Document text
Our View: Talbert a solid choice Wednesday Aug 31, 2016 at 12:01 AM The Jackson County Board of Commissioners has chosen Ashland's own Kevin Talbert to fill the vacancy left by the death of State Sen. Alan Bates. Talbert is a solid choice who will have only a brief time in office before being relieved in January by the winner of the Nov. 8 election. Talbert was chief information officer and director of extended campus programs for Southern Oregon University, where he worked for 26 years before his retirement. He knows Senate District 3 well, and is an able replacement, if mostly in a caretaking capacity. The 2017 session of the Oregon Legislature starts Feb. 1. Newly elected members, including the winner of the race between Democrat Tonia Moro and Republican Alan DeBoer, will be sworn in during Legislative Organizational Days, Jan. 9-11. Between now and then, the Legislature will hold Committee Days twice — Sept. 21-23 and Dec. 12-14. Talbert will be a temporary senator, but he will have the opportunity to be involved in shaping legislation that will be introduced in the 2017 session — the 160-day session that includes adopting a new two-year state budget. The commissioners were presented three names: Moro, former Talent police chief Mike Moran and Talbert. They said they chose Talbert to avoid influencing the November election in any way (Moran is running against Rep. Sal Esquivel in House District 6). That's a legitimate reason, and Talbert — who was sworn in Tuesday — is obviously qualified. Congratulations to state Sen. Kevin Talbert.