Opinion
A4
Tuesday, January 18, 2022
OUR VIEW
Gett ing to
know who’s
running
B
ud Pierce, a 2022 Republican candi-
date for governor, visited Eastern Oregon
recently with visits in Ontario, John Day
and Baker City, and his campaign tour will surely
be one of many by the host of candidates vying to
become Oregon’s chief executive.
Lots of promises are going to be made, wide-
sweeping proclamations will fi ll the air and sto-
ries about the candidates will sprawl across social
media and newspapers until fi nal election results
are tallied in November.
First, though, there will be a primary set for
May when the long list of candidates will be
pared down. All this political theater is a tradi-
tional part of the American process of democ-
racy and we, as voters, should be pleased every
few years we get that opportunity to meet those
among us who want to be our representatives.
Elections are truly the one key piece of our
democracy.
Yet that process, and our democracy, only
works if people get out and vote. That has proven
to be a real challenge for several years across
the country as the number of people voting in an
off -year election — a nonpresidential election —
appeared to waver or decline.
The problem, while not a new one, is troubling.
The founders in many ways designed our democ-
racy carefully so that it could endure. A crucial
part of their design was the notion that voters
would, well, vote. Without widespread participa-
tion in the voting process, our democracy loses.
That means residents lose.
Part of the obligation to be a citizen of the
United States is to vote. Voters also have another
responsibility and that is to carefully do their
research on the candidates. Research, typically,
doesn’t mean what one hears on Fox News or
CNN. No, it means actual research. It means
studying a candidate’s response to key issues,
expecting your local news media to ask tough
questions. When those tough questions are asked,
it means listening very carefully to the response
and then evaluating it.
Voting and elections are about democracy,
but they are also about participation, both in the
voting booth and before the fi rst ballot is cast.
EDITORIALS
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opinion of The Observer editorial
board. Other columns, letters and
cartoons on this page express the
opinions of the authors and not
necessarily that of The Observer.
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YOUR VIEWS
Oregon needs an
independent State
Housing Ombudsman
If the Philadelphia Housing
Authority operates anything like its
Northeastern Oregon counterpart,
the recent horrifi c roadhouse inferno
was a tragedy waiting to happen.
Given the HUD demographic’s
predilection for numbing substances;
and given the non-existence of des-
ignated smoking stations; and given
our inclement winters; and given the
ease of disabling a smoke alarm —
you get the picture.
Here at our frozen outpost of
the HUD Gulag, we’ve been beg-
ging since before Christmas to get
our icefi eld of a parking lot plowed.
Alas, our repeated entreaties have
fallen on deaf ears, resulting in
numerous near-accidents and
stranded vehicles.
I realize in this heyday of housing
inequity, anything more than a tent
beneath a freeway underpass is con-
sidered a luxury. One would hope,
however, that kinder, gentler Oregon
could rise above the lowest common
denominator.
Appointing a nonpartisan, inde-
pendent State Housing Ombudsman
and a statewide network of tenants’
unions would be a good place to
start.
In the words of Robert Frost:
Some say the world will end in fi re/
Some say in ice/From what I’ve
tasted of desire/I hold with those
who favor fi re/But if I had to perish
twice/I think I know enough of hate/
To say that for destruction/Ice is also
great and would suffi ce.
Ester Bentz
Enterprise
La Grande’s streets are not
bad — they are horrible
I read in the “La Grande Pride”
news what the La Grande School
District thinks needs to be improved
or replaced and The Observer has
reported about the school board
CONTACT YOUR REPRESENTATIVES
U.S. PRESIDENT
Joe Biden
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Ave. NW
Washington, DC 20500
Comments: 202-456-1111
U.S. SENATORS
Ron Wyden
221 Dirksen Senate Offi ce Bldg.
Washington, DC 20510
202-224-5244
La Grande offi ce: 541-962-7691
Bobby Levy, District 58
900 Court St. NE, H-376
Salem, OR 97301
503-986-1458
Rep.BobbyLevy@state.or.us
Kate Brown
160 State Capitol
900 Court St.
Salem, OR 97301-4047
503-378-4582
Cliff Bentz
2185 Rayburn House Offi ce Building
Washington, DC 20515
202-225-6730
Medford offi ce: 541-776-4646
SENATOR
Greg Smith, District 57
900 Court St. NE, H-482
Salem, OR 97301
503-986-1457
Rep.GregSmith@state.or.us
Bill Hansell, District 29
900 Court St. NE, S-415
Salem, OR 97301
503-986-1729
Sen.BillHansell@state.or.us
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wanting to pass a bond.
We have had a new Central Ele-
mentary School, beautiful new track,
improvements to the high school and
other improvements and changes
made under the tenure of Mr. George
Mendoza, the school district super-
intendent. We also have a 20-year
$31.5 million bond approved in 2014
that had a recent refi nancing.
The citizens of La Grande and
the La Grande City Council need to
give very serious thought to issues
that need immediate improve-
ments. I open with the street issue
in La Grande. The streets are not
bad — they are horrible. We have
streets that are heavily traveled and
dangerous. Our taxes are such that
people are moving to towns sur-
rounding La Grande to escape those
taxes, so a bond issue for street
improvement is out of the question.
What is the answer? What is the
priority?
Gary Feasel
La Grande
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