News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
Ric Nowak. photo by Jim Cornelius
Ric Nowak has thrown his hat into the ring for the May 18 Republican primary election for Deschutes County Board of Commissioners Position #2.
The position is currently held by Mike Daly.
Nowak, who has been Executive Director of the Sisters Area Chamber of Commerce for a little over a year, will continue in that post through the campaign. If he wins the primary and goes on to win seat in the November 2004 general election he will resign as chamber director.
Nowak said the chamber board was mostly supportive of his decision to run, though there was some concern about his ability to run a campaign and still give his complete effort and attention to his chamber job.
"I did make a commitment to the (chamber) board to keep politics out of the chamber office as much as humanly possible," he said.
Nowak, who currently serves on the Redmond City Council, thinks his experience with the City of Redmond and in Sisters would contribute to the county commissioners' work.
The candidate also said that he believes the county must establish a baseline of human services and a commitment to fund them.
Nowak is particularly interested in health services. He has recently battled prostate cancer.
"I'm a walking commercial for good health care keeping me going," he said.
Nowak does not expect health issues to keep him down at all. He finishes radiation treatments in a couple of weeks, "then I should be full speed ahead," he said.
"My next steps are to get a new pair of shoes and go wear them out (campaigning)."
Jim Cornelius is editor in chief of The Nugget and author of “Warriors of the Wildlands: True Tales of the Frontier Partisans.” A history buff, he explores frontier history across three centuries and several continents on his podcast, The Frontier Partisans. For more information visit www.frontierpartisans.com.
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