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From police and fire, water and sewer, parks and land use, cities make critical decisions about our everyday lives.

City elections are political, but they are nonpartisan.

In our endorsements this year, we have tried to reset our hope for local boards.

We believe they should function more like a jury: open-minded, objective and drawn from a cross section of our community.

We evaluate candidates mostly based on their potential to be effective. Experience is helpful, but so are diverse backgrounds.

Poe for Warrenton City Commission

We endorse Gerald Poe for Position 1 on the Warrenton City Commission.

Warrenton is our fastest-growing city, a regional retail and business hub with the potential to ease Clatsop County’s housing crunch.

But growth has put a strain on infrastructure and traffic. Residents should not bear the brunt of financing the improvements necessary to keep pace.

The city has been more vigilant about vetting new development, a degree of professionalism that contrasts with the cozy relationships of the past.

City Commissioner Pam Ackley chose not to run for reelection. Ackley brought her real estate expertise to the commission, a dynamic that will be missed in policy discussions around housing.

Poe, a merchant mariner who used to work for Washington State Ferries, has invested the time to learn city issues. He has served on the Urban Renewal Advisory Committee, the budget committee and the Hammond Marina task force.

“We should have smart growth, well planned, so that it doesn’t affect our residents negatively or harm them,” he said. “We want to be family-friendly and business-friendly at the same time. But we want to protect the city for the people who live here, so that it doesn’t get crazy.”

Brandon Williams and Allen Berry are the other contenders.

Williams, a contractor, and Berry, a retired electrician, have stressed the protection of constitutional rights and the importance of personal freedom during the coronavirus pandemic. They echo many of the political messages on the far right.

While these themes may have some currency under President Donald Trump, the City Commission should not be the stage.

Fackerell, Jesse for Gearhart City Council

We endorse City Councilor Reita Fackerell for Position 2 and City Councilor Dan Jesse for Position 4 on the Gearhart City Council.

Gearhart has sought a greater balance as more residents live in the beach town year-round. Restrictions on vacation rentals, limits on commercial activity in the sliver of downtown and strategies to contain a stubborn elk population can be vexing.

On infrastructure, the city is weighing whether to replace a 1950s-era fire station on Pacific Way with a new, bond-financed firehouse at High Point. Voters would get to decide on the firehouse bond.

In November, though, they can set the direction for the City Council.

Fackerell, a former Seaside Public Library director appointed in 2018, and Jesse, a homebuilder and commercial photographer first elected in 2012, bring stability and a level-headed approach.

With Mayor Matt Brown not running for reelection, and City Councilor Paulina Cockrum unopposed to replace him, voters who value continuity should look to the incumbents.

The challengers — Bob Shortman, a retired contractor who manages family properties, and Jack Zimmerman, a retiree who has worked in energy and development — do offer voters clear policy choices.

Both are skeptical of High Point for a new firehouse. They also believe the city should pursue the Gearhart Elementary School property, which is vacant as the Seaside School District moves to a new campus in the Southeast Hills outside the tsunami inundation zone.

Shortman has lost two campaigns for mayor. Zimmerman lost a campaign for City Council in 2018.

Posalski for Seaside City Council

We endorse David Posalski for Ward 4 on the Seaside City Council.

Seaside often foreshadows policy challenges across the North Coast as our economy becomes increasingly reliant on tourism. As the city most dependent on visitors, city leaders have had to sort through issues such as carrying capacity, hotel development, vacation rentals, traffic, workforce housing and disaster preparedness.

City Councilor Seth Morrisey, who was first elected in 2014, did not run for reelection.

Posalski and his family own Tsunami Sandwich Co., the Crabby Oyster and Beach Day Coffee in Seaside and Uptown Cafe in Warrenton.

He has served on the Seaside Planning Commission and the Seaside Transportation Advisory Commission. He has also served on the board of the Seaside Chamber of Commerce.

“This candidacy is basically just a next step of a way for me to be able to continue serving Seaside,” he said. “I see it as a way to be able to deal with some of the difficult questions that come up, and issues that come up, and be able to give a kind of a business perspective.”

Posalski believes the S. Holladay Drive corridor needs to be revitalized, which could help pull drivers off of U.S. Highway 101 before the downtown bottleneck and turn that stretch of riverfront into a backdrop for new hotels, businesses and housing.

He also favors a new parking structure at the Seaside Civic and Convention Center to draw tourists into the downtown core and divert drivers away from neighborhoods.

Kathy Kleczek, who has owned a clothing boutique in Cannon Beach and served on the Sunset Empire Transportation District board, and Adam Wood, who works at Highlands Golf Club, are the other candidates.

Kleczek, who serves on the board of the Special Districts Association of Oregon, has talked of integrating emergency planning into everyday life. In her endorsement interview, she also brought up mental health treatment, which is not a city responsibility but should be a priority across the county.

Wood has called for a cap on vacation rentals in the hopes that more of the city’s housing stock could be used for workforce housing.