After spending twenty-eight successful years as the vice president of Bob Hart Insurance, Harry Mackin is ready to take on a new challenge. His long list of government involvement already includes school boards, levy requests, candidate committees, and the chamber of commerce. Almost always, he has been in a leadership position.

Where there’s a need, there’s Mackin, and right now there’s a need for a new JoCo commissioner.

That’s why he’s running. Mr. Mackin firmly believes it is imperative for members of the county government to work together, and he plans to use his broad experience to help make this happen for the citizens of Josephine County. That in itself may sound like a monumental task, but it pales in comparison to the question that looms in the minds of voters all over the county. What about funding?

The problem isn’t new. For decades, the county has been funded with federal money. Somewhere between the spotting of a spotted owl and court rulings that prevented harvesting and closed lumber mills, that money began to rapidly disappear. In 2000, President Clinton signed the original county payment program into law to help relieve the disastrous effects of the financial crisis this caused. It was good until 2006, when it was extended for one year. That year expires this June. The President’s proposed budget for the next extension is only 1/6 of what it was for 2007.

Mr. Mackin responds to this issue with blunt honesty and states “Funding will rest on the shoulders of citizens. The days of the government sending a big check every year are probably over.” I don’t think we’ll ever see timber cutting like we used to. I hope to see trees thinned and our forest managed, but I don’t think it will provide nearly the income that we used to get. If we can get three or four million a year it would lighten the load of the tax payers, but we’re not going to get the twelve to fifteen million that we had in the past and that was what basically eliminated any need for property tax. The only alternative is to raise taxes.”

Echoing the sentiments of Bill Sizemore who responded favorably to the idea of raising local taxes and said “This isn’t asking for more, just trying to make up for a loss”, Mackin stresses the idea that raising property tax is replacing income to maintain our current level of services. He maintains that it is not the creation of more bureaucracy or bigger government, but instead is a way for Josephine County residents to help themselves and be self sufficient rather than rely on the federal government. With the loss of the twelve and half million in federal funds, which is the equivalent to two-thirds of what it takes to run the county government, the outlook may be frightening for residents, as the Sheriff’s office and the jail will be the first to feel the impact of no funding, and will have to be drastically cut. This will result in less ability to combat crime, much longer response times to emergency situations, and more criminals on our streets. In the words of Mackin, “the county has so few patrol deputies and so few to follow up on crimes that we’re not catching and locking up a number of criminals, not able to bring them to trial and convict them. As long as this continues, there will be a problem. We have to have a safe community.”

There is another alternative to the funding problem, and that would be in the form of a sales tax. However, Mackin believes this would have a negative impact in various ways. The sales tax would have to raise over five million dollars over the needed amount in order to pay overhead costs, which isn’t an issue with property tax. Sales tax has the potential to hurt local businesses, as customers would be able to simply travel out of town in order to avoid paying more for higher cost items such as vehicles and furniture. It would also cause problems for low income residents who he believes typically spend a large portion of their disposable income on taxable items, such as clothing for growing children.

However, there is more to Josephine County than the issue of taxes. While there are plenty of activities for younger children, he’d like to see a community center that includes teenagers. At this point in time, with decreased law enforcment, drugs are becoming more of an issue and that increases the amount of criminal activity among juveniles. Mackin feels that making activities available for teens and encompassing a wide range of interests, such as music, sports, and bands, it would be easier to reach this under served population. He also believes that “a community as great as this simply has to have a library”, and hopes to see that happen in the very near future.

Overall, his concerns and hopes for Josephine County appear to be just what is needed. A good working relationship among departments and individuals, more stable funding, more effective law enforcement, and more options for our youngsters.

Harry Mackin is willing to work to make this happen, and hopes you will join him in his efforts to provide improved county government and a stronger community. -Gina Locke

To read more about Harry Mackin’s campaign go to: electharrymackin.com