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June 26, 2004 - Subscribe - Contact Us - Rate Card - Place an Ad Valley&State Backpage O&E Sports Archives Classifieds Faith&Beliefs Obituaries Revels May 17, 2004 Battle takes negative turn By Steve Zimmerman Ashland Daily Tidings The race between Democrats, incumbent county commissioner Sue Kupillas and challenger Sue Densmore, was supposed to be a friendly race between two friends. Instead, it has turned into a knock-down, drag-out battle for the right to face Republican C.W. Smith in the November election. With the elections winding down Tuesday, both women are determined to keep up the fight until the last ballot is punched. The race Kupillas said she is very unhappy about the tenor of the race. Densmore said she is simply enjoying her first go-round as a candidate, after years working behind other candidates, including Kupillas. "I have a real positive campaign and am dealing with the issues and my record," Kupillas said. "In contrast, my opponent has decided to run a very negative campaign by not sticking to issues and using character assassination." Kupillas said because she has a record, she is a target. "I have a record and then people can totally distort what I have done my whole life," she said. "They can distort it, manipulate it and have it sound different from what it was. It is bumper sticker politics. They don't ever have to tell the real story." But Densmore said her campaign has been a good one. Densmore did not run sooner due to a commitment to her daughters, Brooke and Megan, that she would not run until they were out of college. Brooke has graduated and Megan is a senior at University of Southern California. Densmore joked that she almost made it. "I have really enjoyed it and am glad I am running,' she said. "I am well-prepared to be a county commissioner. I have had tremendous support." Densmore didn't start out intending to take on her former ally. She entered the race thinking Kupillas was not going to run for reelection. When Kupillas decided to run for a fifth term, Densmore decided to stay in. "I have run everyone else's campaigns," Densmore said. "My father and grandfather were both county commissioners in Lake County and my ex-husband, Al Densmore, was mayor of Medford and was also in the Legislature." She said no deal was ever made that she would not run if Kupillas decided to run again. "At the point she said she was going to retire, a large number of people came to me and said they would like me to run," Densmore said. "But then she decided to run. I was not sure I wanted to run against her but the support kept growing and so I decided it was the right thing to do. The biggest thing people said was it was time for a change." The desire for change fueled a steady stream of attacks against the incumbent, especially surprising in a primary. Kupillas said she has limited herself in not retaliating against Densmore. "I think what has limited me is the people who know things about my opponent that don't want me to make those public," she said. "I have people working on my campaign that have ethics." The issues Densmore's campaign has zeroed in on Kupillas as shifting political philosophy. "She (Kupillas) has really moved away from the support of the Democratic Party. She has run as a Democrat but the party itself felt she should be running as a Republican," Densmore said. Many in the county told Densmore they were concerned about several issues. "One was the vote she took to not relax the standards of DEQ," Densmore explained. "Then she wrote a letter that actually would have relaxed the standards. People were upset about the manner she was operating as a county commissioner. "Then there was the Timbered Rock discussion where over a weekend, she actually reviewed the report from Bureau of Land Management and made her own decision on how the commissioners should respond. She sent a letter without taking a vote. This is a pattern people have seen over the years. It is something that became more obvious as the campaign wore on." Kupillas said the distortion of facts don't help the county. The more recent issues she has been dealing with are resonating with voters the most. "The air quality issue is a very recent issue,' she noted. "I think it is a really important issue. It would be better if people would look at the actual facts in the matter instead of talking about hot-topic issues like dirty air. It would be better to talk about growth allowance and the kinds of air technology that we are dealing with in the DEQ recommendation." A recent report stated the Valley does not have very clean air. But Kupillas said that is not necessarily the case. "We have not had a yellow day in years," she said. "We have met all the federal requirements and are looking at measures to clean up the air further. It is how you look at it." Growth and the failure to find a happy medium between the business sector and those who are anti-growth, troubles Kupillas. "There is the problem," she said. "In this position, you can't just say 'no growth.' And you can't turn a blind eye to the fact that automobiles are one of the greatest contributors to our problem for the future. A lot of people really want to blame it all on industry. With the technology we have available today, industry has really cleaned up its act." Kupillas said all the growth issues will impact the county over the coming years. She also sees how the Valley attracts jobs and business to Jackson County as a continued area for debate. Still friends? Despite the tenor of the race, Densmore said she could still be friends with Kupillas. "What happened with me is it was just a factual situation," she said. "It was time for a change and that is how I ran my campaign." But Kupillas is not so sure. A winner of four successful commission campaigns in the past, she says this has been the most rancorous campaign in her long tenure. She is unsure of her friendship with Densmore. "I have never had anybody who has gone for total character assassination before," she said. "I think it is counterproductive for this county no matter who wins. If Sue Densmore were to win, and to think that the people who follow her and support this kind of campaign are supporting this kind of character assassination, I would hate to see what kind of decision-making she will do once she gets in office." Ballots for the primary election are due in ballot boxes by 8 p.m. Tuesday. Any ballots not received by that time will not be counted. 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