Integrity Still matters

In recent weeks, it has been brought to my personal attention by farmers, agricultural industry folks, and those closely connected to Commissioner Berschauer that there is financial trouble in her personal family agricultural processing company that far exceeds simple closure of the plant as she announced. As a person, businessman, and now candidate for elected office, I operate under the assumption of good intent. I recognize that there is often information we lack and that forming unfair or uninformed opinions is not productive. As more conversations came my way, I began seeking documentation that would substantiate their claims. Hazelnut farmers claim they have not received the true up payment from the 2023 crop purchased by Firestone Processing Co. A letter was sent on Feb 22, 2024, by Firestone Processing Co. indicating closure of the plant, ending relationship with the industry, and uncertainty of when payment would be made. Our understanding is that other processing companies were in the process of payouts or conversations of timelines. Commissioner Berschauer was listed as the Initial Secretary and Individual With Direct Knowledge on Firestone Processing Co’s corporation. Through research, I was able to find in publicly-available records that Firestone Processing Co. filed a dissolution of their corporation on March 1, 2024, notably marking that “no debt of the corporation remains unpaid.” Commissioner Lindsay Berschauer then filed a new LLC, Firestone Processing Co, LLC, on March 4, 2024. The new business was not mentioned in the letter to the farmers on February 22, 2024. Commissioner Berschauer is listed as the Registered Agent and Member for the new LLC. There are two liens existing for Firestone Processing Co, LLC. One is a farm crop lien in the amount of $154,227.01 for a farm outside of Salem, OR. The second is a lien for Firestone Processing Co, LLC, and additionally names my opponent directly - it seeks $79,455 specifically for the 2023 hazelnut season. Many people probably wonder why this matters for a County Commissioner’s race. My opponent, Lindsay Berschauer, had dual authority with her spouse of Firestone Processing Co from 2023-2024. As a business owner, she should have known the company’s financial position, but still decided to take on the 2023 crop. Any financial instability is a possibility of not being able to make the true up payment. Commissioner Berschauer prides herself on being a commissioner for the farmers above all else, but when it came down to the decision between protecting small family farms and her personal business position, it appears she chose herself. Commissioner Berschauer will claim I am coming for her business or hitting below the belt. Her business is dissolved, and she has lacked transparency of how she will make good on the debt to these Willamette Valley hazelnut farmers who got her elected in the first place. She has fixated on a narrative that I'm not equipped to run a county budget because of my small business experience. When comparing business to business, I have never had problems like these. I will also say this implies that she is not capable of making ethical financial decisions that are for the good of others if it means the expense to herself. Commissioner Berschauer has told voters that she votes for her strong, conservative fiscal values, but this information directly opposes them. I'm here today as a person running for office, with enough courage and respect for these farmers and this information to share it for your informed vote. Individual farms fear retaliation, but all of this information is publicly available and easily accessible. Rightfully, many people have questions: will the farmers be paid in full for the crop already sold? What do you plan to do with your new LLC, Commissioner Berschauer? How many more unpaid farmers are there? I would expect any person to question my integrity and ethics in the same manner, directly and without hesitation, if the situation were as troubling as the one Commissioner Berschauer finds herself in. As Commissioner Berschauer so often states that she speaks her conservative values, I too speak mine. I hope you see me as the candidate that will speak up and stand my ground, especially in troubling times. However this election turns out, our community deserves better than this. Sincerely, Bubba King