Wright seeks seat on city council

Sisters planning commissioner Bob Wright is seeking to move to a seat on the City Council. He is running for a position on the council in the November 4 election.

Wright has had a long-standing interest in urban planning, though his career took him in different directions. Canadian-born, he grew up in John Day and graduated from the University of Oregon with a degree in urban planning. It was the Vietnam era, and instead of being drafted, Wright entered the U.S. Navy where he attended the U.S. Naval Nuclear Power School. That eventually led to a career in a variety of energy-related fields - a career that took him from New Jersey to Orange County, California, to Japan. The last 15 years of his 32-year career were devoted largely to renewable energy and environmental projects

"I have a lot of skill and experience in managing projects," he said.

Wright retired three years ago, and he and his wife of 40 years, Jacqueline, kept coming back to Central Oregon, where he had fished with his dad as a kid. They chose Sisters, and Wright said his campaign is largely oriented to "preserving what Sisters is about."

He noted that there are many different elements that make up the Sisters community, and he wants to see them all listened to and represented.

Wright said, "I'd like to see unity, and much more consideration of the broad range of ideas that exist in the community."

Wright believes that affordable housing is a key to Sisters' economic development. By that, he emphasizes, he means a mix of housing at a variety of price points, including homes that are affordable for young, middle-class first-time home-owning families. He would like to get a handle on Sisters' actual inventory of residential units and land.

"My approach right now is to clarify the facts," he said. "How much residential inventory do we have?" He thinks the city may want to "look at urban growth boundary expansion."

Wright referenced his campaign slogan: "Building our future together."

"When I say building a future together, that's participation from citizens of Sisters and outreach."

That's a two-way street, he said. Councilors should reach out to citizens, but citizens must be willing to get involved.

He noted that his door-knocking campaign has turned up a lot of citizens who are not yet registered to vote. Wright gives them voter information.

Wright is concerned that current city policy is too often staff-driven instead of being driven by the elected council.

"I think there's too many times when it's been upside-down," he said.

He also expressed the belief that the city should "lead by example" in adhering to its own code - as in the case of streetlights that do not conform to the city's dark-skies ordinance (see related story at right).

"If the city is not complying with ordinances, how can you expect anybody else to?" he said.

Wright told The Nugget that he wants to see the city take a more deliberate approach to policy, rather than trying to find quick solutions. For example, he said he would take a different approach to reviewing code on handling temporary and transient business (see related story, page 1). He is displeased that the council seems to have determined to jettison temporary-use permits, although he acknowledges that the current TUP is too open to interpretation. He doesn't think the city should start from the premise that the TUP has to go.

"I don't think that's a proper assumption," he said. "Rather than just throw it out, take a look at it and see if there is a value."

Wright emphasized that he is not campaigning on a set of pre-determined solutions to the challenges that Sisters faces, but rather an approach to addressing those challenges. That approach entails deliberate fact-gathering, goal-setting and increased outreach and openness to ideas coming from the citizenry.

"I don't have all the answers," he said. "Councilor is a position you grow into."

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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