Mountain resident Bob Reeves came up short in his bid for county
commissioner.

However, the commission did not completely snub the rural community that
resides in its amoebic boundaries. Jamie Damon of Eagle Creek got the nod
for the empty seat.

Former Sandy Mayor Linda Malone also failed in her effort to join the
commission.

“It was great that two of us from the Mountain made it into the selection
process,” Reeves said. “While it is disappointing that neither one of us was
selected, I feel we represented our area well. However, I am glad that
someone (Damon) from a rural area was selected.”

Reeves added that the process seemed to take longer than necessary and “at
times it appeared that the commissioners were unsure of how to proceed.”
The board’s first steps were to trim the list from 63 to 11, then to seven
during sessions in May.

Damon will take over the seat previously held by Charlotte Lehan who was
appointed to commission chair in March. Damon is a 15-year resident of Eagle
Creek and is collaborative systems director for the National Policy Consensus
Center at Portland State University.

“Janet brings a wealth of experience and perspective to the Board of
Commissioners,” Lehan said in a county press release. “She is from
unincorporated Clackamas County and specifically from the east county, a
geographic region of our county that has been under-represented.”

Sixty-three candidates applied for the vacancy during a recruitment that
closed April 13.

The vacancy was originally created by the resignation of former Chair Lynn
Peterson last March to become a senior aide to Governor John Kitzhaber.
Reeves did his best to put a positive spin on the process.

“The county had several great candidates and I want to congratulate Jamie
Damon for being appointed to the vacant position,” he said. “She has a great
resume and I am sure she will do a fantastic job. I hope she will attend one of
our Village meetings soon and become involved with the issues on the
Mountain.”

Reeves serves as a member of the board of directors of The Villages at Mt.
Hood.