They say if it wasn’t for deadlines, nothing would ever get done. July 5 was the last day applications would be accepted for those interested in taking Tracie Heidt’s seat on the Canby City Council, and the deadline brought forth three new candidates, joining the four others who had already thrown their hats into the ring.
The seven applicants will be interviewed during a special session on Wednesday, July 24, at 7 p.m. The successful appointee will be decided by a vote of the remaining council members.
Here’s a look at the three newest applicants:
Trygve Berge is vice president of Inline Commercial Construction, a large, Aloha-based general contracting firm, operating throughout Oregon and southwest Washington.
His previous civic experience includes membership on a public policy committee in Hillsboro as well as an investment roundtable for the Hillsboro Chamber of Commerce. His major interests in the city of Canby include strategic planning, youth activities, community outreach and “helping Canby grow in a positive direction.”
“I have been a member of this community for 12 years and would like to get more involved with the long-term planning,” he says. “I would also like to help with the direction Canby is moving in as a city.”
He’s a coach of the Canby High School trapshooting team and has taught tae-kwon-do for 23 years.
Cathy Rae Smith is an artist, designer and the founding president of Canby Area Beautification, a new nonprofit dedicated to making our town true to its nickname, “The Garden Spot.” If you’re unfamiliar with her work, she’s the genius behind the “Magic of Discovery” mural that prominently adorns one wall of the Canby Public Library on Northeast 2nd Avenue.
Her interests include the beautification of Canby, agricultural tourism development and “nurturing a vibrant and vital creative community.”
She wants to “lend whatever experience and expertise to the enrichment of our community that I can,” she says.
She holds a Master of the Arts from the Corcoran School of the Arts & Design in Washington, D.C., and a Bachelor of the Arts from Marylhurst.
Kevin Starrett is an author, activist and founder of the Oregon Firearms Federation (OFF), which bills itself as a “no compromise” gun rights organization. It has a long history of Second Amendment-related advocacy in the Oregon Legislature over the past 20 years.
The answers on his city council application were the briefest of the seven. Asked “What are your major interests or concerns in the city’s programs?” he said, “The agenda of some city council members.” Under “Reason for your interest in this position,” he listed, simply, “Protection of family values.”
He did not elaborate further, but he may have been referring, at least in part, to the controversy earlier this year over a proposed local proclamation recognizing Transgender Day of Visibility. Kevin Starrett was among those who spoke on the issue at the April 3 Canby City Council meeting, in which he discussed the need to protect the rights of non-transgender children, particularly in school locker rooms and public bathrooms.
His comments can be seen here.
The new councilor will be sworn in Aug. 7, and will serve until just after the 2020 general election, at which time they — or a different candidate — would be elected for the remaining two years of the term.
