News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
John Rahm has taken a seat on Sisters City Council.
Sisters resident John Rahm was sworn in as a member of the Sisters City Council on Thursday, November 8. He will serve out the year remaining on the term of Mike Neary, who stepped down due to time constraints.
Rahm has lived in Sisters since 1995. He operates a home inspection business.
Rahm, his wife Sarah and daughter Julia moved to Sisters from the San Francisco Bay area after visiting friends in the Sisters area and falling in love with the region. He went home, he said and said to himself, "What the heck am I doing here?"
For Rahm, who was raised in Colorado, moving to the mountains is a kind of homecoming.
"I grew up in a place like this -- sagebrush and bunchgrass," he said.
City Administrator Barbara Warren encouraged Rahm to apply for the city council position.
"She invited me to get involved," he said.
Rahm talked to councilors Lon Kellstrom and Tim Clasen to sound them out about the time commitment required and their feelings about their service.
"Both of them said they enjoy being part of the city council," Rahm said.
Rahm has no particular political background and no agenda coming into the position -- other than a commitment to "make myself useful to the City of Sisters."
Despite some ongoing problems with sewer connections and the relationship with the Deschutes County Library District, "I don't think Sisters is in any kind of real crisis," Rahm said.
"Basically, I think the stewardship of this community has been good."
Rahm believes he brings some personal qualities that will be useful in his new position.
"I think I have an ability to make sense out of complicated situations," he said. "I really enjoy trying to get to the heart of things."
In addition to his service on the council, Rahm is the President of the Central Oregon Organization of Real Estate Inspectors (he's a charter member) and serves on a state advisory board to the Construction Contractors' Board.
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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