Contributor: Bill Kronert
You accuse John West of single-handedly running the entire county and making all decisions by himself. You also accuse him of losing over $6 million, which is plain nonsense. Everything you’ve written is either speculation, assumptions, or misleading statements with no real factual evidence.
Allegation 1: Pipe Fork
You claim John West alone lost $2.3 million by not selling Pipe Fork. How could he lose $2.3 million when the county still owns the land as an asset and can still sell it for millions? This claim is blatantly misleading. The fact is, it was the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) that decided at the last minute to change the terms of the sale, not John West.
Allegation 2: 4-H and OSU Programs
You allege that John West single-handedly caused a loss of over $800,000 by defunding the 4-H and OSU programs. Again, this is misleading. First, defunding a program means saving taxpayer money, as funds are no longer being spent. More importantly, over 95% of kids moved from 4-H to the Youth and Agriculture program, so why should taxpayers continue to fund a program that was no longer being utilized?
Your statements also fail to address that the $800,000 wasn’t benefiting Josephine County. After the commissioners pressed OSU for transparency, it was revealed that this money was paying for 14 OSU employees, most of whom worked outside of Josephine County. Hardly any of these funds directly benefited local residents. Your claim intentionally omits these critical details, which is deceitful and far from honest.
We could go on and dissect each allegation further to reveal how you and Lily Morgan have consistently misled and misinformed people. In the end, your efforts have tried to pin every issue on John West, portraying him as solely responsible. However, this is ultimately about differences in governance styles, fueled by Lily’s personal disdain for John West.
This has turned into a personal feud, and unfortunately, we, the taxpayers, are the ones who will suffer from this vendetta.