Two applicants have so far tossed their hats into the ring to serve the remaining term of former Council Jordan Tibbals, who resigned earlier this month, and both will be familiar to Canby voters: Both were on the ballot in November’s hotly contested election.
James Hieb and Jason Padden, both of whom currently serve on the Canby Planning Commission, finished fifth and sixth in last year’s run-offs. The results were incredibly close, with Hieb finishing eight votes ahead in a race in which they both collected more than 4,200.
Tibbals, who finished fourth and thereby won a seat on the council, garnered just 106 more than Hieb.
Padden, whose application for the position was filed Sept. 2 (the day after Tibbals resigned), has a long history of service to the community, including a two-and-a-half-year stint on the council, which he’d resigned due to work commitments he had at the time.
He has since chaired the Canby Budget Committee and served on the Canby Urban Renewal Advisory Board, Street Maintenance Task Force and civic and athletic organizations such as the Canby Lions Club and the Greater Portland Volleyball Officials Association.
“I would like to be part of representing the citizens of Canby and helping the city plan for the future,” Padden wrote in the application, while also disclosing that he’d planned to run for council again in 2022.
His professional background is in horticultural sales and treatments and he currently works as an area sales manager for Grants Pass- based Mycorrhizal Applications, which markets “microbial-based biorational solutions” to improve root growth and plant hardiness in agriculture, horticulture, landscaping and forestry applications.
Under “major interests and concerns,” he cited streets and sidewalks, parks, planning for the future and a desire to “keep the City Council nonpartisan.”
Hieb, who also serves as an elected precinct committee person for north Canby, is a U.S. Marine veteran of the Iraq War and senior vice commander for the Canby/Aurora VFW Post. He is also a member of the American Legion.
Hieb filed his application on Sept. 11 and said he has spent the last three years “following all of the inner workings of Canby.”
“I have wanted to be a councilor for quite a while,” he said. “I would need very little time to be up to speed in my role as a councilor.”
Hieb cited a desire to raise his children in Canby and help guide the city’s continuing growth, while “maintaining Canby’s small-town feel.”
The deadline for applications is 5 p.m. Sept. 30. Qualified applicants must have resided within Canby city limits for at least 12 months and be a current registered Oregon voter.
Applications are available on the city’s website or can be picked up at City Hall, 222 NE 2nd Ave. between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. Monday through Friday.
Applications may be returned to the City of Canby, Attn: City Recorder, P.O. Box 930, Canby, OR 97013. For further information, contact City Recorder Melissa Bisset at 503-266-0733.
All qualified applications will be forward to the mayor and council Oct. 1 and interviews will be held in open session on Oct. 6. The new city councilor will be sworn in at the following meeting Oct. 20 and will serve through the end of December 2022.
