I have announced that I am running for office in 2012:

It has been my honor and privilege to serve the citizens on the Newport City Council the last two years. I believe this the best city in Oregon and I would like to continue to work hard to keep it that way.

One of the things that I am particularly proud of is establishing the City Council Town Halls. To date we have had five meetings around town where the council meets informally with area residents. The goal is to have direct talks about specific issues that they face in their neighborhoods. I have met with small neighbor groups to discuss a particular problem in their part of town by bringing city staff and citizens together and we were able to get specific needs solved.

The city over the past few years has been faced with difficult and complex financial issues and I believe that the council has been successful in turning them around and pointing them in the right direction. The city’s reserve fund was dangerously low and we were able to develop a policy that will incrementally increase the reserves to an acceptable level. The elimination of the negative budget funding methods that were not proper is another major accomplishment we have addressed in the last two years.

Looking forward we still have financial issues that means we need to continue fiscal responsibility to make sure our limited resources go further. This will include a close watch on current city spending in such areas as the water treatment plant and find the resources to fund the Agate Beach Water tank. We need to continue the collaboration between city staff and citizens in directly approaching complex issues and finding workable solutions that satisfies all involved.

To these ends I would ask for your vote for Dean Sawyer for City Council on November 6^th, 2012. If elected, it will be my honor and privilege to serve you. If you wish to contact me please email me at retcop@charter.net