Mary Stern

Yamhill County Commissioner Mary Stern filed Friday to run for a third and final term in her position. She will face Mary Starrett, former broadcaster and gubernatorial candidate, in the May election.

Stern, 50, was first elected commissioner in 2002 and was re-elected in 2006. Stern, who lives in McMinnville, grew up in Boston and graduated from Westfield State College with a bachelor's degree in criminal justice. She later earned her Juris Doctorate from Suffolk University Law School.

She decided to run for commissioner again in 2010 because, "there's still a lot of work to be done" on various county projects, she said.

Stern, who came to Oregon to work in the federal prison in Sheridan, has been working with the county's criminal justice department to create a program that helps jail inmates who have special needs. The program will save the county money and help treat inmates with chemical dependencies, mental health problems or developmental disabilities, she said.

In addition, Stern plans to encourage both agribusiness and agritourism in Yamhill County. Her association with on the Enterprise For Employment and Education, the regional workforce investment board, has allowed her to "work with private industry to address their workforce needs," she said.

Stern is also looking forward to working with the new county administrator, Laura Tschabold.

She said the new county structure will be very different, but much better than previously, when the commissioners supervised appointed department heads. She wants to help make the transition smooth and the new structure work well.

But before Stern can work toward those goals, she must get past Starrett, who has said in a previous interview with the News-Register she believes she and Stern possess diametrically opposed political views.

Starrett, who manages communications for the Constitution Party, has said her own goals include making the county government run more efficiently and reducing government spending.

To that end, Stern does not believe she has contributed to expanding Yamhill County government unnecessarily. Property taxes have not been raised by the sitting Board of Commissioners, she said, and the few fee increases they have made have all been unanimous in her recollection.

Stern said her political stance is to be open-minded. "We're a country of diverse views," she said, adding that she goes into every problem and vote with a willingness to hear all sides and makes up her mind independently.

Stern said her campaign will focus on her goals and accomplishments, one of which includes creating more public involvement in county politics.

"My campaign will be about my service to the citizens of Yamhill County," Stern said. "I have worked hard for years and I want to continue working for them."