The BCC Weekly – Taking the “Blind” out of the BCC
In the last two days three major statements were released, two by two separate Josephine County Commissioners and one by a local civic agency which stands for good governance for local government agencies in Josephine County.
Statements from Commissioner Ron Smith and JoCo Citizens For Responsible Government (CRG) were largely viewed as profound in the most frequented “Town Square” in Josephine County…also known as Facebook. [Disclosure: I am on the Board of CRG] On the other hand, the Statement of Justification filed by Commissioner Chris Barnett ignited a new round of controversy in the “Town Square.”
As most know by now, Commissioner Andreas Blech resigned from office within the 5-day window after recall signatures were certified last week. Commissioner Blech made an attempt to try and vote on his replacement by scheduling a meeting of the BCC on Monday this week to make a rapid decision on his replacement. The proper authorities in the county courthouse stopped this illegal and improper attempt and followed state constitutional law on what happens when an elected official resigns during such a recall process. Commissioner Blech’s last official day in office was last Friday.
Commissioner Barnett on the other hand submitted a Statement of Justification by the deadline on Monday and will face a special recall election currently scheduled for January 6th. This means ballots go out in the mail next week with the recall petition language on the ballot and Barnett’s Statement of Justification also on the ballot.
Barnett, no stranger to controversy throughout 2025, ignited a new round of controversy with text in his written statement of justification which many could see was in part a series of false statements. Hopefully needless to say, state law prescribes stiff penalties for putting false statements on official election forms as well as publishing false statements during an election process. But that didn’t stop Barnett from making false statements such as the “recall is…driven by Citizens for Responsible Government and Rogue Indivisible.” It’s been proven that these two organizations had nothing to do with driving the recall or organizing the recall.
And then there is the false statement by Barnett “we have implemented responsible budgeting that saves taxpayers millions each year while protecting essential services.” I’ve watched or listened to almost every BCC meeting for nearly 13 years, and I can’t think of any significant tax or fee reductions implemented by the 2025 BCC. Nor am I aware of any budget cuts that save local taxpayers millions each year. But we’ve emailed Commissioner Barnett and given him a chance to explain his calculations. No response was provided and we’ll report again if a response is received.
The statement made by CRG on Monday and emailed to all elected officials of Josephine County was generally well received from the input that could be seen on Facebook as well as various chat groups. And informally, Commissioner Ron Smith wins the top prize of most profound of the three statements this week for his “Message to the People of Josephine County” released on Tuesday this week. They both deserve to be printed in full. And kudos to Commissioner Smith for taking the high road, so to speak.
Here are both statements in full so you can judge for yourself.
CRG’s member-approved recommendation for filling the vacant commissioner seat
December 08, 2025
Dear Commissioners Smith, Barnett, and all elected officials of Josephine County,
JoCo Citizens For Responsible Government (CRG) has a critical and timely recommendation approved by our membership that we hope you will immediately implement as it relates to the appointment of a vacant commissioner position. This recommendation is a win-win for all parties and follows the spirit of the Josephine County Charter.
Despite false statements contained in Mr. Barnett and Mr. Blech’s “whitepaper” rebuttal to the recall petitions, CRG as an organization had nothing to do with these two recalls. Our general membership was asked to vote two separate times on whether to take a position on the recall and each time our membership said no. We strongly object to the statement from the two commissioners that we were involved, and the fact remains that we have not taken a position nor will we take a position if there is a recall election next month.
CRG is a nonpartisan organization focused on advocacy for good governance for all local government agencies in Josephine County. Some of our members may have individually participated in the recall advocacy, but members of the local Republican Party central committee participated in recall advocacy, local church members participated in recall advocacy, and many others. This does not mean that those organizations took a position on the recalls.
In the near future, you will have at least one, and potentially two separate circumstances where two commissioners need to vote to fill a single vacancy on the BCC. We recommend that, going forward, any time there is a single vacancy to be filled on the BCC, you follow the spirit of the charter and assemble an Advisory Board of all administrative elected officials of the County to review applications, score applications, and make a recommendation to the BCC for the appointment. The two Commissioners still eventually make the appointment decision, but only after an advisory recommendation is received from the temporary board of elected officials.
As you know, on the resignation or vacancy of one Commissioner, the two Commissioners will only have 30 days to accept Commissioner applications and make the new Commissioner appointment. The best way to honor both voters and the County Charter would be to have the County’s other elected officials weigh in on the Commissioner appointment process. All County elected officials, representatives of the people in their respective County governance areas, should rank Commissioner applications and make a recommendation of their top candidate choices for Commissioner.
And our two remaining Commissioners can then make their appointment based on the collective advice of all the County’s elected officials. This process would be a win-win. It will honor voters by soliciting the advice of all County elected officials. It will also say to County department heads who serve at the pleasure of County voters, we honor and respect your opinions. And finally, it honors the spirit of the County Charter by using a process similar to the one that would be required if there were two vacancies on the BCC.
Thank you in advance for your timely consideration of this recommendation.
Ron Smith
A Message to the People of Josephine County
December 9, 2025
This past week has been one of the most challenging since I took office as your County Commissioner. With the resignation of one commissioner and a fast-approaching recall vote for another, I have been inundated with phone calls, emails, and pressure from every direction. I’ve been intimidated, bullied, belittled, threatened, and pushed to participate in back-room deals.
Let me be clear: I will not break the law, bend the rules, or make any decision outside of full public transparency. I am genuinely tired of being asked to do so. It raises serious questions about the motives and ethics of those making such requests, and it speaks to a troubling culture that has taken root in local politics. Some of the conversations I’ve had this week have been very revealing of certain individuals’ character.
At one point, I asked a few callers what they believed was the most important attribute in a candidate for public office. After long pauses and no answer, I suggested honesty. Surprisingly, for some, honesty wasn’t important at all. It left me with the disturbing impression that a crook is acceptable, as long as he’s, their crook.
I’ve now been threatened with recall by both the left and the right. I’ve been pressured to make back-room deals to satisfy personal agendas. But if you know me, you know I do not bow to bullying, intimidation, or political threats. I am a man of principle, and I will not compromise those principles for anyone.
After much thought, I have come to an unavoidable conclusion: no matter whom I personally appoint to fill the commissioner vacancy, some will claim it was a backroom deal. That perception alone would damage public trust and the credibility of the process.
For that reason, I have chosen to recuse myself entirely from the appointment process and allow our county’s other elected officials to make this decision. These officials are just as accountable to the voters as I am. Many have served this county faithfully for decades. If we cannot trust them to make an honest and informed choice, then we have far deeper problems than a single board vacancy. My commitment is to continue serving the people of Josephine County, no matter who is appointed to the board.
When the time is right, I intend to share a full and honest account of what my first year as your County Commissioner has truly been like. You deserve that transparency.
For now, please know this: I will continue to serve with honesty, integrity, and accountability to all the people of Josephine County. I am saddened by the division and lack of unity at a time when our community desperately needs to come together. We face major challenges, jobs and economic growth, long-term funding for essential county services, and the escalating homeless crisis being pushed onto counties by the state.
My heartfelt desire is to help bring people together to solve these problems, not to participate in the political games that divide us.
Sincerely,
Ron Smith
Josephine County Commissioner