,” Smith said.
He supports expanding the Livability Team to better address concerns of local residents, businesses and to deal directly with the homeless.
Smith said he is encouraged by the efforts of the city to have various social service organizations work together to offer wraparound services to help homeless people overcome addiction or to offer mental health treatment.
Like many others, Smith has seen unsavory behavior from some homeless people and once saw someone engaging in sexual behavior.
“I don’t know exactly what I would do if elected,” Smith said. “I would get together with the right heads and see what could be done.”
He said he also is encouraged by city government’s efforts to encourage development of more housing, including offering free zone changes, but he’d like to find ways to reduce the cost to build housing by reducing the number of code requirements without jeopardizing safety.
He said he has a lot of incentive to help find solutions for the city, particularly for his family.
“I want to leave Medford a better place than when I found it,” he said.
Jessica Freedom Allen applauds the city’s efforts to deal with homelessness, particularly the creation of the Livability Team because it helps identify those who need resources.
“I think we’ve done the best we can because it is a constantly evolving situation,” she said.
Allen said she supports the Navigation Center because it provides a single place that should connect the homeless with the resources they need.
She said she would like to see nonprofits and the community work together to avoid a duplication of services and to provide better coordination.
Allen, whose father struggled with addiction, said she grew up in Medford and has watched the homeless issue evolve over time.
“I’ve seen a handful of individuals who have, by choice, lived on the streets,” she said. “They’re not the problem.”
But the attitude of many homeless people has changed, and many are coming here from other areas, Allen said.
“There are individuals who say they come here because of the resources we have,” she said.
The city must continually make state officials aware of the problems it encounters as a result of this increase in homelessness, Allen said.
On the housing front, Allen said she appreciates efforts to expand the number of housing units, but she thinks the city could do more to speed up the permitting process because delays result in higher costs.
She said she’s heard of many people who want to live in this county but end up moving to another county because of the high costs for housing locally.
Allen said there is no simple solution to either homelessness or more housing.
“I want to be compassionate, but I don’t want to leave people living on the street,” she said. “We want a safe and secure place to live and raise families and have businesses.”
Kevin Stine said the city has been very aggressive attempting to tackle the housing shortage and spending millions to help reduce homelessness in recent years.
Through it all, he said, “The council has been incredibly functional. We don’t have the spats we see in a nearby city.”
He said the city did have some setbacks dealing with homelessness and housing during the pandemic and after the Almeda Fire in 2020.
But he cited a number of projects such as the Genesis Apartments in downtown Medford and the 400-unit apartment complex under construction next to the Northgate Marketplace as examples of projects the city has supported. Other projects are in the works, including a more than 100-unit low-income housing project next to Les Schwab Tire on Central Avenue.
“You look at where we are in terms of housing, and we’re doing a lot of stuff,” he said. “There’s a lot to be said about businesses willing to pour millions of dollars into the city of Medford.”
To encourage developers, the city is offering deferments of system development charges for new construction, property tax abatements, incentives for affordable housing and even waiving fees for zone changes, Stine said.
He said the city has also worked well with the state to help bring in additional dollars to help build housing, as well as grants for homeless projects.
At the same time, the city is building a new sports park at Wes Howard Memorial Park that will provide another opportunity for local children to learn and play.
Stine said he understands local residents’ concerns about the homeless issue.
“People are just worried about Medford becoming another Portland,” he said.
The city is working to find a solution to the problem while trying to navigate state and federal laws, as well as court cases, that make it difficult for cities to end outdoor camping.
For instance, state law requires cities to give an outdoor camper 72 hours to clear out, Stine said.
Over the years, Stine said, he has voted for things that aren’t always popular but are the best solution for an issue facing Medford.
“I’m happy with every vote I’ve made,” Stine said.
Bob Shand said he walks around downtown Medford every day and sees firsthand the impact homelessness has on the city.
He questions the amount of money the city has poured into finding a solution, but Shand acknowledges he doesn’t have all the answers, either.
“I am concerned about how we go about getting there,” Shand said. “Sometimes my vision doesn’t align with the group process.”
He said he generally supports many of the council’s decisions, but he has also been known to criticize the council during its meetings.
“I would rather sling a little mud than plaster things with ‘bullstein,’” Shand said.
He said he supports programs and solutions for homelessness as long as it doesn’t make Medford a magnet for homeless people from other states.
For instance, the Urban Campground started out small but has grown significantly in the past couple of years, Shand said.
He said the homeless still need to be held accountable for criminal activity, even if the jail doesn’t have enough space to hold them.
“You still take them in and process them,” he said.
The city also needs more houses that people can afford to buy, not just rent, Shand said.
“I think the city’s doing enough for rental housing, but not enough for home ownership,” he said.
“The current top issue in the mind of voters is homelessness,” said Nick Card. “Most people are looking for a solution that involves care and compassion.”
Card said the issue is multifaceted, with some people being unhoused temporarily because of inflation or because of the chronic lack of housing in the valley.
Other people are homeless because of mental health or addiction and require a different level of care, he said.
At the same time, homelessness impacts the community, and Card said he supports an expansion of the Livability Team, made up of police officers who work with business owners and attempt to get the homeless the help they need.
While voters rejected a measure to set up a special jail district and build a bigger jail, Card said that doesn’t mean they don’t see the need for a better jail.
He thinks the community can regroup and offer a new plan for a jail that also offers services to rehabilitate the homeless who are addicted or who have mental health issues.
At the same time, if a homeless person commits a crime, they need to be held accountable, he said.
“If they continue to break the law, they need to be in jail,” Card said.
He opposes placing a sales tax on Medford residents to help build a municipal jail.
Card said he is supportive of Medford’s recent efforts to encourage development of housing projects, particularly housing for the middle- to lower-income residents.
Matt Roberts said the city has been responsive to the homeless crisis but is hamstrung by court cases and state laws.
“We’ve been handed these problems,” he said. “It’s a statewide issue 40 years in the making.”
Roberts said none of the cities in the valley can afford to deal with the homeless crisis on their own, but everyone working together could make a dent in the problem.
“We have to find local patches until the state problems are fixed,” he said. “We can’t keep using kid gloves with some of these issues.”
He said Medford can’t tolerate continuing to have trash, human waste and destruction of Bear Creek.
The Livability Team has made great strides reaching out to the homeless population and working with businesses who have weathered an onslaught of unsavory issues.
“We’re fortunate to have a group of cops interested in making people’s lives better,” he said.
While Roberts supports providing treatment to homeless people, he said the reality is a large percentage of them won’t accept the treatment, and many don’t want to go into campgrounds or other facilities.
“They’re resistant to mental health treatment,” he said. “They’re resistant to Rogue Retreat.”
Roberts said he’s floated the idea of a municipal jail in Medford because the Jackson County Jail doesn’t have enough bed space. He’s also floated funding it with a sales tax, an idea that’s anathema to many Oregonians.
“If we don’t have a location to put criminals, we’ll never get any better,” he said. “I think we’re at the point now where our resources are limited. We have to have some sticks that go along with the carrots.”
Roberts said the valley has already incurred significant costs from fires on or near the Bear Creek Greenway, and many often are caused by the homeless.
Kathleen Blackshear said she thinks the city should continue to take aggressive actions to resolve the homeless crisis and to create incentives for more affordable housing.
“We need to do everything we can,” she said.
The city needs help from a variety of other sources to deal with the complex problems of mental health and addiction that take its toll on the homeless population, she said.
“It is a crisis that was years in the making, but it won’t be solved in January,” said Blackshear. “We need to get the right resources and continue on with the work we’ve been doing.”
Blackshear said she lives close to downtown and drives past Hawthorne Park, which has become a symbol for homelessness in Medford, with tents popping up, then taken down and replaced with more tents later.
She said it’s hard to predict when Medford will no longer be overwhelmed with the homeless or no longer see tents in the park.
“I think that would be an admirable goal, but you still have to have someplace for them to go,” she said. “I think we have to be realistic.”
She said the Navigation Center in Medford offers one possible outlet to eventually provide the support services and care needed by the some of the homeless, many of whom are recovering from trauma in their lives.
“Some of them need a place where they just need to be taken care of,” she said.
About three out of four homeless people have mental health or addiction issues, she said, which gives some idea of the magnitude of the problem facing society. “Every person out there has a complicated history,” she said.
Project Turnkey, which is turning two Jackson County hotels into apartments for homeless people, is a step in the right direction, Blackshear said.
“Give people a place to stay, a shower and warmth, and 80% of them improve,” she said.
Medford can learn from other larger cities what programs work and what doesn’t work, Blackshear said.
Affordable housing is another key component that will help many struggling families, she said.
Blackshear applauded the City Council for approving two grants recently that will help the Jackson County Housing Authority’s goal to build two complexes totaling 196 affordable housing units in the coming years.
Home ownership has become unattainable for many working families, with the average price of a single-family house at $400,000.
As a result, about half of Medford residents rent rather than own a house, she said.
Blackshear said the city should continue to take steps to increase housing, which will help many families looking for a place to live.
Reach freelance writer Damian Mann at [email protected].
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