TUESDAY, OCTOBER 13, 2020
THE OBSERVER — 5A
VOTING
The Bulletin, File
The Bulletin, File
Higher turnout from rural voters in 2018 in Oregon could
have cut down Gov. Kate Brown’s margin of victory to a
sliver.
Knute Buehler had a shot at defeating Kate Brown in the
2018 race for governor, but he needed much higher voter
turnout from Oregon’s counties with smaller populations.
this race as the race that
discourages them from
ever voting again,” Church
said, adding she personally
knows 10 people who didn’t
take part in the midterm.
Are there enough voters
in the smaller areas of the
state to make a serious
impact? Here’s a look at
that 2018 election as an
example: What would it
have taken to swing that
election? If more ballots
as the biggest four, about
54,000 more people would
have voted. Had the margin
of Buehler’s lead in those
counties held the same
(he pulled in 54.21% com-
pared to Brown’s 37.96%),
Brown’s overall win would
still be well intact but
would have been trimmed
by about 9,000 votes.
The gap narrows the
higher the voter turnout is.
While it’s a percentage typ-
ically unseen in elections
today, if the smaller coun-
ties turned out at 85%, and
the voting margins were
the exact same, that would
bring out more than 1.1
million voters from those
counties — or 100,000
more than the big counties.
Brown still would win, but
rather than a win of nearly
120,000 votes, the differ-
ence would be less than
79,000 votes.
What numbers would, in
theory, have pushed Bue-
hler over the top? Claiming
more of the voters in areas
he won.
Though he ran as a
Republican, Buehler’s
pro-choice stance hurt his
chances within his own
party. Brown’s margin in
the key large counties was
nearly 26 percentage points
— 60.46% to 34.56%. What
if Buehler did close to that
in his stronger areas of
the state? Continuing the
look at the smaller coun-
ties, an 85% turnout with
him receiving 60% of the
vote (and Brown the same
37.96%) clips the margin to
less than 14,000.
And an increase of his
vote reception to 61.3%
would give him a margin in
those counties of 260,625
— enough to edge Brown
by 624 votes.
“They just can’t tell me
that that 100,000 voters
makes that much differ-
ence,” Church said of the
rural-vs-urban split.
partisanship does not infl u-
ence her when it comes to
making decisions on the
council.
“I do not vote on issues
based on my personal pref-
erences or on what any
group tells me how to
vote,” she said. “I try to
view each issue before the
council objectively and vote
according to what I think
is best for the community.
I think it is important to be
a good steward of taxpayer
dollars. I do my research
on each issue and listen to
public input. I use data to
support my choices, not
emotion.”
However, she continued,
“impassioned public input”
has altered how she voted,
which she said shows she
is following the will of the
people.
“I try to be fair and
transparent in my deci-
sions,” Dutto said.
Glabe said he has con-
cerns about the recent
Republican involvement
in La Grande city council
races, but he does believe
information on the party
affi liation of a candi-
date could be benefi cial
to voters because it gives
voters some information
about the candidate.
“I fi rmly believe that
respectful and civil dis-
course regarding issues and
values is the most favor-
able way for voters to deter-
mine who will represent
them best,” Glabe said. “I
do support the utilization
of endorsements by indi-
viduals, organizations and
even political parties as a
way of informing voters of
personal beliefs and polit-
ical views, which are rele-
vant to all levels of govern-
ment. This helps provide
valuable information to
voters who wish to be rep-
resented by people who
share similar values and
philosophies, even in a non-
partisan local election.”
Continued from Page 1A
450,000 didn’t vote in the
smaller counties.
True, Brown did win
Multnomah County, the
state’s largest, by almost
200,000 votes. Multnomah,
though, voted above the
state percentage at nearly
71%, with more than
378,000 ballots cast. The
three counties that gave
Brown the most votes all
performed higher than the
statewide mark.
Conversely, in the fi ve
counties Buehler won,
just two — Deschutes and
Clackamas — were above
the state average, and both
Linn and Marion were
under 63%.
Locally, Union County
also underperformed,
voting at a 65.5% clip in
2018, with 6,190 voters
out of 17,946 not casting a
ballot in that election. Wal-
lowa County was at 72%.
“Everyone talks about
COUNCIL
Continued from Page 1A
unless they have afford-
able housing for their work-
force,” Dutto said.
The councilor said she
would be willing to have
the council take steps like
changing building codes to
make it easier to build.
Dutto also is interested
in working to help the city
continue improving access
for those with mobility
issues, including creating
more curb cuts for wheel-
chair access. Dutto said she
has an enhanced appreci-
ation of this need because
she is a physical therapist.
Dutto touted the coun-
cil’s achievement of
revamping the allocation
of Urban Renewal Agency
were cast in smaller coun-
ties, and everything else
remained the same, could
it have fl ipped? And could
that matter in elections next
month?
The largest counties
had a higher turnout in
2018, at 69.8% to 65.7%.
By the 32 smaller counties
— everyone except Mult-
nomah, Washington, Clack-
amas and Lane — simply
turning out at the same rate
MORE LA GRANDE CITY COUNCIL RACE
COVERAGE
Four seats are up for election on the La Grande city council.
They include Position 3, where Dr. David Glabe is challenging
incumbent Corrine Dutto, and Position 4, where incumbent Mary
Ann Miesner faces a challenge from Kristine Alf Rippee. Thurs-
day’s edition of The Observer will have a feature on that contest.
Future editions will have articles on the candidates for the other
two races.
money for new business.
Due to new rules, she said,
the URA funding is clearer
and more objective.
She also said she is
delighted with the instal-
lation of the new sidewalk
at Central Elementary
School. The sidewalk runs
from Second Street and
H Avenue west to Sunset
Drive. Dutto, who worked
hard for the sidewalk, said
it makes it safer for chil-
dren to walk to and from
Central and for parents to
pick up and drop off their
children.
While La Grande City
Council positions are non-
partisan, Dutto, fellow
councilor Nicole Howard
and Mayor Steve Clem-
ents were the subjects of a
recent accusatory rant on
the website for the Union
County Republican Cen-
tral Committee based on
their registration as Dem-
ocrats. Dutto said political
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Outlined in blue painters tape, the design of the Wallowa Mountains takes shape on the Joseph Charter School gym
fl oor Friday, Oct. 2, 2020, as graphic artist Rondell Puckett works on Chief Joseph Mountain and fl oor contractor Matt
Jerman measures off the basketball foul line.
JOSEPH
Continued from Page 1A
The gym’s new LED lights
are brighter than before.
And they will illuminate a
gym fl oor that is a work of
art.
Boise, Idaho, graphic
artist Rondell Puckett is
creating an image of the
Wallowa Mountains on the
“home” side of the gym
fl oor. The design, envi-
sioned by basketball coach
Olan Fulfer, includes a
sweeping vista of Chief
Joseph Mountain, Bonne-
ville, Sawtooth and much
of the rest of the range.
The JCS Eagle will occupy
center court.
“The fl oor design looks
great and we are excited to
get it done,” Homan said.
“It’s art,” Puckett said.
“ I looked at the moun-
tains and thought “wow”
and then went into art
mode. So it won’t look
exactly like a detailed pho-
tograph of the mountains.
But people will recog-
nize them. It’s going to be
amazing.”
Puckett has outlined the
snow-capped peaks in blue
painter’s masking tape.
This week, Matt Jerman,
who works for his son’s
fl ooring company that is
installing the new gym
fl oor, will apply a darker
brown wood stain to the
lower parts of the moun-
tains. The snow-capped
white will be applied as
paint after the fi rst two
coats of sealant have
been applied to what is
now sanded, high-quality
maple.
“If we just applied the
paint to the unfi nished
fl oor,” Jerman said, “it
wouldn’t come off very
well if we ever had to
refi nish the fl oor. So we
usually put paint down
after we’ve done the fi rst
coats of varnish. Then
we’ll come back and apply
the last coats of shellac
and polish the fl oor after
everything else is done. It
will look like a mirror,” he
said.
Puckett has done
one other gym fl oor at
Meridian, Idaho. It, too,
had a mountain scene.
Company owner Alan
Jerman asked him to do
the gym fl oor when he
learned that the Wallowas
were an integral part of the
JCS landscape.
“A lot of my work has
been paintings on trucks
and motorcycles, and
doing regular paintings,”
Puckett said. “I love art. I
get lost in a project. I just
want to do it all the time.”
The work remaining in
the gym includes installing
the bleachers, equipping
the weight room and fi n-
ishing painting the stair-
wells and stairs that lead
to the weight room, as well
as painting the downstairs
storage areas and installing
interior doors.
Portions of the original
fl oor were salvaged and
will be used for JCS wood-
shop projects.
“You know with every-
thing this year, we are not
going to put any expecta-
tions on fi nal completion.
We can see the end and we
are getting more excited
with each passing day,”
Homan said.
Matt Jerman said that
people have been dropping
by to check on the proj-
ects’ progress.
“Every day maybe fi ve
or ten people sort of walk
in to see how things are
Nicole Cathey
10106 N. ‘C’ • Island City
going,” he said. “The com-
munity is really interested
in this. I think they are
going to be pleased.”
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