Oliver Tatom

I’m Oliver Tatom, a registered nurse and paramedic. For the past two years I’ve supported front-line caregivers as a primary care clinic manager in Bend and La Pine. I grew up in rural Deschutes County, and my childhood home was one of 19 destroyed in the 1996 Skeleton Fire. My wife, Amy, and I returned home to raise our family here. I’m deeply invested in the health and safety of our region, and that’s why I’m running to be your next Deschutes County Commissioner.

I know the election noise is deafening, but I feel the need to speak out so that voters can see the real differences in the choice for Deschutes County Commissioner. I also feel an increasing urgency right now, because our local elections are being greatly influenced by national politics and big money.

Not only are issues being raised by the Supreme Court and the Congress, but money is flooding into this campaign from huge conservative donors that seem to be trying to buy the election. The Bend Bulletin recently reported that my opponent, Tony DeBone, has received over $40,000 from PACs funded by real estate development groups. It’s no wonder that he refuses to take meaningful steps to address the housing crisis. Instead he advocates for the kind of sprawl that will make his funders a lot of money, and then he blames the state’s land use system for his own inaction.

At the national level the Dobbs decision overturning Roe v. Wade is a clear example of how national politics leak into our system. It shines a light on the important work of the providers at our county’s safety net Reproductive Health clinic, where women can seek family planning services regardless of their ability to pay. Commissioner DeBone brags about his endorsement by anti-abortion groups, and he voted to deny health insurance coverage for county employees and their families seeking abortion care as required by state law.

I understand the stresses our first responders and frontline healthcare workers have endured these past few years — and continue to endure today — because I’ve walked in their shoes. COVID-19 is no longer threatening to overwhelm our hospitals, but public health remains more important than ever. Our local hospitals, nursing facilities, and EMS agencies are under enormous financial strain and face dire staffing shortages, underscoring the urgent need for investments in prevention. That means we need to lean into programs like Healthy Schools, the innovative partnership between Deschutes County Public Health and Bend-La Pine Schools to prevent substance use, teen pregnancy, and suicide. I hope to expand that program to Redmond and Sisters. DeBone has voted against Healthy Schools three years in a row.

My service on the Deschutes Rural Fire District #2 Board of Directors and the Deschutes County Project Wildfire Steering Committee has given me additional insight into the challenges facing our community, like the rising wildfire risk — worse today than when I lost my own home 26 years ago. Deschutes County’s Natural Resources Department is a crucial partner in fire prevention efforts, but the department recently lost its entire staff. In today’s economic environment, we have to support the people doing the work and fight to retain them.

From drought to homelessness, issues that didn’t used to impact quality of life in Central Oregon have become major challenges over the many years DeBone has been in office. If we want better outcomes we have to do things differently. We have to overcome the influence of national politics and big money to elect leaders with vision and a willingness to take action. But that depends on you.

So, talk to your friends and neighbors and encourage them to vote in every race, all the way down the ballot, including both county commissioner seats. This election is going to be incredibly close and it may very well be your vote that decides the future of Deschutes County. Make it count!