County commission candidates make final push before election

With less than a week before the election, candidates for District 2 on the Clatsop County Board of Commissioners are taking their final steps along the campaign trail.

Tessa Scheller and Anthony Huacuja are competing for an open seat on the ballot Tuesday after Commissioner John Toyooka chose not to run for reelection. District 2 encompasses Gearhart, Clatsop Plains and portions of Seaside and Warrenton.

Scheller sign

Scheller, a retired certified registered nurse anesthetist who has lived in Clatsop County for more than 40 years, has led a campaign focused on affordable housing, responsible development, U.S. Highway 101 improvements and emergency preparedness. She has also expressed a desire to protect the county’s natural resources and has been a proponent of the state’s habitat conservation plan.

Although seats on the Board of Commissioners are nonpartisan, Scheller has been endorsed by Clatsop County Democrats. She has also received endorsements from several Seaside, Gearhart and county leaders, including Commissioner Pamela Wev, former commissioners Scott Lee and Kathleen Sullivan and former state Rep. Deborah Boone, a Democrat who represented state House District 32.

As of Tuesday, Scheller’s campaign had received $12,964, including notable donations from the Clatsop County Democratic Central Committee, the Democratic Party of Oregon, Wev for County Commission and former Sunset Empire Park and Recreation District general manager Mary Blake.

Scheller said over the course of her campaign, she’s met with leaders in Gearhart, Seaside and at Camp Rilea. She’s also connected with people door to door — an experience she said has helped illuminate residents’ concerns for her.

“To me, it’s all a win-win, because whether I become a commissioner or not, I’m a better-informed community resource,” Scheller said. “And I’m grateful for so many people sharing their resources with me to get the word out, to help us meet more people, to be able to network with so many folks.”

Huacuja sign

Huacuja, a registered nurse who has lived in the county for nearly a decade, has focused his campaign on affordability and economic stability, especially in the natural resources sector. Huacuja has said he opposes the state’s habitat conservation plan and wants to fight the plan to maintain responsible logging in state forests. Other priorities include investing in local classrooms, expanding rural broadband and increasing child care options.

Huacuja has been endorsed by Toyooka and Commissioner Courtney Bangs, who is running unopposed for reelection. He has also been backed by former state Sen. Betsy Johnson, a former Democrat who ran unsuccessfully for governor in 2022 as an independent, state Sen. Suzanne Weber, a Tillamook Republican, Clatsop County Republicans and North Coast First PAC. North Coast First PAC is a political action committee focused on local businesses and working families, backed by Hampton Lumber, Pacific Seafood Group Employee PAC and other individual donors.

As of Tuesday, Huacuja’s campaign had received $12,350, including a $5,000 donation from the North Coast First PAC and other sizable donations from Kurt Englund, of Englund Marine & Industrial Supply, Greg Morrill, of Bergerson Construction, and Betsy PAC — a political action committee associated with Johnson’s gubernatorial campaign.

“Over the past several weeks I’ve had the opportunity to meet hundreds of voters across District 2,” Huacuja said in a statement to The Astorian. “What I’m hearing is they don’t want a politician or activist representing them. They’re ready for an outsider with life experience and a focus on commonsense solutions to help working families. I’d be honored to have the opportunity to serve in this role.”