Five vie for school board seats

There will be contests for two of the three Sisters School Board positions to be filled in the May 20 election. Ballots will be mailed to voters early in May.

When the filing deadline passed last Friday, March 21, incumbent Eric Dolson, publisher of The Nugget, was left unopposed. But two candidates have filed for the position now occupied by Sisters contractor Steve Keeton, who does not seek re-election. And two challengers signed up for the seat occupied by Board Chairman Jeff Smith, who is trying for another four-year term.

The two vying for Keeton's position are Tom Coffield, executive director of the Sisters Organization for Activities and Recreation (SOAR) and Steve Matthews, a retired educator who spent most of his career with the Beaverton school district.

The contest for the remaining position will feature Smith, a college professor; Del Erlandson, president and owner of Strategic Mortgage in Sisters; and Tom Harpham, the Central Oregon director of Recruit, Inc.

Coffield has run SOAR since it was established a few years ago as a privately funded means of providing after-school activities primarily for elementary and middle school students. He has lived in Sisters for about 10 years.

Matthews held a variety of positions with Beaverton schools between 1969 and his retirement three years ago, when he moved to Sisters.

His last position was as a teacher with Beaverton's alternative high school, which has become the largest in the state.

Although he has lived in Sisters since 1995, Board Chairman Smith is a veteran professor of public administration at California State University-Dominguez Hills in the Los Angeles area.

He is on leave this year but plans to return to full-time teaching as an air commuter in the fall.

Harpham, one of Smith's challengers, has lived in Sisters for the past two years. His company helps outstanding high school athletes get recruited by colleges and universities.

Erlandson came to Sisters from Phoenix, Arizona, about 10 years ago.

In addition to his mortgage firm he operates Fishcraft Outfitters, which builds aluminum fishing boats in the Sisters Industrial Park.