Meet the candidates: The Dalles City Council

While The Dalles is facing a plethora of issues — houselessness, infrastructure decline, public outreach, and general livability among them — Morgan and Sheppard agree their diverse community with historic roots and beautiful surroundings is worth fighting for.

Columbia Gorge News spoke with both candidates about their backgrounds, motivations, and goals if elected. Topics included government transparency, education, federal immigration enforcement, data centers, and more.

Morgan and Sheppard were given the same questions, and responses were not limited by word count. Let’s meet them.

Kim Morgan

Morgan’s family roots are planted in The Dalles. Though born out of state while her father worked for Union Pacific, she was brought back at three months old, raised and schooled in town until adulthood.

Her mother also grew up in The Dalles, while her grandfather, Walter Long, ran its historic railroad tie treatment plant and served on city council himself.

“He was my north star and role model,” Morgan said. “[Public service] was something I always knew I wanted to be a part of.”

Morgan’s educational and career trajectory later took a winding, unconventional path away from the Gorge. She attended community college in the Portland metro, but couldn’t find her calling, prompting a move to LA.

Here, she blossomed into the nascent tech industry, starting as a sales receptionist before making her way into marketing coordination, even serving as a beta tester for Microsoft Office. Morgan then returned to Portland in sales and performed customized database programming for small businesses.

With resources available, Morgan took a hard pivot, pursuing a dream she had from a young age: horse ownership. When she moved to Utah in 2001, her horse came with her, and the second act of her career materialized.

After securing a certificate in equine massage from the Myotherapy College of Utah, Morgan became a go-to in the performance horse massage industry. She spoke at expos, traveled around the country, and worked with U.S. Olympic equestrian team members.

But Morgan never severed her attachments to The Dalles, and with one remaining grandmother still living in town, she returned to care for her. After a brief stint running the copy and print center at Staples, which allowed her to refamiliarize and reintroduce herself to the community, she became a legal assistant for a former court-appointed criminal defense attorney. This fascinating role, she explained, let her build relationships with court systems across the region.

After witnessing the outcome of the 2016 General Election, Morgan decided it was time to become involved with some sort of public service office, prompting a shot at the CGCC Board of Education, where she’s served for the last nine years, including two stints as chair.

Morgan also spent eight years representing CGCC on the Oregon Community College Association Board, guiding statewide policy, governance, and advocacy for the state’s 17 public institutions.

Now, she’s after the same office her greatest mentor, her grandfather, assumed in the 1960s — “a natural progression,” she explained. “He modeled for me what it means to make sure you are helping others live their best life.”

Morgan’s tenure with CGCC has taught her the very specific lanes one must stay in as a public servant, working within established parameters, while trying to ensure everyone has a voice. “It doesn’t mean that you can’t help people in the community, but you have to be mindful of what your roles and responsibilities are,” she said.

Of the many issues Morgan hopes to address in The Dalles, faith in elected officials is a priority, citing the city’s current lack of transparency, communication, and collaboration with its citizens. She said that her strong collaboration skills, built over time throughout myriad jobs and positions, will have ripple effects into other intergovernmental agencies and help coalesce the city into a unified whole.

Morgan also referenced the city’s aging school system, with declining infrastructure sparking grave concerns about safety and economic outlook, specifically attracting young parents to town. “Our infrastructure currently doesn’t point to The Dalles being a great place to live and work,” she said.

When it comes to data centers, Morgan said the genie can’t be put back in the bottle with Google, but is adamantly against further development. “There are contracts signed before my time. What we can try to manage is how that looks for water resources and the sustainability of safe and clean drinking water for citizens,” she said.

On Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Morgan said relationship building is key: understanding what can and can’t be done from a legal standpoint, while ensuring that all citizens feel safe within the community.

Serving at a designated Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI), Morgan has worked to make Latino students feel safe on campus and cultivate a sense of belonging. “It comes down to communication, helping people know what their rights are, and letting the powers that be know that this is not something our community wants to see happen,” she said, referencing the “horrors of grabbing people out of their cars” and the “unlawful arrest and seizing of individuals.”

Asked to pitch her electability, elevator-style, Morgan said she’ll bring a fresh voice to city council — one with collaborative experience, citing ties with local agency partners and both sides of Oregon’s statewide legislature.

“I have an understanding of the history of our area, and look to the future by building from what we know has worked and what hasn’t in the past,” she said.

Tristan Sheppard

Born in Hood River, Sheppard grew up in Parkdale in a single-parent household, where he helped take care of his three younger sisters. He got his hands dirty early, changing sprinklers and chopping firewood.

After graduating from Goldendale High School, he transitioned into Emergency Medical Services (EMS) and volunteer work, starting with Dallesport Fire before migrating to paid positions with the Department of Forestry, Columbia River Fire & Rescue, and Warm Springs Fire & Safety.

His gravitation towards this line of duty was instilled in him by his parents, who were volunteers during his childhood. “I grew up in the Parkdale Firehouse,” he said. “Raised with that mindset of community service and helping out your neighbors if you can.”

Sheppard moved to The Dalles in 2016 and currently does consulting and public education work, teaching CPR, first aid, and basic life support courses. He additionally continues volunteer work with the Dallesport/Murdock Volunteer Fire Department.

One of the principal reasons Sheppard decided to file for candidacy was a recognition that The Dalles, and the Gorge as a whole, has fallen behind the curve in many areas. “Our current administration seems like it might be slightly out of touch with the day-to-day functions of actual people, especially younger crowds,” he explained, referencing The Dalles’ aging community. “That representation needs to be there, but I think we need to get back to the basics of serving the community.”

Key issues include houeslessness, substance abuse, fewer employment opportunities, and education, which he said are being felt nationwide, and “not stuff the city council can handle by itself … but can help get the conversation going.”

If elected, Sheppard will use his platform to ask questions and bolster community buy-in, keeping the door open for people to attend council meetings. “Even if it’s somebody out on the street, I believe that you need to be accessible to the people that you represent and are not afraid of them,” he said.

On ICE, Sheppard recognized the city’s inability to act beyond its purview. “I do believe in strong borders, but also people have rights,” he said. “We need to make sure that our public is informed and they know that their rights exist.”

Sheppard pointed to disinformation and misinformation as one of the largest problems in modern society, highlighting education as the best way to combat it.

Asked about continued data center development, he stressed that The Dalles must limit the footprint of already-signed projects. “That way, we can go back to giving to other uses, whether it be smaller businesses or some sort of housing projects for land redevelopment,” Sheppard said. “There’s no benefit to continuing with those deals if it’s not going to be something that the city will benefit from.”

In his final pitch, Sheppard said that current city leadership is dominated by people with administrative, policy-making backgrounds, not boots-on-the-ground experience.

“We don’t need any more administrators in our government,” he said. “We need somebody that’s going to challenge their policies, ask questions, and view how it’s going to actually impact people.”