Sisters votes for change

Sisters voters made a sweeping change in their city government November 5, putting three new members on the five-person city council. Steve Wilson, Gordon Petrie and Tim Clasen will take their new posts on January 9.

The vote ousted incumbent council president Jean Cooper and long-time mayor Dave Moyer; the third seat was left vacant by departing councilor Gary Miller, who is moving outside the city limits.

The vote appeared to center on residents' concerns about growth and their belief that the current city council was not listening to them. Those concerns were also reflected in the overwhelming approval of a measure requiring a favorable vote of the residents to annex any developments into the city. (See related story on page 1).

But the city council election was not a clear mandate on some of the issues facing Sisters.

Steve Wilson, who led the balloting with 234 votes, opposed the annexation measure. As a planning commissioner he helped create the city's comprehensive plan update, which both of the other newly elected councilors have sharply criticized.

Wilson told The Nugget that he is committed to finding a funding solution that would make a sewer system affordable for Sisters residents. Petrie and Clasen have both expressed skepticism about the need for a sewer.

But the new councilors agree that before Sisters' future can be mapped, the budget must be brought into line. The city is facing a budget shortfall of approximately $80,000; the city may lose an additional $42,500 in revenue after the passage of the Measure 47 property tax cut.

"We've got to take care of old business before we can move on to new business," Wilson said. "The top priority would be to address the budget shortfall as well as to get the comprehensive plan wrapped up."

Gordon Petrie, returning to the council after a two-year break, was even more insistent.

"The budget, the budget, the budget," Petrie said. "As far as I'm concerned, forget everything until we get that budget established."

Clasen is more concerned about reworking the city's comprehensive plan update, but he acknowledged that the budget is a priority.

For all three, budget problems put the city's drive for a new city hall on the back burner.

That is just what defeated council president Jean Cooper is afraid of. Cooper, who has been an ardent advocate of moving forward on a new city hall, believes the project may fall through without her leadership.

"I don't think the members of the council that have been elected will be responsive to that issue," Cooper said.

She also fears that the new council will not support the quest for a sewer system in Sisters, and she is worried about staff morale.

"It wouldn't surprise me if there's vacancies in staff," she said.

Cooper bridles at the idea that she is a lame duck councilor. "I am not a lame duck," she said. "I still have a job to do."

She hopes to help resolve the city's budget problems and send the comprehensive plan to Deschutes County for review before her term ends.

Mayor Dave Moyer, who lost the seat he has held for 20 years to Clasen by a six-vote margin, believes he was defeated by special interests opposed to growth.

"One thing I can say is I wasn't supported by a special interest group," Moyer said.

Moyer noted that Clasen was supported by the Committee to Save Sisters, which has criticized the city council's attitudes toward growth and citizen involvement in plannings.

Moyer also believes he was unfairly blamed by the press for the city's budget woes.

"Really it was a bunch of misinformation put out to the people," he said.

Moyer does not agree that the city has been unresponsive to citizen input and he advises the new council that "they've got to listen to everyone. They can't just listen to a few."

Clasen believes the voters have spoken loud and clear.

"It's definitely a statement from Sisters voters," he said. They want to see slow, maintained growth. I think the other council members underestimated that a little bit."

According to Clasen, the council said the voters needed to be educated.

"I think the voters educated the council," he said.

Wilson and Clasen both support the idea of citizens advisory committees and both pledge more contact with citizens.

Petrie insists that the only voices heard should be those who have a direct stake in the city -- residents and tax-paying business owners.

"A lot of people outside town think they should have a say in what happens in town," Petrie said. "I say, absolutely not. They don't pay city taxes. If they want to be part of the Sisters community, they should pay taxes in Sisters. They're getting a free ride."

Wilson and Petrie, as top vote-getters, will each serve a four-year term. Clasen will serve two years.

Author Bio

Jim Cornelius, Editor in Chief

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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