BEND, Ore. — Billboards attacking Morgan Schmidt, a candidate for Deschutes County Commission, are combining real photographs with AI-generated imagery as voters approach the November election. The ads were placed by Rob Imhoff, a Republican-backed candidate seeking the Position 5 seat. One billboard uses a genuine photo of Schmidt at a 2020 protest in Bend, pairing it with the words “pro-police” and a protest sign reading “ICE OUT OF BEND.” Another depicts a fabricated newspaper, The Deschutes Chronicle, with a headline about higher taxes. The campaign discloses its use of AI. Imhoff said the images are intended to highlight Schmidt’s activism and make voters consider what a candidate’s public presence at protests means. “I just want her to be accountable,” he said, describing the photographs as evidence of her position and contrasting it with his support for law enforcement. Schmidt, who is backed by Democrats in the formally nonpartisan contest, said she attended the protest peacefully and does not object to being characterized as an activist. She said she would stand against federal overreach and work to protect democracy locally. The photograph shows Schmidt at a 2020 demonstration in which hundreds of people gathered around buses holding two men detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The 12-hour standoff ended after Border Patrol agents used pepper spray to disperse the crowd. The billboards prompted criticism on social media. Bend Mayor Melanie Kebler called one “gross and a waste of money” in a Reddit discussion and urged residents to vote. The campaign’s focus on policing and immigration highlights how national political divisions can shape a local race, even though county commissioners have little control over law enforcement and no authority over federal immigration operations. State law also limits property-tax increases beyond a cap Deschutes County has already reached without voter approval. Commissioners do have consequential local responsibilities. They set priorities for the county’s $440 million budget, which supports departments including the sheriff’s office and public health, and make decisions on zoning and development outside city limits. The race comes as voters consider changes to county government and the way commissioners are elected. The county has expanded its board from three members to five, removed party labels from commission seats, and will ask voters in November to consider a proposed election map. Recent primary results also shifted the county’s political balance, in a region where population growth has brought more left-leaning voters. Tammy Baney, a Republican who served as a county commissioner from 2007 to 2019, said campaigns have long used national issues to signal candidates’ broader political positions, even when those issues are beyond the board’s jurisdiction. She urged voters to learn what commissioners actually do. Imhoff withdrew from a local debate scheduled for the following week, citing a scheduling conflict. Schmidt remains willing to attend debates, though organizers have been hesitant to hold a forum with only one candidate, she said. Imhoff said he is concentrating on getting his message in front of as many voters as possible before Election Day.