Appeal Tribune Wednesday, November 22, 2017 3A
Officials call for Sen. Kruse to resign
Appeal follows claim of sexual harassment
CONNOR RADNOVICH
SALEM STATESMAN JOURNAL
USA TODAY NETWORK
Top Oregon political figures called
for Sen. Jeff Kruse, R-Roseburg, to re-
sign immediately Thursday, one day af-
ter a fellow senator filed a formal com-
plaint against him describing years of
unwanted touching and sexual harass-
ment.
“As more facts emerge and accusa-
tions surface, we now know his history of
behavior is egregious,” said Jeanne At-
kins, chairwoman of the Oregon Demo-
cratic Party, in her statement calling for
his resignation. “There must be conse-
quences — not just never-ending investi-
gations and warnings — for a sitting Ore-
gon senator with this record.”
The incidents described by Sen. Sara
Gelser, D-Corvallis, in her five-page
complaint include allegations that Kruse
whispered so close to her that his tongue
was in her ear, that he ran his hands
across her breasts, placed his fingers on
her thigh underneath the hem of her
skirt and wrapped his arms around her
from behind.
Some of these incidents occurred on
the Senate Chamber floor within eye-
sight of other lawmakers, who on two oc-
casions interrupted Kruse’s actions.
Gelser also wrote that at least 15 other
women have had similar experiences
with Kruse.
Kruse previously denied Gelser’s
claims. He did not respond to a request
for comment for this story.
Rep. Knute Buehler, R-Bend, released
a statement Thursday that said Kruse
should “do the right thing” and resign,
adding that a culture of unprofessional
conduct has been acceptable at the Capi-
tol for too long.
“The behavior of Sen. Kruse has no
place in civil society or the workplace,”
said Buehler, a candidate for governor.
“This is especially true for someone who
holds the people’s trust and should set a
higher standard of behavior.”
Kruse’s hometown newspaper, the
News-Review, called for his resignation
in an editorial Thursday.
Other Republican representatives
also called on Kruse to resign. On his ra-
dio program, Rep. Bill Post, R-Keizer,
said as much, and Rep. Julie Parrish, R-
West-Linn, said it would “probably be
best” for his continents if he resigned,
considering these allegations will make
him less effective of a legislator.
Parrish added that Kruse was never
“untoward” to her.
Earlier Thursday Parrish took to
Twitter to ask newly elected Senate Re-
publican Leader Jackie Winters, R-Sa-
lem, to join the chorus seeking Kruse’s
resignation.
Winters did not respond to questions
Thursday evening to clarify her position.
Statements by lawmakers Nov. 15 did
not seek immediate resignation.
After the complaint was filed
Wednesday, Senate President Peter
Courtney, D-Salem, said the claims
would be fully investigated, while Secre-
tary of State Dennis Richardson said
Kruse should resign if “due process”
found the allegations to be true.
According to the Oregon Legisla-
ture’s personnel rules, an independent
investigator must be appointed within 10
days of a formal complaint. The investi-
gator then has 60 days to file a draft of
the findings, though an extension is pos-
sible. A final draft is due 15 days after
that to either the director of human re-
sources or the Office of the Legislative
Counsel.
This timeline suggests a report could
be finalized early in the 2018 short legis-
lative session.
Kruse has been reprimanded for in-
appropriate interactions with his col-
leagues before.
In her complaint, Gelser wrote that
Kruse has attended multiple training
sessions on sexual assault over the years
and was told by top officials in the Capi-
tol to stop his behavior after her infor-
mal complaints.
Related allegations in late October
caused Courtney to strip Kruse of his
committee assignments and write him a
letter that read, in part: “Women in the
Oregon political officialsare now calling for State Sen. Jeff Kruse to resign immediately after a
fellow senator filed a complaint alleging years of touching and sexual harrassment by Kruse
FILE PHOTO
Capitol do NOT want you to touch them.”
“What troubles me the most is that it
is clear Sen. Kruse is not interested or
capable of changing his behavior even
after it was previously documented and
addressed by Senate Leadership,” State
Treasurer Tobias Read said. “It’s time
for him to resign.”
Contact the reporter at cradnov-
ich@statesmanjournal.com or 503-399-
6864, or follow him on Twitter at
@CDRadnovich.
Oregon’s pop. grows at fastest rate in 20 years
ZACH URNESS
SALEM STATESMAN JOURNAL
USA TODAY NETWORK
Oregon’s population continued to
grow at a rapid pace last year, including
in the Salem area, as new residents
poured into the state.
Oregon’s population reached 4.1 mil-
lion in 2017, growing by a total of 64,750
during the past year, according to new
estimates from Portland State Univer-
sity’s Population Research Center.
The 1.6 percent growth rate, com-
bined with similar gains in 2015 and 2016,
mark the largest population growth in
Oregon since the 1990s, the report said.
Eighty-eight percent of the increase
came from new residents migrating to
Oregon, the report said, while only 12
percent was due to an increase of births
over deaths.
In the Salem area, Marion and Polk
counties both grew at 1.6 percent, the
state average. Marion County’s popula-
tion increased to 339,200, up by 5,250
people, while Polk County’s population
reached 81,000, up by 1,270.
Oregon’s three most populous coun-
ties in the Portland metro area experi-
enced the largest gains. Multnomah and
Washington counties each added more
than 12,000 residents, and Clackamas
County added just over 8,000. Portland’s
population reached 639,100.
The largest percentage growth oc-
curred in the Central Oregon counties of
Deschutes (3.6 percent) and Crook (2.4
percent).
The slowest growing Oregon counties
were on the state’s east side, where
Grant and Sherman counties each grew
by just five people.
The report’s major finding was how
much migration was fueling Oregon’s
population growth and how much natu-
Donor gifts Silverton schools $156K
CHRISTENA BROOKS
SPECIAL TO SALEM STATESMAN JOURNAL
USA TODAY NETWORK
An anonymous donor has given
$156,000 to the Silver Falls School Dis-
trict, with instructions that the money
divided evenly among the district’s 13
schools.
That works out to $12,000 for each
school, from tiny Evergreen School to
Silverton High School. The donor also
asked that the money be spent by the
end of this school year on something
that will “support students,” picked by
each campus’ principal and teachers,
said Supt. Andy Bellando.
“It’s a bit of a pinch-me-is-this-real
opportunity,” Bellando said.
Last week, school principals and
staff throughout the district met to de-
cide how to spend the money they re-
ceived. The deadline for submitting
proposals was Friday, Nov. 17.
ral growth has slowed.
“Due to an aging population and de-
clining birth rates, natural increase now
contributes less to Oregon’s population
growth than at any time since the 1930s,”
the report said.
“The number of deaths continues to
climb due to the growth in older popula-
tion.”
At the same time, migration has con-
tinued to spike. Over the past five years,
people moving to Oregon has added
200,000 to the state population.
“Net migration has accelerated, as
the number of people moving to Oregon
exceeded the number moving out by
more than 50,000 for the second consec-
utive year,” the report said.
Notes from report
uPortland continued to add more res-
idents than any city in Oregon. Its 2017
population of 639,100 includes growth of
11,705 (1.8 percent) since 2016.
uBend had the second-biggest popu-
lation gain among Oregon cities, adding
3,265 residents (3.8 percent) to reach a
population of 86,765 in 2017.
uOther Oregon cities adding more
than 1,000 residents each were Gresham,
Hillsboro, Salem, Eugene, Happy Valley,
Tigard, Roseburg and Medford. Most of
Roseburg’s growth was due to recently
annexed population.
uJust over half of Oregon’s counties
experienced natural decrease, meaning
there were more deaths than births.
These included eastern, southwestern
and coastal counties. However, net in-
migration (more people moving in than
out) offset these decreases. Net in-mi-
gration is estimated to have accelerated
in most counties statewide over the past
several years as the state recovered
from the recession.
Silverton’s 15th Annual Shop Hop
helps to encourage local spending
CHRISTENA BROOKS
SPECIAL TO SALEM STATESMAN JOURNAL
USA TODAY NETWORK
The 15th Annual Shop Hop starts on
Black Friday, Nov. 24, and runs through
Dec. 12.
Here’s how it works: Visit participat-
ing businesses and get your passport
stamped; make a purchase of $5 or more
and receive a second stamp; each stamp
earns an entry into a drawing.
Winners will be drawn Dec. 13 at the
Silverton Business Group meeting. A
grand prize winner will receive one gift
certificate from each Shop Hop busi-
ness, with a total value of $725. There
will also be one winner from each indi-
vidual business, 30 prizes in all.
Passports are available at the Silver-
ton Chamber of Commerce, 426 S. Water
Street and at participating businesses.
For more information, call 503-873-
5615.
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