Opinion
4A
Thursday, May 13, 2021
My Voice
Root out conflicts
of interest to
restore faith in
the Legislature
I
recently introduced Senate Bill 865 and it has
generated some controversy. The bill is about
rooting out conflicts of interest in our govern-
ment, but I wanted to provide my constituents with
what I hope is helpful background.
One fundamental American ideal is checks and
balances. Oregon’s government, which is elected and
governed by The People, must not only protect the
rights of Ore-
gonians, but
must also have
SEN. BILL
their trust.
HANSELL
In regards
DISTRICT 29
to trust, our
representa-
tive democracy needs all the help it can get. Polling
shows that faith in our government is at an all-time
low.
Principles of checks and balances are intended to
root out conflicts of interest in our elected officials.
In the words of James Madison, the author of the
American Constitution, “ambition must be made to
counteract ambition.”
One way the Oregon Constitution seeks to coun-
teract ambition is by prohibiting elected officials
from holding multiple offices at one time. According
to Article 3 Section 1 of Oregon’s Constitution, as a
state senator, I cannot also serve as a county com-
missioner at the same time, nor can the governor
serve as the attorney general, and judges cannot be
state representatives. The goal of this is to ensure
that different people are carrying out different parts
of our government. If one person was controlling
all aspects of our government, we would call that
tyranny.
However, the Constitution is silent on whether
elected leaders can also lead their political party as
elected officers. While currently legal, the same eth-
ical and practical concerns apply. Political parties are
tasked with fundraising to help their candidates get
elected. Yet, elected statewide leaders make policy
that directly influences elections, campaign finance,
and even the structure of the political parties them-
selves. If political party leaders are also elected to
public office, they can too easily change the rules of
the game to benefit themselves. That’s called cor-
ruption, and one of my goals as a Republican offi-
cial is to ensure that the Republican Party avoids all
appearances of corruption.
There has long been an understanding that there
should be a separation between the “People’s Work,”
which we are sent to Salem to do as elected offi-
cials, and political party politics. That is why we,
for example, cannot use taxpayer dollars for our
campaigns.
As a lawmaker, one of my primary responsibilities
is to ensure that my constituents trust their govern-
ment. I want every Oregonian, regardless of political
ideology, to have faith that conflicts of interest do
not have the final say on the laws that govern them.
Without that fundamental trust, we do not have a
government by, for, and of The People.
This is why I introduced Senate Bill 865. The
law would prohibit an elected official to state office
(governor, secretary of state, state legislators, etc.)
from simultaneously being an elected officer on a
political party’s state central committee. This bill
would codify neutral standards of transparency and
accountability.
I have been contacted by several of my constit-
uents who are concerned about potential conflicts
of interest among the current Oregon Republican
Party leadership. Let me be clear: This bill is not
about individuals. It’s about establishing clear ethical
boundaries to which all political parties can agree.
I can only imagine the rightful outrage from my
Republican constituents if Gov. Kate Brown con-
trolled both the state government and the flow of
millions of campaign dollars as chair of the Demo-
crat Party central committee. That would be a clear
problem. While we are nowhere near that point yet,
we needn’t wait for such obvious abuse of power.
As your senator, I feel a deep responsibility to
make our government as transparent and account-
able to “We The People” as possible. That sometimes
means doing something that some in my own party
won’t like, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t the right
thing to do.
———
State Sen. Bill Hansell, R-Athena, represents
Wallowa, Union, Umatilla, Morrow, Gilliam, Sherman,
and parts of Wasco counties.
Letters
Consider the consequences and
vote ‘Greater I-da-no’
As we contemplate the Greater
Idaho move, I would like to bring up a
few consequences such an action may
bring.
First is the serious pay cut some of
our most hardworking citizens will
take with such a move. If one earns
minimum wage in Oregon, their pay
could potentially decrease by $4.25
an hour from $11.50 down to $7.25,
or a reduction of $8,840 per year for
full-time minimum wage workers.
Way more than the income tax reduc-
tion the change might produce. It is
common that such workers tend to be
renters, so a reduction in property tax
would unlikely benefit them. In addi-
tion, the move to Idaho would also
mean an additional 6% sales tax on
their already reduced income.
Second is the cost to implement
such a shift of borders. A quick
review of past speed limit changes
for a variety of states reveals such
changes cost anywhere from $75 to
$135 per sign. What would be the cost
to change even more signs should
we choose to join Idaho? Oregon
highway signs that would need to
change to Idaho, signs for cities, busi-
nesses, schools, telephone numbers,
addresses, driver licenses, voter reg-
istration, etc. Who would pay for such
changes?
But in the end what are we asking?
Do we want our government to spend
needless hours on this issue instead
of on more immediate problems that
affect us all, like droughts and wildfire
mitigation? One could just move to
Idaho without the complications.
Jason Yielding
La Grande
Reelect Randy Shaw
to La Grande School Board
I’m supporting Randy Shaw for
Position 4 on the La Grande School
Board.
I’ve known Randy Shaw for many
years. He’s a straight-up honest man.
Randy is approachable and open to
suggestions. You won’t leave won-
dering what his position is.
Randy graduated from the La
Grande school system, and so will his
children.
Randy has been on the board for
about four years now. He’s part of the
reason La Grande’s graduation rate is
89.4%. He views declining enrollment
as temporary and says, “I honestly
think the majority will return.” A pos-
itive outlook from a positive man.
I know personally Randy is
involved in kids’ athletics, hauling his
children and other local kids to one
event or another all over the place on
weekends for years.
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SEND LETTERS TO:
letters@lagrandeobserver.com
or via mail to editor Phil Wright,
911 Jefferson Ave., La Grande, OR
97850
Eastern Oregon is unique and
requires knowledge of the area and
community to address its needs.
Randy Shaw has the experience and
knowledge of the La Grande school
system and cares what is happening in
our district.
Remember that old adage: “If it
ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” Keep Randy
Shaw in Position 4 on the La Grande
School Board.
Michael A. Gove
La Grande
the two other “I” countries, Iran and
Iraq. It would at least give mask-less
Ammon Bundy something to whine
about. Meanwhile, I’m happy living
here with Eastern Oregon’s present
borders, values and laws. Or maybe
I’ll create a new movement. I’ll call it:
Greater Hawaii.
Whit Deschner
Baker City
No need for border disorder;
let’s stay in Eastern Oregon
Critical race theory and transgen-
derism are two destructive ideolo-
gies that have taken root in Amer-
ican society. Critical race theory is a
new spin on the old Karl Marx tune
of oppressors and the oppressed.
Transgenderism casts aside common
sense and basic human biology. Both
are poison for our nation, and public
schools are often the gateway. And the
Oregon Department of Education is
100% on board with promoting both
of these poisonous ideologies. Take
a look at the ODE K-12 standards for
health education from 2018 and those
proposed for social studies in 2021 on
the ODE website.
We should be aware of what
teachers are teaching students. But
unless you go to the teacher and spe-
cifically ask to see instructional mate-
rials, you can’t. You would think cur-
riculum materials (textbook titles,
articles, PowerPoints, etc.) would be
posted online, but they are not.
The La Grande School District
needs to be transparent in how crit-
ical race theory and transgenderism
have been incorporated (or not) in
the curriculum, and post the instruc-
tional materials used. Then parents
and others can make informed deci-
sions on whether they want students to
receive an education or indoctrination.
Stephen Boe
La Grande
Upon crossing into Idaho on
I-84 there used to be a sign reading
“Idaho is too great to litter.” I used
to joke the sign should read: “Idaho
is too illiterate to be great.” The joke
hit home, however, when a Greater
Idaho leaflet landed in my mail,
claiming that I’d be better off if I was
an Idahoan; it would be effortless, I
wouldn’t have to move, they would
simply elasticize Idaho’s boundary
and stretch it around Oregon’s more
desirable acreage. That done, I’d sup-
posedly be happy with lacking infra-
structure. For example, why waste
good tax money filling in those unat-
tended potholes?
No, I live in Eastern Oregon and
hopefully will continue to do so.
Besides, I wouldn’t be caught dead
driving around with license plates that
champion “Famous Potatoes.” It’s true
Eastern Oregon is often overlooked by
Salem and we have to apologize for
Portland’s behavior — but that’s no
reason to surround us by Idaho.
There are alternatives. If I want
the Idaho experience I can always
move to Douglas or Josephine coun-
ties and watch old episodes of “Duck
Dynasty.” Or, why not physically
move Idaho? Ship it to the Middle
East; plunk it down right between
La Grande School District
needs to be transparent