MORROW COUNTY — Residents of Morrow County soon decide whom to entrust with the next four years of leadership.

Two names are on the ballot for county commissioner in the Nov. 5 general election: incumbent Roy Drago Jr. and farmer Gus Peterson.

Four candidates ran in the May primary. Drago and Peterson were the top two vote-getters, with Peterson receiving 649 votes, or 28.5% of the total, and Drago receiving 638 votes, or 28% of the total, according to official results.

Since neither candidate received at least 50% of the vote, the race went to a runoff this fall.

Drago has been on the county board since early 2023, when he was appointed to the position after voters recalled Jim Dohertt. Drago grew up in Boardman and was a Boardman city councilor before becoming a county commissioner. He also formerly worked at Tidewater Terminal Co.

Peterson is a lifelong Ione resident and farmer who attended Oregon State University, where he earned bachelor’s degrees in agricultural science and political science.

Before the primary election, the Position 1 candidates answered questions from the East Oregonian regarding their priorities, community trust and the county’s budget. Going into the general election, we again emailed the candidates with two questions and word limits. Drago was the only one to respond.

What follows are those questions and their answers. We edited the answers for grammar, punctuation and spelling. Otherwise the answers are as-is from Drago.

Since the primary election, the county has settled the ambulance service contracts, which you had listed as a top priority. Is that still the case? If so, why? If not, what would you say has taken its spot in your top three priorities as a commissioner?

I am proud to say that Morrow County is finally working under a fully legal and up to date Ambulance Service Area agreement. Now the focus will be to fill all positions of the ASA advisory board, once we have established that we will be able to purposefully maintain all statutes and rules allowing Morrow County to stay in full compliance in the future. This topic should always be a priority in the county’s purview and (I) wouldn’t necessarily expect any other issues to replace it. That being said, I believe the county needs to start a more robust road and bridge infrastructure plan especially for rural areas of the county and water issues, both quality and quantity, should remain a high priority.

The state recently released a nitrate plan to address the pollution in the Lower Umatilla Basin. What is your reaction to the plan and how do you believe it will impact Morrow County’s approach to groundwater nitrate pollution?

Having the state and its agencies involved with local governing bodies has led us to the state’s nitrate reduction plan. This plan will help in data collection and allow public access to important data resources and education through outreach with possible solutions and avenues for well users in the Lower Umatilla Basin, as well as industry and economic developers. Hopefully, this will build trust and more transparency in the endeavor to not only reduce nitrate but also provide solutions to safe drinking water for everyone in Morrow County and the Lower Umatilla Basin.