Unofficial returns show 5-member Deschutes board will be all Democrat in 2027

Unofficial election results indicate that the Deschutes County Board of Commissioners will consist entirely of candidates backed by the local Democratic Party when the new five-member body convenes in 2027. This shift marks the first general election since voters expanded the board from three seats to five in 2024. The change reverses a decade-long conservative majority, which had controlled the previous three-seat board through consistent 2-1 voting patterns.

The composition of the board changes due to the addition of two new seats, the loss of a long-time conservative commissioner in the May primary, and a vacancy created by a sitting commissioner who ran for Congress. The expansion of the board increased competition this year, leading to a record number of candidates and a sharp rise in fundraising. Total campaign spending for Deschutes County positions exceeded $1 million this cycle.

Morgan Schmidt is leading Rob Imhoff in the race for the newly created Position 5. Schmidt, the executive director of the Red Cross of Central and Eastern Oregon and an ordained pastor, faced a strong primary challenge in May but failed to secure a majority vote. She is now ahead in the general election. At a Democratic watch party on Tuesday night, Schmidt told a packed room of supporters that her campaign focused on affordable housing, health services for people experiencing homelessness, and mental healthcare. She stated she stands by her attendance at a 2020 protest against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrests in Bend.

Imhoff, who owns a custom window treatment business in Bend, is backed by the local Republican Party. His campaign recently displayed three billboards in Bend that used AI to attack Schmidt’s 2020 stance on ICE and link her to higher taxes. Schmidt said she did not mind being characterized as an activist and emphasized a data-driven approach to reducing homelessness and directing growth toward cities rather than rezoning farmland.

Amy Sabbadini is leading Lauren Connally in the open race for Position 3. The seat is currently held by Republican Patti Adair, who did not seek reelection after an unsuccessful run for the 5th Congressional District. Sabbadini, a former county land use planner and high school social studies teacher who taught locally for two decades, campaigned on lowering housing costs and managing growth in rural areas. She also emphasized improving access to mental health services for youth. As of the last campaign finance update, Sabbadini had raised more than twice the amount of money raised by Connally.

Connally, a Marine Corps veteran and public defense office administrator, received endorsements from the local Independent and Republican parties. She described herself as a long-time nonaffiliated voter. At the election night event, Sabbadini said she would strive to represent everyone in the county regardless of their labels, focusing on serving residents within budget constraints.

A controversial ballot measure, Measure 9-185, is failing by a wide margin in early returns. The measure proposed dividing the county into five distinct geographic districts, with each region electing its own commissioner instead of using the current at-large voting system. The proposed map included two districts in the Bend area and one each around La Pine, Redmond, and Sisters. The current three-member board approved the map for the ballot in February.

Proponents of the measure argued that distinct districts would ensure voters in less-populated outlying communities were not overlooked. Opponents argued the boundaries gave too much weight to rural areas while disadvantaging the more populous, politically left-leaning city of Bend. Bend Mayor Melanie Kebler said she was not surprised by the early failure of the measure. She noted that while people understand the concept of districts, they also recognize the map as a form of gerrymandering that would reduce voting power for some residents.