Candidate Guide
On May 19th, 2026, an election for two county commissioner positions and clerk will appear on your ballots. To encourage civic involvement, we at Town & Country, want to provide a guide to the candidates running for these positions. Below you will find information not always provider in the Voter Guide you will receive or through the candidates filing with the elections division.
To see more information on a candidate, please click on their name. We hope that by sharing this information voters will learn more about the candidates seeking your vote this May 19th.
Note that most candidates have a website, or social media to find out up to the minute happenings on their campaigns. If you would like to contact the candidate directly, each should have at least a phone number or an email address to help answer any questions.
County Commissioner Position 1
Kit Johnston
Position: County Commissioner Position 1
Website: https://kitforyamhill.com/Biography: From a young age, Kit embraced hard work—whether cleaning trucks, picking hops with his grandparents, or picking up nails at construction sites. This work ethic and drive to be financially independent led Kit to start forging his own future. In high school, he joined FFA, raising Newfoundland dogs, winning entrepreneurship awards, and eventually taking out his first loan with his siblings for a Littau Harvester. Summers were then spent custom picking marionberries, blueberries, and boysenberries across the valley and beyond. Kit then added more equipment into the mix and began baling and stacking hay across the county.
At 19, with help from a business partner, Kit purchased the Bayou Golf Course in McMinnville and managed the land maintenance side of the course for eight years while also continuing to help with the family chicken farm, pick berries, and bale hay.
Always looking for ways to diversify and keep ahead of markets and trends, Kit expanded into new ventures. In 2006, he purchased a nursery specializing in apple rootstock, which he has since grown from 300,000 plants annually to more than 4 million in 2025—making Johnston Farms one of the region’s largest suppliers across North America. Along the way, he also launched an equipment rental business to support local agriculture and construction.
John Linder
Position: County Commissioner Position 1
Website: https://linderfororegon.comBiography: John is a veteran financial professional holding the CFA charter and CPA designation. His career spans over 25 years in institutional and high net worth investor consulting and fundraising. His background includes significant accomplishments in capital raising, institutional investor consulting, asset management business development, and sales and analysis in the broader financial services sector.
Previously, he was a Managing Director, Registered Broker, and Investment Banker at Paulson Investment Company, sourcing and raising capital for venture and growth stage companies, in biotech, medtech, pharma, SAAS, fintech, energy tech and the energy transition. He has held senior positions at Sun Life Capital Management, Pension Consulting Alliance, and CTC Consulting. He holds a BA in Economics from Middlebury College and a Masters of Accountancy from the Kenan-Flagler School of Business at UNC Chapel Hill.
John Linder is a valuable resource for companies raising capital from family offices and institutions. He excels in assisting organizations in developing and effectively communicating their stories to investors. His capabilities in financial modeling and analysis allow him to assist founders to translate their vision into understandable and viable financial forecasts for potential investors.
County Commissioner Position 3
Jason Fields
Position: County Commissioner Position 3
Website: https://fieldsforyc.comBiography: Jason Fields is a native Oregonian, small business owner, and current member of the Yamhill County Budget Committee. He also serves as an elected board member of the Chehalem Park & Recreation District. After being raised in poverty and struggling with parents who suffered from mental illness & addiction, Jason worked to build his success from the ground up, turning a passion for restoring Volkswagens into a successful manufacturing business based right here in Yamhill County. Jason isn’t a career politician-he’s a problem solver with real-world experience, a strong work ethic, and a deep love for this community.
Key Issues: Key priorities include maintaining the policies of fiscal restraint and savings of past Boards of Commissioners, supporting the redevelopment of the county fairgrounds and building an amphitheater for year-round events that generate revenue to fund parks, dog control and other services without dedicated funding streams, prioritizing public safety budgets, defending private property rights and local control policies, and improving communication of county practices with residents.
Government Experience: Yamhill County Budget Committee, Appointed Member, 2021-Current
Chehalem Park & Recreation District, Elected Board Member, 2023-Current
Precinct Committeeperson
Endorsements: House Minority Leader, State Representative Lucetta Elmer
State Representative Anna Scharf
Senate Minority Leader, State Senator Bruce Starr
Yamhill County Chair, Commissioner Kit Johnston
Yamhill County Commissioner Mary Starrett
Former Yamhill County Commissioner Lindsay Berschauer
David Wall
Position: County Commissioner Position 3
County Clerk
Keri Hinton
Position: County Clerk
Social Media: Facebook
Biography: Keri Hinton has served as Yamhill County Clerk since July 2022, bringing 12 years of public service experience to this non-partisan role. She has improved office security, built strong partnerships, and is dedicated to reliability, transparency, and accountability. Clerk Hinton has overseen 12 elections, earning voters’ trust by protecting the vote and upholding the law. She keeps elections secure, accurate, and transparent.
Key Issues:
- Promote transparency by encouraging community access and participation in elections and local services.
- Foster trust through collaboration with colleagues, government agencies, local leaders, and Yamhill County residents, and by serving as a responsible steward of taxpayer funds.
- Use modern technology to protect the core values of our democracy.
- Serving the public – professionally, respectfully, and efficiently.
Government Experience: Yamhill County Clerk – July 2022 to present
Increased accountability in election administration by promoting transparency and providing comprehensive staff training.
- Improved election efficiency by adopting modern technology and strengthening security, making elections secure, fair, accurate, and accessible to all.
- Allocated resources to digitize and protect historical public records, ensuring their accessibility and preservation for future generations.
- Launched a free Property Recording Alert Service to notify property owners of transactions, giving residents more clarity and control over their records.
- Implemented enhanced security measures for daily operations, improving office safety, and maintaining efficient service.
Cindy Johnson
Position: County Clerk
Website: https://cindyforclerk.comSocial Media: Facebook
Biography: My name is Cindy Johnson, and after a career in high tech, I want to give back to my community. Much of my 30-year professional life has been spent in Yamhill County. I met my husband here, raised two kids here, and have many friends in the area. After gaining so much from this county, I believe I have skills that would be a great asset to the Yamhill County Clerk’s Office.
I graduated with honors from George Fox University in both mathematics and computer information science. During my career, I worked as a software engineer and later transitioned into a project manager, overseeing multinational software products and coordinating teams across multiple countries and time zones for Intel. My work also included collaborating with the open-source Linux community, where volunteers and other companies contributed to upcoming platform features. These experiences translate well to the Clerk’s position, which requires coordination with cities, the public, the County Assessor, the County Planning department, and the County Commission.
My technology background could also help modernize the Clerk’s Office, while maintaining transparency, strong security, and full compliance with state and federal election law—so voters can have confidence not just in the outcome, but in the process itself. In addition, my experience in project management and technology may help identify efficiencies that could save the county money.
Beyond my professional career, I have been deeply involved in volunteer work with the Portland Symphonic Girlchoir for more than a decade, serving as a music librarian, choir coordinator, and facilitator of international trips. This work involves close collaboration with conductors, young singers, and their parents as they perform throughout the Portland area and around the world.