January 18, 2022 3:30 a.m.

Douglas County Commissioner Chris Boice is facing a second challenger in his bid to get another term in office.

Mike Ruehle filed for the seat last week. Ruehle describes himself as a business and project consultant with 35 years in engineering, management and consulting in the petroleum industry.

Ruehle told News Radio 1240 KQEN that he is running “…because it is his civic duty to chart a new path for representation of county residents, unbiased by campaign contributions and future election aspirations, combined with the ability to balance business decisions with the needs of ALL county families”. Unaffiliated politically, Ruehle said he can be relied upon to seek improvements and challenge those seeking to maintain the status quo.

Ruehle said he would work as a commissioner without pay other than expense reimbursements. He also plans to refuse all campaign contributions which he said often result in biased spending of taxpayer’s money and biased appointments to county boards and committees. Ruehle said he opposes new county taxes and fees and the imminent domain seizures of real estate.

Ruehle’s statement said he would limit his term to 2 years to allow the return to staggered elections so all 3 commissioners are not elected at the same time.

Ruehle joins former Roseburg City Councilor Ashley Hicks, in challenging Boice.

All three commissioners are up for reelection this year. The deadline to file for office is March 8th.