Oliver Tatom for Deschutes County Commissioner 1 (2022)

A mostly bald man with glasses stands, pictured from the waist up, smiling broadly at the camera with his arms crossed. He is wearing a black jacket over a light blue button down shirt. He stands against a blurry backdrop of blue mountains in the distance and light green farmland in the foreground.

 

As a local who grew up in rural Deschutes County and returned here eight years ago, Oliver Tatom did not waste any time before plugging into community life. He is a talented paramedic, a nurse, and serves on the COCC board of directors and the Deschutes Rural Fire Protection District board of directors. He’s father of two children with Amy, his wife. 

Though the population has mushroomed, the area’s social and physical infrastructure has not kept pace, he states. Problem areas are inadequate housing and childcare, wildfire and smoky air, and water shortages impacting river flows, farmers, and reservoirs. 

As a health professional, Oliver is keenly aware of the growing role of Deschutes County healthcare services—and its ongoing chronic underfunding and understaffing of department responsibilities, including primary care for county employees, 24/7 mobile crisis services, and the mandated reproductive health services now blocked by current commissioners, all he is eager to address as county commissioner.  

As County Commissioner, Oliver will seek to better utilize county lands to expand the housing supply along with other creative solutions. He supports providing permanent supportive housing to help deal with the unhoused population and urges wise use of water resources. 

Tatom is passionate about wildfire prevention, home hardening and community mitigation efforts, citing the increasing role of climate change in exacerbating the devastating effects of wildfires and drought. His work on the Deschutes Rural Fire Protection District board of directors and the Deschutes County Project Wildfire steering committee is critical to the county’s efforts to prevent disastrous wildfires throughout rural Oregon. 

Oliver Tatom has the heart, soul, talent, intelligence, and vision to be the effective Deschutes County Commissioner we need. Sierra Club has given him a resounding strong endorsement as best candidate for Deschutes County Commissioner, Position One. To learn more about Oliver and support his campaign, visit his website at olivertatom.com.

 

 

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