Karon Johnson 4 Bend

Karon is the best choice for Bend City Council Position #4 with her strong stances and solutions for the biggest challenges our community is facing! 👏

Her opinions and plans are easy to find on her website, where she has a full page dedicated to her comments and analysis of the most serious problems facing Bend.

Read more about Karon's positions and see why she is the best candidate for positive change!
👉 https://bit.ly/3NoZWHe

White Paper, Karon Johnson, Candidate for Bend City Council Candidate for Bend City Council Position # 4. Comments and analysis of the most serious problems facing Bend.

In 2020, the Oregon Legislature decided that Oregon cities and counties were not adequately addressing the critical need for homeless shelters.

House Bill 4001, Section 3(1) established a “super siting” law that required local governments to approve the placement of an emergency homeless shelter on any property “notwithstanding … local land use regulation … zoning ordinance … or comprehensive plan …” if the shelter met certain criteria. In short, it took away local governments’ discretion in the placement of homeless shelters. Section 3 was revoked on July 1, 2021.

The “super siting” mandate was reinstated in HB 2006 and again in HB 4501; it will be revoked on July 1, 2023. It is important to understand that the Legislature did not direct local governments to amend their own zoning codes regarding homeless shelters. Rather, it suspended its codes altogether to allow emergency homeless shelters in any zone.

Bend’s new shelter code permits low-barrier shelters in all residential zones. (Bend Development Code 3.6.600.A.) This provision was entirely the decision of the city council: it was not required by Oregon law.

The Legislature’s takeover of local governments' land use laws may eventually end, but Bend’s code will remain on the books unless and until it is revoked. The time to revoke it is now.

Karon has the solutions to tackle these issues facing our community. Vote Karon Johnson for Bend City Council, Position 4, this November!

Information is everything!

Bend Chamber created an article that lets you know exactly who is running for what positions both locally and statewide this election season. This article includes information on how to best learn about these candidates' plans and solutions for our area.
You can find Karon listed in the Local Elections area under Bend City Council Position 4.

Visit the link below to get informed and learn more about Karon and her great solutions for Bend's most important issues!
👉 https://bit.ly/3WjXhmf

Election Info & Resources » Bend Chamber of Commerce The November 8, 2022 general election is quickly approaching, and it will be a crowded ballot with statewide and local races as well as policy initiatives. Here’s a quick overview of the statewide issues and educational resources.

Get some more information about Karon and how she's the best candidate for Bend City Council Position 4!

The Source Weekly recently interviewed Karon and the other candidates running for Bend City Council Position 4 and dug deeper into Karon's strong positions and solutions for some of Bend's biggest issues.

Watch the full interview at the link below:

▶ WATCH: Bend City Council Pos 4 - Karon Johnson, Erlin Taylor & Barb Campbell The Source editorial board interviews the candidates vying for Bend City Council pos 4

Karon was endorsed by the Bend Bulletin!

Editorial: Johnson, Méndez and Riley for Bend City Council This election will create significant turnover on the Bend City Council. Of the seven positions including mayor, four of those seats are up for election.

Karon and her husband, Rob, have lived in southeast Bend since 2014. She has a Bachelor's and Master's degree in physics and a law degree from the University of Oregon.

She spent 38 years protecting victims of crime: 13 years as a Deputy District Attorney and 25 years as an Assistant United States Attorney for the U.S. Department of Justice.

She has a thorough understanding of Oregon land use law and the Bend Development Code and has engaged the city on many issues relating to Bend’s development and the welfare of its citizens.

Karon is ready to tackle the issues facing our community. Vote Karon Johnson for Bend City Council, Position 4, this November!

With understaffed Police and Fire Departments, council members encouraging camping in and around Bend, and a push for homeless shelters in our residential areas, public safety has taken a backseat.

The health and safety of Bend’s residents is the fundamental duty of the city government. Why not make it a top priority?

Karon wants to protect our neighborhoods, parks, and trails we enjoy every day. Making sure our police department is empowered to do their job, keeping homeless shelters out of our residential areas, and working towards solutions for the homelessness are all part of this effort.

The best indicator of economic equity and justice is trees: the wealthier neighborhoods of every US city have streets lined with shade trees; the more impoverished regions are instead lined with concrete and asphalt.

On July 14, 2021, Climate Central published a report which analyzed 159 cities for the intensity of urban heat islands within their city limits. Bend was rated 14th.

Karon is passionate about our beautiful Central Oregon Landscape and will work hard to make sure it is preserved and protected so it can be enjoyed for generations to come.

It's time to examine whether whole-house short-term rentals (STRs) negatively affect our inventory of affordable and workforce homes.

The council’s new housing code was supposed to encourage more duplexes, triplexes, and quads. Instead, it allows one STR in every multi-unit building. How does that help our housing shortage?

If elected, Karon will introduce legislation to delete this provision and hire an expert to assess whether STRs really impact our lack of affordable housing.

The health and safety of Bend’s residents is the fundamental duty of the city government.

The city council has disregarded the welfare of its residents by allowing low-barrier shelters (shelters with virtually no admission criteria) in residential zones.

This needs to be changed.

Karon will introduce legislation to revoke this section of the code as there is no evidence that sitting low-barrier shelters in residential neighborhoods solve any aspect of Bend’s homeless problem.

It's time to examine what's helping the housing crisis in other places like Bend.

For years cities around the country have required that every development include a certain percentage of housing, at a set price and deed-restricted, for persons of lower and middle-income.

Colorado resort cities have successfully created housing for employees by subsidizing their construction. In Telluride, 31% of all housing units are deed-restricted for local workers. Crested Butte has reserved 30% of its units for city and county employees. Frisco and Vail have hundreds of such units in service or under construction.

We need to consider their programs and how we could improve the state of housing in Bend.