OUR VIEW LOGO (NEW)

Anyone with even a passing interest in politics — local, state or national — is well aware that 2024 is expected to be noisy.

As we sit closing in on the filing deadline for the May 21 primary election, however, the only sound being heard is that of crickets.

Where are the candidates?

A pair of Democrats from Medford have entered the primary to ultimate go against incumbent State Rep. Kim Wallan; but, elsewhere, high-profile races have generated little to no traction thus far.

U.S. Rep. Cliff Bentz, a Republican whose district includes Jackson County, has filed for election and faces nominal opposition from Jason Beebe, the mayor of Prineville. But according to the Oregon Office of Voting & Elections, no Democrat has completed the process to be eligible in that party’s primary.

A similar situation is playing out locally, in the race to replace Dave Dotterrer, who is retiring from his position on the county Board of Commissioners. Medford Mayor Randy Sparacino, a fellow Republican, is the only candidate registered thus far with the Jackson County Elections Office.

The lack of action in that race is interesting to veteran political watchers because of the ongoing petition drive that would give voters the chance to significantly restructure the board itself.

Jackson County for All of Us, the advocacy group behind the three separate initiatives, announced a significant change of its own this past week — expediting its search for signatures in order to qualify for the May 21 primary ballot, along with the previous goal of qualifying for the November general election.

Though shy by about 2,500 signatures (which follows the recommendations of election officials to have 10,500 for validating purposes), petition supporters say that if they don’t reach their goal, they will aim for the general election instead.

Which raises the question … why?

Denise Krause, one of the drive’s organizers, said the group wanted to avoid being lost in the “noise” of what’s is expected to be a significant turnout for November, considering that the presidential race will be on the ballot.

Primary elections historically draw a smaller number of voters, which could serve as an enticement for those focused on a single issue such as the Board of Commissioners restructuring, but Krause said that did not play into the organizers’ thinking.

“Not for this,” she said. “This is popular no matter what party you’re in.”

Still, it’s an odd coincidence that in a primary season where there’s a primarily Democratic effort underway to make commissioner positions nonpartisan, no Democrat has stepped forward to run for Dotterrer’s soon-empty chair.

And then there are those issues still to be decided by the Oregon Supreme Court:

• The fate of state senators — including two, Republicans Dennis Linthicum and Art Robinson, whose districts include portions of Jackson County — challenging them from being eligible for election this fall in the aftermath of last year’s walkout during the legislative session;

• and the ballot status of Donald Trump, recently endorsed by Bentz, but whose eligibility is being challenged in the state as part of a national effort to declare the former president ineligible for allegedly violating a section of the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. On Friday, the Oregon high court said it would defer to a potential U.S. Supreme Court ruling on the matter.

On second thought, maybe we should just enjoy the quiet while it lasts.