LONG PATH TO STATE
ACTOR ARRESTED
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Coos County
Cribbins rolls; Sweet, Gurney face a runoff See full election results online at theworldlink.com/elections
THE WORLD COOS COUNTY — Melissa Cribbins appears headed to reelection to her county commissioner seat, but her colleague, incumbent John Sweet, will likely face a runoff. On Tuesday night, Cribbins was capturing 52 percent. Her closest challenger, Coquille Mayor Matt Rowe, trailed with 39 percent. Also running for Position 3, Kermit Gaston trailed with 8 percent. For Position 2, Sweet was holding
off a stiff challenge from his closest challenger, Don Gurney. Sweet trailed slightly with 41 percent of the vote; Gurney earned 43 percent. Candidates needed to capture 50 percent of the vote to avoid a runoff in the November general election. Speaking by phone from the Coquille office of The Sentinel newspaper Tuesday night, Gurney said the numbers were about what he had expected. “When you’re that close, any-
Douglas County
body’s got a chance,” he said. He did leave the door open for competitive stab at the general election, in the event Sweet doesn’t break the 50 percent line in votes. “It’s going to make a big difference what happens in the next month or two.” Calls to Sweet’s cell phone number went directly to his voicemail box, which was full. Two other challengers, Dale Pennie and Lee Byer, trailed in that
race by 12 and 4 percent, respectively. Cribbins, 41, of North Bend, was intent on keeping her seat in Position 3. She’s had the office for the past two years. She said she wants to finish what she’s begun. At the top of that list is completion of the county’s strategic plan that was started a few months ago. That process will include an online survey for residents to complete to tell commissioners directly
what they want to see happen in Coos County. “We’ve started some really important things,” she said. “I want to stabilize funding revenues, maintain certainty to citizens about funding, increase levels of service for the county and improve communication among our staff and other citizens.” She has been on the water board for six years and was legal counsel for the Coquille Tribe for six years. SEE COOS | A8
Curry County
Let the counting begin
Freeman captures commission position
Home rule bid crushed
The former state representative held off six other challengers ■
Itzen, Huxley to face off in November for seat on commission ■
BY STEVE LINDSLEY The World
THE WORLD
See Tim Novotny’s video for this story at theworldlink.com/video
Circuit Court Judge
Experience judged best Incumbent judge wins her first contested race BY TIM NOVOTNY The World
COQUILLE — Judge Cynthia Beaman emerged victorious Tuesday evening in a rare judicial race, holding off challenger Shala McKenzie Kudlac for the 15th Circuit Court. Beaman, of Brookings, held a commanding lead throughout the evening with a combined 65 percent of the vote in both Coos and Curry counties. It was a lead she would not relinquish. Contacted by phone Tuesday night, she reflected on the difficulties of campaigning for a judicial position. “It was a little bit complicated,” Beaman said. “It’s really just talking about experience, because you can’t Cynthia Beaman really talk about any hard-hitting issues. (But) you can get out and meet people and they can decide whether you are the best person for the job.” It is a spot she has held since 2007, when she was appointed by former Gov. Ted Kulongoski after the retirement of Judge Richard Mickelson. In 2008, vot-
Comics . . . . . . . . . . A6 Puzzles . . . . . . . . . . A6 Sports . . . . . . . . . . . B1 Classifieds . . . . . . . B5
ers elected her to the bench for a new term. Kudlac, of Sixes, a 1997 graduate of Pacific High School, was looking for her first judicial post. She is a practicing attorney who serves as attorney for Port Orford, while also assisting Curry County and the city of Bandon. When it came to political spending, Beaman had the advantage in the tale of the financial tape. She was able to raise more than $8,000, including campaign contributions from sitting judges. Kudlac, on the other hand, had to rely largely on her own contributions in raising just over $5,600. Beaman says that is another difficult part of running a campaign for a judicial seat. It is an inherently uncomfortable process seeking campaign contributions, as you have to be wary of those who may want preferential treatment later. “Overall, though, it was a positive experience,” she said. “I’ve been able to meet people in Coos and Curry counties that I wouldn’t ordinarily get an opportunity to meet. It was also a positive campaign and that’s a good thing too.” Reporter Tim Novotny can be reached at 541-2691222, ext. 235, at tim.novotny@theworldlink.com, or on Twitter at @novots34.
Cover Oregon Federal prosecutors have subpoenaed the state’s record for a grand jury investigation into the health insurance website . Page A5
FORECAST
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By Lou Sennick, The World
Debbie Heller checks empty envelopes as the election board opens up and stacks the ballots Tuesday afternoon. At each table, one person opens the main envelope, the second opens and takes out the ballot from the secrecy envelope and the third unfolds and stacks the ballots.
STATE
INSIDE
DOUGLAS COUNTY — State Rep. Tim Freeman is on his way to being the next Douglas County commissioner. Freeman had 52 percent of the vote with the first set of numbers. If a candidate gets 50 percent, plus one vote, that candidate can avoid a runoff in November. “Nobody wins a campaign alone,” Freeman said Tuesday from his election-watching post at his home in Roseburg. “It takes a great team of people that helped me, from around the county, and I’m very appreciative.” There were seven candidates to replace Joe Laurance, who decided against running for a third term. Monte K. Smith of Roseburg was running second in the early returns with 18 percent of the vote. “It’s been an incredible experience,” Freeman said of his county commission run, “meeting and visiting the citizens of Douglas County.” Freeman made several stops around the county, including Reedsport, during his campaign. He also generated the most in donations and spending of all primary campaigns on the South Coast this season. Freeman racked up more than $114,000 in contributions. He also outspent any other campaign, more than $155,000. Freeman is giving up an Oregon House seat he’s held since 2009. During the 2011 legislative session, Freeman served as co-chair of the budget-writing Ways and Means Subcommittee on Human Services as well as a member of the full Joint Ways and Means Committee and the House Rules Committee. He said he had simple reasons for running for the commission. “I still have a desire to serve and help my community” he said, “but I was no longer willing to be away from my wife and children to do it.” Freeman will join longtime commissioner Doug Robertson, and former state lawmaker Susan Morgan on the commission.
CURRY COUNTY — Curry County Commissioner David Itzen will go head-to-head with challenger Thomas Huxley in the fall, but the county will be sticking with its current form of government for the foreseeable future. Itzen came in at 42 percent of ballots cast for Position 1 on the board of commissioners. Thomas C. Huxley was second with 27 percent. Voters have overwhelmingly rejected Measure 8-76, with 62 percent voting “no.” Itzen, the incumbent, was elected to the board in 2010. He holds a Ph.D. in educational administration from the University of Oregon and previously worked as a teacher and school principal. Itzen raised $4,875 in contributions, $500 of which came from agribusiness industry’s FirstVote PAC. He’s been a public opponent of Measure 8-76, better known as the Curry County Home Rule Charter. As of May 19, Itzen had spent $5,133 on his campaign. He’s the only one of the four candidates to have filed campaign finance information with the state. Jim Relaford, also a Brookings resident, owns and operated Mainbrace Technologies Inc., an IT company with branches in both Brookings and Gold Beach. Dowler, a surfboard builder with a chemistry degree from the University of California San Diego, also works as a general contractor. Retiree Thomas Huxley served on the Curry County Citizen’s Advisory Committee several years ago, and cited a background in business development and manufacturing in his candidate filing. Measure 8-76 failed by a 2-1 margin. The measure would have upended the county’s traditional form of government by shifting to a council-manager format. The county administrator creSEE CURRY | A8
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