Name: Andrea Lerner Thompson
Running For: City Councilor – Incumbent
How long resided in Jacksonville: 8 years

My husband and I, along with our dogs, Jasmine and Violet, have called Jacksonville home for almost a decade. Four years ago, I was elected to the City Council, where I believe I have made a positive contribution. In 2020, I was motivated to run for two reasons. I wanted to give back to my community through service, and I felt that Jacksonville needed to be better prepared for a possible wildfire disaster. Before moving here, we raised our children near Paradise, CA. Seeing the devastation to that community made a vivid and lasting impression. I wanted to make every effort to ensure that Jacksonville was doing everything possible to mitigate risk and insure the best outcome in the event of wildfire.

Some of my accomplishments as a City Councilor include:

  •  Assisted Jacksonville Fire Dept. with grant writing resulting in significant fuel reduction in Forest Park, funding for City Wide Green Waste Days, and Firewise neighborhood dumpsters.
  • Assisted Jacksonville Police with obtaining a grant for new computers.
  • Organized, with Firewise Jacksonville, a Town Hall meeting following the publication of the State Wildfire Risk Reduction Map.
  • Authored several articles for the Jacksonville Review on fire safety including how to harden your home & property, etc.
  • Served on Ad Hoc Safety Committee with two other Councilors which produced Jacksonville Evacuation Maps, a “What to Do in an Emergency” flier and updated the City’s Emergency Operations Manual.
  • Successfully nominated Jacksonville Fire Chief Wayne Painter for a statewide Excellence in Leadership award.
  • Moderated a Town Hall meeting on Fuel Reduction work in and around Jacksonville as part of the West Bear All-Lands project.
  • Worked with Jacksonville Fire and Jackson County Emergency Services to design and equip the Emergency Operations Center in the new fire hall.
  • Created advertising copy highlighting Jacksonville to recruit police officers.
  • Currently serving on the Technical Advisory Committee charged with exploring land use availability for housing and employment.
  • Introduced the concept of a Museum Without Walls to our Museum committee which has now been incorporated into the planning.

Four years later the need to address wildfire risk still propels my candidacy. Yet my experience on the Council has educated me to the additional challenges the City faces. Reductions in police staffing almost lead to an extended contract with the County Sherriff’s office. We must support our Police Department to improve employee retention and to bring a spirit of community policing, developing a program where the community partners with staff to educate and to serve our community. Across the country, we have seen attrition in police departments, and we need to highlight the opportunities here for small city, collaborative law enforcement. We must also better understand the challenges the department faces, or we will not be successful in rebuilding it.

I wish to have a voice in deciding how our community balances the tension between being a tourist destination and a place we call home. How will we accommodate new residents and inevitable growth while maintaining the historic character which distinguishes us?

Additionally, I have served on the Committee for Citizen Involvement which I chaired and currently serve as liaison. I serve on the Budget Committee and as Jacksonville’s RVCOG representative. In that capacity I meet monthly with neighboring city councilors, County Commissioners, representatives from ODOT and RVCOG. Seeing Jacksonville not as some island but as a part of the Rogue Valley has yielded much insight. I also serve as President of the Jacksonville Boosters Club, an organization whose goal is to engage the community by preserving Jacksonville’s history and enhancing its livability.

The greatest strength of the current Council is that we share a common desire to make the City the best place it can be. We sometimes disagree on methods and outcomes, but we are always cordial and respectful. We recognize each of us brings unique vision, skillsets, and passion to our work, and we work well as a team. If I had to be critical, I’d say sometimes the current Council does not ask as many questions as it might, and we have not been inventive finding ways to engage the community. If I had my way, we would have more town hall meetings on topics like police protection and how to sustain police and fire services with rising costs and a static tax rate. Jacksonville has an educated population who bring a wealth of professional expertise. I would like to see the City better tap into the insights of citizens. I’d like greater attendance at Council meetings, and more opportunities for citizen collaboration. On the Council I see my role as asking a lot of questions and trying to understand as much as I can to better advocate for the citizens I represent. There is a delicate balance between being informed and not interfering with staff’s ability to do their jobs. I speak regularly with department heads, our City Administrator and our citizens to keep informed.

Surely the major challenge facing us is how to sustain police and fire with the rising costs of public safety. Our wages are among the lowest in the Valley which means hiring and retention are increasingly challenging. While most of our fire calls are medical, we only have one paramedic on staff. Should we continue to raise the safety surcharge on the water bill? Or do we give citizens the choice on taxing themselves? Recently local news featured a story on our fire department hearing bids from other districts in a possible consolidation. Frankly I am less interested in hearing from other districts than I am from our citizens. I propose a town hall where citizens can learn more about the challenges and opportunities. They need to be asked what sort of services they want and what they are willing to pay. Only then can we make informed decisions about future directions.

Andrea Lerner Thompson