Bogart seeks second term

Jerry Bogart doesn't say much during city council workshops and meetings.

"People often say I don't talk a lot. I don't need to talk a lot to hear my own voice. Don't mistake my genuine humility for a lack of confidence," said Bogart.

Bogart, 44, is single and has lived in Sisters for about 10 years. He's seeking a second term on the Sisters City Council.

A native Oregonian, Jerry grew up in Lakeview.

"I grew up in a very agriculturally based community, attended a two-room schoolhouse, and had a very unique rural upbringing," he said.

Bogart's family owned the Erickson's chain of department stores, and Jerry was introduced to community service as a youngster.

"I learned early on about how to 'give back.' My dad was involved with many civic groups, and he was always dragging us kids along to the events," said Jerry.

Bogart spent a year at the University of Oregon before realizing that he was not ready for college.

"That was disheartening for me because I had a scholarship (academic) which pretty much was paying for college. I knew I had to grow up some before going back," said Bogart.

Joining the Army in 1985, Bogart's basic training was at Fort Knox, Kentucky, and his tour of duty took him to Germany.

"My unit's job was to watch the border between East and West Germany; my tour made me realize how fortunate we were (to be Americans)," said Jerry.

Leaving the Army in 1988, Jerry returned to Oregon and went back to school at Shasta College in Northern California. Jerry's friends encouraged him to run for student body president, which he won.

"I guess that was my first delving into politics," said Bogart.

Returning to Oregon from California, Bogart got his first experience in the building trades as a roofer. He also attended Lane Community College and worked a number of jobs, including retail, eventually managing several Foot Locker stores.

By July of 1999 Bogart was looking for the next step in his career, something other than retail. His best friend at the time, Scott McGee, suggested they move to Sisters and start a construction business.

"Scott was in construction already and his mother-in-law lived in Sisters and said the economy was booming; it just made sense to us," said Jerry.

Steelhead Construction Services, with Jerry and Scott as partners, started soon thereafter.

"I learned how to do design and AutoCAD on my own through online classes and experience," Bogart said. These days Jerry is the sole owner and employee of Steelhead Construction Services.

"Times are tough everywhere in construction these days. Our revenues are way down. The thing that saved me was starting Three Sisters Design. A design project can net anywhere from $5,000 to $15,000 where an actual construction project would net much less," said Bogart.

Jerry is also a part-owner and managing member of Three Creeks Brewing Company.

"I'm just involved with forward-looking stuff for the pub," said Bogart.

Bogart became a Sisters City Councilor two years ago. When asked if the experience is different than what he expected, he said: "Yes, it has (been). It's been enlightening, educational, and time-consuming. Some weeks are 20-hour-plus weeks, especially with some issues which were considered contentious, particularly dealing with economic development."

In the 2008 election Bogart, Lon Kellstrom, and Pat Thompson were all elected to the city council on a "pro-business" platform, promising citizens they would work to attract new companies and economic opportunities to Sisters.

When asked if he felt they've delivered on their campaign promises, Bogart said, "We've made city government much more business-friendly. It's not city government's job to create jobs, we just provide a business platform to make it easier for the business community to be here. Is it better than when I started? Definitely. Is there room for improvement? You bet. And that's why I'm running again, the job is just not done, the foundation's laid, but we're not done."

Bogart lists a number of successes accomplished during his term. These include establishment of the business enterprise zone, streamlining the building codes, the formation of SBART (Sisters Business Attraction & Retention Team), working with EDCO to hire an Economic Development Manager, the annexing and future building of a senior living community at McKenzie Meadows, and the upcoming revamping of Cascade Avenue.

Bogart's campaign yard signs, now posted around Sisters, state "Jobs Today." When asked about how he plans to create jobs in a city that has experienced a net loss of employers and jobs, Bogart said: "I wanted the signs to say 'Jobs for Today and Jobs for Tomorrow' but they couldn't fit all those words. Like I said before, city government cannot create jobs. We can only lay the foundation that makes it possible for a company to come here. We've done that with the enterprise zone, hiring the economic development manager, the revised development code and improved zoning. We're much better prepared now than we were two years ago."

Bogart bristles when portrayed as only wanting job creation within the industrial zone.

"That's not true at all," he said. "We're in the tourism business, there's no doubt about that at all. We need to work closely with the chamber to increase the number of visitors and expand the tourist season."

Commenting on the controversy surrounding the hiring of Sisters' new part-time economic development manager, Bogart said, "Paid professional staff is the most important thing to do first, every other community I've looked at has said that's very important. The $30,000 funding is a start, and if we get some successes maybe the chamber can help with funding, and if we can show other businesses that it's successful maybe they'll help as well."

Regarding the charge that the position's "statement of work" lacks goals and deliverables, Jerry said, "It would be silly not to have goals and deliverables like 'new jobs created' for the job, but we can't get too specific with an independent contractor's agreement."

Criticisms of lack of transparency and communication within the council around the hiring of the position has been widely reported. To this Bogart remarked, "I personally did not see any transparency issues. I think we went out of our way to make sure we did not get involved, especially with the hiring process."

Campaign financing was an issue in the 2008 city council campaign. Bogart, Kellstrom, and Thompson's campaign was funded by a political action committee (PAC) called Citizens for Sisters. The PAC raised $11,600 that year allowing the three candidates to promote their joint candidacy, the first time in Sisters that campaign financing reached that level.

As of October 1, 2010, the Citizens for Sisters PAC had raised $4,751 for Bogart and Virginia Lindsey's campaigns. Speaking to his opponents' (Sharlene Weed, Wendy Holzman, and Jacki Shepardson) public objections to PAC financing, Bogart said, "We got our name out there, with good supporters that helped a lot. Ideally, in a perfect world, could we just go out and knock on doors? You bet, but that's not the reality of it. Name recognition helped us turn the tide. This is the only way I know how to win this election, it worked last time and I don't see a reason to change it."

Bogart feels that the three challengers would be a hindrance to progress made by the Council over the past two years.

"Unless they adopt some of our philosophies I definitely think they are going to be a hindrance," he said. "I don't think they will support things like professional staff (economic development manager), tax incentives, and the friendly development code. These are all things important for business, especially right now. I think it would really hurt our chances to come out of this recession with our best foot forward (if the three got elected)."

Bogart also feels it's incorrect to say that he has always voted on council issues as a "bloc" in unison with Kellstrom and Bogart.

"The McKenzie Meadows affordable housing issue is a good example," he said. "I disagreed with Lon and Pat about the number of 'affordable' apartments available at 80 percent of the AMI (Area Median Income). I agreed with Bill Merrill and Sharlene Weed that more apartments needed to be offered at the 50 percent or less of AMI. This got inserted into the contract language. I'd have to look to see where else I didn't vote with them."

It was reported in The Nugget last November that Bogart owed more than $38,000 in unpaid taxes dating back to 1997 and that there were three liens on file with the Deschutes County Recorder's Office. Bogart was asked, given that he helps to determine policy for the city, about his tax situation in 2010.

"My tax status hasn't changed. This should be a non-issue; the true issue should be the economy. Having said that, I continue to pay off my debt; that's all I can do. Someone anonymously sent letters to all the media outlets about my tax situation last year. I've never not filed my taxes, I've just not been able to pay them," said Bogart.

Looking forward, Bogart says "we don't want to take a step backward" and go back to the old ways of conducting business in the city. He feels that the present council has achieved many successes over the past two years.

"We just haven't gotten our message out as well as we should have," said Jerry.

Regarding the upcoming vote on raising water rates within the city, Bogart said, "There's no way I will vote to raise water rates in the city given the way the economy is right now."

He believes voters will assess the record and vote on the issues.

"If people logically look at the issues they'll see the differences between the candidates. It's not about PACs or personal issues that people have, it's about the issues. People will hopefully see the differences," said Bogart.

A candidates forum, open to the public, will take place on Thursday evening, October 21, at 7 p.m. at the Sisters High School Auditorium. Sisters Country residents are encouraged to submit questions for the candidates by e-mail to [email protected] before October 18.