A letter written and signed by Josephine County Commissioner Chris Barnett has sparked more new questions about transparency, consistency, and communication within county leadership after appearing to contradict his own public statements on social media. The issue centers around Barnett’s October 9, 2025, letter of reference (see letter below) for Pathways to Stability, an organization applying for a City of Grants Pass homelessness grant, and a subsequent Facebook post in which Barnett publicly denied that the county had endorsed the same program.
The letter, written on official Josephine County Board of Commissioners letterhead and addressed to the City of Grants Pass, expressed strong support for Pathways to Stability and their grant application. It praised the organization’s leadership, professionalism, and commitment to addressing the needs of unsheltered individuals in the community. The tone and wording of the letter left little doubt that the endorsement was presented as coming from Josephine County itself, not from Barnett acting independently. “Our organization, Josephine County, has had the opportunity to work with Pathways to Stability,” the letter stated. “Through our partnership and interactions, we have observed that Pathways to Stability consistently demonstrates a strong commitment to providing compassionate, effective services for unsheltered individuals.” The letter further declared confidence in the organization’s “leadership and operational readiness to implement the proposed project under this grant.”
It was signed “Sincerely, Chris Barnett, County Commissioner, Josephine County,” and included his official contact information and county email address. The professional format, combined with its publication on county letterhead, gave the clear impression that Barnett was writing on behalf of the Board of Commissioners and the county as a whole.
But within days of that letter being shared publicly, the message began to unravel. On his personal Facebook page—an account Barnett himself has described as “personal” and not used for official county business—he responded to a citizen’s comment (see below) questioning why his letter appeared to endorse a program that Commissioner Ron Smith had stated the county did not support. The resident, Jay Chancey, asked for clarification after Smith made clear during a recent public Weekly Business Session meeting that “the county did not endorse Pathways to Stability in any way.” Chancey pointed out that Barnett’s letter seemed to directly contradict that statement and asked why the information being given to the public appeared inconsistent.
Barnett replied directly, confirming that Commissioner Smith was correct. “He’s correct that our board has not endorsed,” Barnett wrote. “As mentioned at our meetings we support a solution to the homeless issue with our partners. Another press release PSA will go out today. Nobody has done anything but listen to a proposal. That’s it.”
That admission sharply contradicted the language of his own official letter, which specifically referenced Josephine County’s “confidence in [Pathways to Stability’s] leadership and operational readiness” and used plural pronouns such as “we” and “our organization” throughout. Barnett’s social media post effectively walked back that endorsement, stating that no formal action or support had been taken by the board.
The inconsistency raises more questions about whether Barnett’s letter was written and submitted with proper authorization from the Board of Commissioners or if he acted on his own while using official county resources and identity. If the board never voted to endorse Pathways to Stability, Barnett’s letter may have been misleading both to the City of Grants Pass and to the public by implying full county support where none existed.
Further complicating matters is the fact that Barnett’s Facebook response took place on a page he identifies as personal, not official. Despite this, his comments there clearly concerned official county business. This blurs the line between his personal online presence and his public responsibilities as an elected official. Conducting county business on a personal account—particularly while contradicting statements made in an official capacity—raises continued concerns about his transparency, accountability, and the proper separation of personal opinion from government representation.
The sequence of events has left residents and observers confused about where the county actually stands on Pathways to Stability and its homelessness initiatives. Some community members view the letter as evidence that Barnett sought to publicly present a supportive stance to appeal to the City of Grants Pass while privately distancing the county from taking any formal position. Others question whether this episode reflects a broader pattern of miscommunication within county government, or whether Barnett may have something to gain financially from the arrangement.
In either case, the result is another controversy surrounding Commissioner Barnett, whose actions continue to draw scrutiny from both constituents and colleagues. What began as a seemingly routine letter has evolved into a matter of public trust, highlighting the need for consistency between official communications and public statements. The contradiction between a signed county document and a Facebook post cannot easily be explained away as a misunderstanding. When an elected official uses county letterhead to endorse an organization and later denies that endorsement on a self-labeled personal page, it not only undermines confidence in their credibility but also exposes a troubling gap between public duty and personal messaging.
For residents of Josephine County already frustrated by political confusion and a lack of transparency, this latest episode serves as another reminder that consistency matters. Whether the county officially endorsed Pathways to Stability or not, one fact is clear: Commissioner Barnett’s words—both in print and online—cannot both be true.
