In his role as Justice of the Peace in Jackson County, Joe Charter will be based in Central Point, handling traffic court and municipal code violations throughout the county, with the exception of Medford and Ashland.

Alan DeBoer is a man of contradictions.

Although he owns a 2022 Corvette Stingray, it has less than 500 miles on it. It sits in his garage while he drives his 2019 Chevrolet Volt, a hybrid gas engine with a 45-mile electric range. Chevy, like other major automakers, is transitioning to electric cars with the Bolt, which can go 238 miles on a single charge.

DeBoer’s auto roots go back to his father, Walt, who established a dealership on the Ashland Plaza in 1946. Alan’s brother Sid DeBoer built that franchise into a Fortune 500 company with more than 260 dealers nationwide and billions in annual revenues.

Alan was a partner in three local dealerships and has left an indelible mark on the town where he was born and raised. As mayor of Ashland from 2001 to 2004, DeBoer oversaw the building of the library, fire station, public works, and rebuilding of the highway through town.

When “I drive through town, I can see the changes that I made,” he says.

DeBoer’s involvement in local nonprofits has included the Ashland hospital and school board; Mount Ashland; Ashland YMCA; Rotary; RCC; SOU; and Southern Oregon Historical Society.

“I enjoy challenges, I’m good at curing problems,” says DeBoer. “The secret in any nonprofit … is hire a great person” as administrator, he says.

He has turned over the dealerships to his son, Derek. Derek is a race car driver with The Racers Group. Derek’s wife, Brooke, has captured the action as a documentary filmmaker on FastLife TV. Alan was also a drag racer before giving it up to coach his son’s Little League team.

“Like father, like son,” says Derek.

The Ashland Chevy dealership also features five elevated solar trackers, generating 140,000 kWh of solar power per year. This very public use of renewable energy by an auto dealership is perhaps an acknowledgement of the need to replace fossil fuel consumption.

Sen. Lenn Hannon, who served in the Oregon Senate for nearly 30 years, used to introduce DeBoer as his “replacement.” Hannon began his political career by beating Republican Lynn Newbry in 1974 by 37 votes, earning him the nickname “Landslide Lenn.” DeBoer bested that margin by defeating his opponent in the Senate District 3 race by 395 votes in 2016, replacing friend and neighbor Alan Bates, who died unexpectedly during his term of office.

DeBoer says the most difficult part of the job of senator was being apart from his wife of 51 years, Rebecca.

“I was two years and out. I’m not a career politician,” says DeBoer. “I can go right into the Senate caucus room without knocking. Once you’re a Republican senator, you’re one for life, (they said) — come in anytime.”

DeBoer read every bill he voted on, some 3,000-plus proposed measures in a single session, and donated his salary from his work in the Senate.

DeBoer supports campaign finance reform, decrying that candidates don’t control all the money spent in their campaigns.

“Just adopt the federal rules … no corporate, no union, personal checks only … and there’s a limit … of $2,800. To follow politics, just follow the money and where it came from.”

“Generally, the bills create more problems than they solve,” he says. Measure 110 legalizing drugs is an example.

“It had a whole bunch of money tied to it. The state never spent the money. The bill only works if you give a judge an alternative rather than putting a person in prison.”

DeBoer also believes that treatment providers aren’t paid enough.

DeBoer has been called a “civic-minded, good government Republican” by one local commentator.

DeBoer is disappointed that petty partisanship often wins out over the common good.

“Most bills are written with the purpose of ‘how will this hurt the other party?’ It’s totally wrong — it should be what’s best for all of Oregon. And to come up with solutions that actually work.”

“You get … knowledge by doing stuff. So I’ve put myself in the place of doing things.”

DeBoer had no knowledge of the hospital industry before joining the Ashland Community Hospital board as treasurer, but he was instrumental in its sale to Asante.

DeBoer was involved in every step of constructing the current Ashland Family YMCA. With 8,000 members, he calls the Y his proudest accomplishment and serves as president of the board. The Y is planning further improvements, including pickleball courts, an indoor gymnasium and ADA restrooms.

DeBoer’s nonprofit involvement continues to pay back to the community profits earned from his business endeavors.