Petition submitted to get residents to vote on adding 2 more commissioners

JACKSON COUNTY, Ore. – Jackson County voters may soon get the chance to change how the county operates.

Tuesday afternoon, members of the group Jackson County for All submitted over 11 thousand signatures to the county clerk’s office.

The group wants to expand the board of commissioners from three to five and make all commissioners non-partisan. Campaign manager Denise Krause says this change is to account for the growing population of Jackson County.

“We have 220 thousand more people than we did when a three member board was established,” Krause said. “We need more representation for our growing county.”

The group wanted to put its measures on the November ballot initially, but Krause says they gathered so many signatures quickly, they decided to move it to May.

County administrator Danny Jordan told us previously that it would cost the county $200 to 500 thousand in overhead expenses to add two county commissioners.

Krause has said from the beginning that if passed, the three current commissioners’ salaries would be reduced and the total salaries be split five ways.

If the ballot measures are approved by voters this year, Krause says residents would get to vote in the two new commissioners in 20-26.