Jonathan Curtis Wants a Clerk's Office That Works for Everyone

Jonathan Curtis spent 19 years in speech therapy. He had four speech impediments. Until he was about 12, most people had trouble following what he was saying.

He is also autistic, and he talks about it openly.

So when Curtis says county services should work for everyone, he is speaking from experience. He knows what it is like when a simple thing is hard because nobody thought about you.

Who gets left out

Picture voting, or getting a record from the county, if you cannot see well. Or if you cannot stand in a line. Or if dense forms are hard for you to read.

That is a lot of our neighbors.

What he would do

Curtis's plan for the Deschutes County Clerk's Office includes three things.

  • Accessible service for voters with disabilities. As part of the job, and never as an extra.
  • Letters and web pages in plain language. If a notice from the county has to be read three times to be understood, the notice is the problem. The reader is not.
  • Every question answered promptly, and the same way, for every resident. Same answer. Same respect. Whoever you are.

Curtis learned to be understood one word at a time. He wants a Clerk's Office that works just as hard to be understood by the people it serves.

Jonathan Curtis is a candidate for Deschutes County Clerk in the November 3, 2026 general election.

Learn more: votejonathancurtis.com

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