Union County government will undergo a significant change with the turning of the new year. John Lamoreau will be seated in January as a county commissioner, succeeding 16-year incumbent John Howard of Imbler. Union County citizens can only hope that Lamoreau’s service will be as productive as Howard’s has been.

Voters spoke in November. They said in choosing Lamoreau that it was time for a change. Lamoreau and his supporters pointed to the county’s involvement in the Elgin-Joseph rail line and Union’s Buffalo Peak Golf Course as evidence that a change was needed. But county citizens should not judge Howard’s service to this county by his support for those two controversial issues, which received the unanimous backing of the three-member commission. Rather, Howard’s tenure as commissioner should be judged on his accomplishments and willingness to devote a good part of his life to the betterment of Union County.

As soft-spoken and thoughtful as Howard is, he never shied away from making tough decisions. He has a knack for bringing people together to find common ground on issues. He did it with the formation of the Grande Ronde Model Watershed and with the startup of the airport industrial park. Recognizing that change is best made from the ground up, he even took on the task of forming a smoke management committee to look at field burning. His dedication to economic development and keeping Union County’s economy viable has been a driving force and one that led him to bring people together on natural resource issues.

The community forestry board that works in concert with the U.S. Forest Service has become a national model. The collaboration that has gone on here helped inspire the Blue Mountains Demonstration Forest, which is doing more to reinvigorate our forest and our natural resource-based economy than anything else that has come along in the past decade. Howard’s efforts have earned him a spot on the program at a conference on the National Fire Plan in January in New Orleans.

Although his detractors would disagree, even the rail line and golf course issues can be pointed to as examples of local government stepping up when the chips were down. The county’s involvement saved Buffalo Peak and preserved the rail corridor.

But it was the controversies surrounding the rail line, the golf course and perhaps smoke management, combined with what may be an underlying sentiment among some voters that 16 years in office is long enough, that seemed to be Howard’s undoing.

Those issues should not detract from a successful career as a public servant. For 16 years John Howard gave his all for Union County, and for that he deserves a hearty thank you.

Through his tireless efforts on behalf of the county and his ability to bring people together to tackle important issues, he has set the bar high for future commissioners.