THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 2020
SHERIFF
Continued from Page 1A
Miller said it has been a
diffi cult campaign and felt
it was necessary he run for
the position, even if it was
going to be an uphill battle.
“I hope the
sheriff’s offi ce
all the best as
it moves for-
ward,” Miller
said.
Miller
Bowen has
served with
the Union County Sher-
iff’s Offi ce since 2009,
starting as a reserve deputy.
He has basic police offi cer
training credentials from
the Department of Public
Safety Standards and
Training and serves as a
school resource offi cer. He
starts in his new position
Jan. 4.
“The support has been
humbling,” Bowen said.
“Thank you to everyone
who supported, donated and
offered words of encourage-
ment to me.”
And La Grande voters
elected a familiar face as
mayor.
Steve Clements will
return for a fourth consec-
utive two-year term as the
town’s top elected offi cial.
He received 3,361 votes
(63.5%) to defeat challenger
EOU
Continued from Page 1A
open through winter
break, and the univer-
sity encouraged students
to remain on campus if
possible between terms.
Students who travel
home will have to com-
plete a COVID-19 test
before returning to their
residence hall for winter
term.
Seydel credited such
testing schemes as crit-
ical to the success of
Eastern’s fall term.
“One of the turning
points for us was doing
mass testing of all the
incoming students,”
Seydel said. “We did 881
or so tests in one day up
on campus. Getting the
students here, getting
them to self-isolate and
quarantine before doing
the test, doing the test,
then taking care of those
few students who did test
positive, we got them
into a situation where
(we could) start having
students on campus.”
Testing also is a
key feature of East-
ern’s plan to resume
athletics. The Cascade
Collegiate Conference,
of which Eastern is a
part, released its plan
for returning to play
Saturday.
Athletes competing
in basketball, football,
volleyball, wrestling
and soccer, as well as
coaches, managers and
trainers will be required
to undergo weekly
testing. Additionally,
student athletes will con-
tinue to be screened for
symptoms “each day a
practice or team activity
of any kind occurs.” (For
more on that plan, see
Sports on page A7.)
The CCC’s plan still
requires approval by
THE OBSERVER — 5A
Alex McHaddad, who
received 1,899 (35.9%) Cle-
ments had words of praise
for McHaddad.
“Alex ran a good race.
He had some good ideas
which are worth pursuing,”
Clements said. “I want to
thank him for participating
in the process.”
Clements
also had praise
for the voters.
“I want
to thank the
Clements voters of La
Grande for
believing in me,” Clements
said.
McHaddad was philo-
sophical about the loss.
“We had a free and fair
election. This is what the
voters wanted. I’m glad
we live in a
democracy,”
McHaddad
said.
He said two
good things
McHaddad came out of the
race. He said
his campaign appears to
have succeeded in getting
the city to post information
packets about upcoming
council meetings online a
week before meetings, and
he saved a cat.
McHaddad said while
campaigning he found a cat
in a cistern, and he pulled it
out to safety.
RESULTS
Continued from Page 1A
STATE RACES
Secretary of State
Shemia Fagan (D) — 51.11%
Kim Thatcher (R) — 42.61%
State Treasurer
Tobias Read (D) — 52.49%
Jeff Gudman (R) — 40.90%
Attorney General
Ellen Rosenblum (D) — 56.69%
Michael Cross (R) — 40.78%
Senate District 29
Bill Hansell (R) — 76.01%
Mildred O’Callaghan (D) — 23.83%
House District 58
Bobby Levy (R) — 59.95%
Nolan Bylenga (D) — 27.02%
LOCAL RACES
Cove
Mayor
Sherry Haeger — 60.82%
Nathiel Conrad (incumbent) — 38.08%
Measure 31—103 — Adopts new city
charter
Yes — 64.93%
No — 55.49%
Imbler
Mayor
Jason Berglund Sr. — 54.75%
Rick Vicek (incumbent) — 44.13%
Island City
Mayor
David Comfort — 50.22%
“I saved a cat, that made
the campaign worthwhile,”
McHaddad said.
Clements said during
Margaret Spence — 49.48%
La Grande
Mayor
Steve Clements (incumbent) — 63.51%
Alex McHaddad — 35.88%
Council Position 2
Nicole Howard (incumbent) — 50.86%
Denise Wheeler — 48.65%
Council Position 3
David Glabe — 49.92%
Corrine Dutto (incumbent) — 49.50%
Council Position 4
Mary Ann Miesner (incumbent)
— 57.55%
Kristine Alf Rippee — 41.82%
Council Position 6
John Bozarth — 50.99%
David Moyal — 48%
North Powder
Council Position 4
Justin Wright — 42.98%
David Schwehr (incumbent) — 28.93%
Patricia Martin — 27.69%
Union
Measure 31—102 — Adopts revisions
to the city charter
Yes — 44.51%
No — 55.49%
Union County
Measure 31—101 — Requires com-
missioners to hold meetings regarding the
relocation of state borders
Yes — 52.42%
No — 47.58%
his campaign he wanted
to continue guiding La
Grande as it takes on the
challenges the COVID-19
crisis poses. He noted the
council will discuss how to
help business the pandemic
has hurt at an upcoming
work session in November.
“I want to do every-
thing I can to help busi-
nesses that will be hurt by
COVID-19 this winter,”
Clements said.
And in the tightest race
in the county, just fi ve
votes Wednesday separated
the two candidates vying
for mayor of Island City.
David Comfort has 337
votes to 332 for Margaret
Spence.
Island City voters have
cast 671 votes in all in the
mayor’s race, including
two write-ins.
Comfort said if he
wins he would be “totally
excited.” However, if he
loses he would stay com-
mitted to public service,
such as continuing to
serve on the city’s budget
committee.
“Win or lose I will stay
involved,” he said.
Comfort said he would
be delighted to have the
chance to serve as mayor.
“Island City has a super
council and a great staff,”
Comfort said.
Spence said Tuesday she
was “excited to see what
the outcome is.”
The winner will succeed
Delmer Hanson.
For more coverage
of local races, visit The
Observer online at www.
lagrandeobserver.com.
Bentz winning 2nd Congressional District
the state before play can
begin.
“I give a lot of kudos
out to our coaches
working with student
athletes to make sure
they don’t all just mingle
together and spread
anything,” Seydel said.
“They’ve done a fan-
tastic job.”
Seydel and Aldrich
both extended those
kudos to the rest of the
campus community
and praised students
and employees alike
for adhering to proto-
cols. Nonetheless, there
have been incidents of
noncompliance.
“They’re there. Of
course they’re there,”
Aldrich said. “This
isn’t easy on people. It’s
quite a big change, but
(we are) really pleased
with the percentage of
people that are com-
plying. I mean, we’re
talking about small
pockets where we’re
having to deal with some
noncompliance.”
Aldrich said the uni-
versity deals with non-
compliance on a case-
by-case basis, and that
he had had a “lot of
crucial conversations.”
Even so, he said, he
is impressed with the
on-campus compliance
compared to that in the
community at large.
“We are really for-
tunate to have the stu-
dents we’ve got and
the employees that we
have,” Aldrich said.
“They understand how
important it is. ... If
you compare that to my
observations that I see
when I’m out in the com-
munity, I’m glad I’m not
having to deal with the
noncompliance in the
community.”
Winter classes are
scheduled to begin at
EOU on Jan. 4, 2021.
By Gary A. Warner
Oregon Capital Bureau
Republican Cliff Bentz
of Ontario is winning by a
wide margin in the race for
the open congressional seat
representing Central and
Eastern Oregon.
Unoffi cial voting returns
Wednesday, Nov. 4, in the
2nd Congressional District
showed Bentz with 60% of
the vote against 37/8% for
Democrat Alex Spenser of
Klamath Falls. Libertarian
Robert Werch of Grants
Pass had 3%.
“We’re leading — I have
been cautiously optimistic
from the start,” Bentz said
from his home in Ontario
during Tuesday’s elec-
tion night. “I’ve had a good
reception in all
20 counties of
the district.”
Bentz would
be the only
Republican
among the two
Bentz
U.S. Senators
and fi ve U.S. House mem-
bers representing Oregon.
He said he worked with
U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley
and Rep. Susan Bonamici,
D-Beaverton, when they
were all in the Legislature
together. He’s worked with
U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden on
state issues as well.
Bentz said he’ll seek a
bipartisan approach to the
state’s efforts to handle the
COVID-19 virus and an
economic recovery from
the pandemic’s impact. The
delegation can also work
on wildfi re recovery —
about 2,400 homes were
destroyed in Talent and
Phoenix, near Ashland,
part of the district. He also
hopes to cooperate on trans-
portation legislation.
“I am happy to work
with all of them,” Bentz, 68,
said.
If Bentz wins, he will
retain a seat the GOP has
held for 40 years. Retiring
U.S. Rep. Greg Walden,
R-Hood River, has repre-
sented the district since
1999. The district has
50,000 more registered
Republicans than Demo-
crats. Walden usually won
re-election with over 60%
of the vote. Democrats hold
the other four U.S. House
seats, along with both U.S.
Senate seats.
Given the district’s
heavy Republican tilt, Bentz
was favored to win the seat
after his victory in the May
Republican primary. Bentz
won 31% in a fi eld of 10
candidates that included
former Rep. Knute Buehler,
R-Bend, and former Sen.
Jason Atkinson, R-Ashland.
CD2 sprawls across
nearly 70,000 square miles,
including all of the state
east of the Cascades and
a swath in the southwest
that goes as far west as
Grants Pass. It includes all
or part of 20 of Oregon’s 36
counties.
Greater Idaho measure has narrow lead
Commissioners
to hold meetings
on topic in 2021
By Sabrina Thompson
The Observer
UNION COUNTY —
The measure requiring
county commissioners
to hold public meetings
to discuss the proposal
to make the county part
of a new state of Greater
Idaho is passing in Union
County.
Measure 31-101 retained
a narrow lead from election
night Tuesday, Nov. 3, with
52.4% of the vote to 47.6%,
or 7,401 votes to 6,719
votes, according to Union
Count’s unoffi cial results.
“I am glad people have
a chance to have their
voice heard,” the Move
Oregon Idaho Border chief
petitioner Mike McCarter
said. “I hope these num-
STORAGE BUILDINGS
bers get up to the state
Legislature and show them
at least 50% of the resi-
dents in counties where
the measure is passing are
not happy with the way the
government is working.”
More than 950 people
signed the petition to
get the measure on the
ballot, mandating the
county board to hold three
public meetings to dis-
cuss the public’s interest
in changing the Ore-
gon-Idaho border and
making Union County a
member of Idaho.
Commissioner Donna
Beverage said the board
will hold the meetings.
A similar measure made
the ballots in Douglas, Jef-
ferson and Wallowa coun-
ties, but out of those three,
it was only passing in Jef-
ferson County, according
to the unoffi cial results on
the Oregon secretary of
State’s election website.
The Central Oregon
county was passing the
measure 51.2% in favor to
49% against.
Wallowa County voters
were defeating the mea-
sure, 50.5% against to
49.3% for. Douglas County
voters were rejecting the
measure with an even
wider margin — 56.7%
against to 43.3% in favor.
Bank of
Eastern Oregon.
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