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About The Baker County press. (Baker City, Ore.) 2014-current | View Entire Issue (April 29, 2016)
FRIDAY, APRIL 29, 2016 4 — THE BAKER COUNTY PRESS Opinion — Editorial — One contentious County race Back when the three candidates for County Commissioner initially filed to run, we had the reaction of shrugging and nodding, thinking at first that the race would be gracious and professional, and that the county wouldn’t suffer for having any one of the three elected. As the calendar months changed, so did our opinion. Early on, the existing divide within Republicans in the county, which pretty much mirrors the one nationally, appeared. This divide, as in elections past, places on one side of any race, the old establishment RINOs (Republicans in Name Only) a.k.a. “Democrat Lite” alongside their support- ers in the Democrat party, often including the local liberal Democrat Precinct Com- mittee People. On the other side exists the majority of the local GOP starting in the middle of the conservative political spec- trum and ranging over to the right. Just to give some political perspective, the Democrat Lite side supported Fred Warner, Jr. for Commissioner. The con- servative side as a general rule supported Bill Harvey. The Democrat Lite side pushed changing commissioner seats to nonpartisan, which would have resulted in less candidate transparency and less local control. The conservative side opposed the change for those reasons. At present, the Lites have adopted Bruce Nichols as their candidate. The conserva- tives have rallied around Kody Justus. And ne’er the twain shall meet. The interesting dynamic we see unfold- ing is that due to Nichols’ business and church friendships, a section of conserva- tives who have normally voted away from the Dark (err... Lite) side, have shifted away from political ideologies simply to support that friendship. We anticipate this shift will create a tighter election than what we saw in the case of the nonpartisan issue or the Warner/Harvey race. This dynamic also leaves the third candidate, Jeff Nelson, in a political No Man’s Land, drawing a few votes away from both the Justus and Nichols camps, we suspect. We don’t believe the Nelson campaign has been aggressive enough in getting its word out to voters, and thus, barring a major change between now and election day, we predict Nelson will come in third. This is not to say we dislike Nelson. We like him quite a bit. In fact, we have watched him treat his opponents with respect. We agree with his stances. We’ve seen him perform well at forums, and watched the results show in his responses as he’s taken the time to really study local issues. We’ve come away liking Nelson as a candidate even more than when he filed. Considering his quick ability to learn, we hope he treats this campaign as a starting point, and continues to become more involved in local politics if he isn’t victorious this time around. We’ve had the opposite response to Nichols’ candidacy, and have steadily found ourselves at odds with both his at- titude and his take on many issues. Here are the reasons, based on the issues, why we won’t endorse him: • Nichols has stated in nearly every appearance that he will not fight Fed- eral overreach, not with his time and not financially, to protect the interests of the people of Baker County. Within the audi- ences at multiple forums, we’ve heard citizens murmur, “He just wants us to shut up and take it?” “He’d rather roll over and give up?” We heard that same message. We want a fighter in office. Nichols has stated a softer, gentler approach to Federal agencies is the answer. We disagree. The County needs someone who will not cower in the face of agency pressure—if we don’t have this attitude on our Board of Commissioners, we can kiss multi-use Letter to the Editor Policy: The Baker Coun- ty Press reserves the right not to publish letters containing factual falsehoods or incoherent nar- rative. Letters promoting or detracting from spe- cific for-profit businesses will not be published. Word limit is 375 words per letter. Letters are lim- ited to one every other week per author. Letters should be submitted to Editor@TheBakerCoun- tyPress.com. Advertising and Opinion Page Disclaimer: Opinions submitted as Guest Opinions or Let- access to our forests goodbye. • Nichols has expressed a lack of inter- est in supporting County Coordination efforts, which by law, exist to give local elected bodies an equal place at the table with Federal agencies. Why would anyone not want that? • We are dismayed by the campaign team Nichols brought on board. When he filed, he expressed how disturbed he was that Jan Kerns, wife of exiting Commissioner Tim Kerns yet now Nichols’ campaign manager, had called and asked him for reasons that escaped him to resign from the race. Two weeks later, she became his manager. This same team and those surrounding it were behind the Fred War- ner, Jr. campaign and the press to move County Commissioners seats to nonpar- tisan status—in both instances, they lost when the voters of Baker County voted to the contrary. The power play is fasci- nating, and we’re guessing this group is desperate for a win at this point, but why Nichols allowed himself to become part of it is beyond us. We have to assume there’s truth in the old adage “birds of a feath- er...” Frankly, it is disturbing to see some- one stand up and state he’s conservative while at the same time seeing his signs in the yards of the most liberal of the Baker County Democrat PCPs. This doesn’t sug- gest some magical unity to us. It does sug- gest an alignment of goals and ideologies, however—and we don’t believe the Baker County Democratic Central Committee has somehow been converted to conserva- tive over the past two months. • Nichols opposes the transfer of public lands to state or county control, as has been done successfully in numerous other states. Federal management of public lands is failing. The numbers and other results bear that out. Financially speak- ing, state agencies such as the Oregon Department of Forestry have a better track record than the USFS in terms of return on investment of tax dollars spent. We also believe that citizens have much better access to elected officials and policy- makers when they’re just down the street or across the state rather than in Washing- ton D.C. • We have asked Nichols during this campaign for basic information. He quick- ly brushed us off and directed us to his web site. We later asked for a phone in- terview that would have taken roughly 10 minutes. He declined, stating he was too busy during tax season to spare the time. When he was on the City Budget Board, he skipped a year’s worth of meetings and then some. How will he spare the time to execute the position of County Commis- sioner? How in the world will he interact with all media and promote transparency via that means as an elected official if he refuses to even before the election? • Nichols stated during the AAUW forum that he believes political disagree- ment in the County is responsible for our economic problems. We believe political disagreement is healthy. We also com- pletely disagree with his basic premise. The deterioration of our natural resources industry, regulatory overburden, an aging local population—those issues come to mind when we look at our economy. Joe down the street voting for John while Susie votes for Beth—yeah, probably not a job-killing situation. Justus has expressed the opposite stance on just about all the above issues. In the end, we’re comfortable recom- mending Kody Justus for Baker County Commissioner, Position 1. When one looks past the false accusations and smear campaigns, and genuinely listens to Justus speak, the truth of him becomes clear. Justus has demonstrated that fighting spirit we’re seeking. However, he’s no radical, fringe, right-wing extremist as so many of Nichols’ supporters would paint him. Rather, his values represent those of most Baker County citizens very closely. He has handled mudslinging with grace and continued to focus on the issues. In numerous public forums he has proven himself to be the most well- rounded candidate—understanding budget and financial issues, natural resource issues, laws that affect County operations, economy and local agriculture. We endorse Kody Justus for Baker County. Now go turn in those ballots. —The Baker County Press Editorial Board ters to the Editor express the opinions of their authors, and have not been authored by and are not necessarily the opinions of The Baker County Press, any of our staff, management, independent contractors or affiliates. Advertise- ments placed by political groups, candidates, businesses, etc., are printed as a paid service, which does not constitute an endorsement of or fulfillment obligation by this newspaper for the products or services advertised. — Letters to the Editor — Proud to be candidate’s wife To the Editor: I am Kody Justus’ wife and am writing in support of him for Baker County Com- missioner. I have watched him grow increasingly alarmed by the issues our county and country are facing. Rather than sitting idly back and watching, he has become involved in various organizations and committees to educate himself on local issues. And now, he wants to be involved in making decisions that are best for all the citizens of Baker County. He wants to be your voice. Kody has gained knowledge from his own valuable life experiences, serving in the Army, living in and utilizing the local resources here in Baker County. I have seen his diligence to further educate himself on the basic rights our forefathers intended for us in the Constitution of the United States. He has educated himself on county issues, including the budget, use of natural resources, fire issues, etc. He has researched and understands that laws have been passed to have “coordina- tion” between county and federal agen- cies. He is intelligent and thoughtful and will continue to educate himself as the need arises, in order to make informed decisions. Kody is a man of integrity; he stands on his word and on the word of God. He is honest and will stand up for what he believes in. Kody has been labeled by some who don’t know him as being “anti- government.” That is the furthest from the truth; he believes in a federal govern- ment that operates as it was originally de- signed, “to regulate interstate commerce, the Federal Reserve and the Military.” He is passionate that “We the People” are the foundation of government. He will stand up for your rights. Kody understands there are different sides to every issue. He listens to both sides. He respects others who are openly honest about their different opinions. Kody is not afraid to publicly disagree; however, he also understands the process in place for making majority rule deci- sions. Kody’s past is what has made him the strong, Godly man he is today. I am proud to be his wife and stand beside him in our decision for him to run for County Commissioner. I’m asking you to vote for him as Baker County Commissioner . Heidi Justus Baker City Justus will uphold rights To the Editor: I have had the pleasure of watching Kody Justus working for the past year and a half as a concerned citizen, without compensation, due to his dedication to the people of Baker County. Those who sup- port this Constitution are not radicals, as those on the ‘’Left’’ decry. It is they, those on the ‘’Left’’ who are the true radicals as they ignore the Constitution in an attempt to enslave you and I. Just consider how effective Justus can be, as our next County Commissioner with the authority, power and desire to accomplish the real will of the people. I have witnessed his passion, for Baker County, and his dedication in dealing with abuses to both, when the Constitution has been ignored by the Fed- eral Government and State Government,or his addressing/investigating issues which do not seem to pass the ‘’smell test’’ lo- cally within the realm of politics. With the election of Bill Harvey, as the Commission Chairman, the direction of the County has taken on a different tone, and the Feds have been asked to justify their demands upon the people of Baker County—and they do not appreciate be- ing accountable to the people of Baker County. At this very moment, even after major input from Baker County voters supporting open public lands, the Forest Service is ignoring the peoples’ will, and is about to close 1,300 miles of public roads on public lands. Harvey needs the support of the newly elect Commissioner in order to represent, and protect the rights of the people of Baker County. Of the three candidates campaigning for this position, there is no doubt that the man you will want safe- guarding your Constitutional rights, will be Justus. I have witnessed him talk the talk and walk the walk on numerous occa- sions. At the recent candidates meeting at the Sunridge Inn, it is alleged that Bruce Nichols said (at the Candidate Forum) that he couldn’t go against the Forest Service and wants to cooperate with them, that the Commissioners need to be a lot nicer to them than what the Commissioners have been. This explains why the backers Nichols has are supporters of the Forest Service policies. If true, unless you want our County government to follow the lead of Harney County, then you really need to vote for Justus for Baker County Commissioner. If true, then Nichols is willing to ignore the mandate of open public lands, so loudly demanded by the overwhelming majority of people of Baker County. If you do not vote for the man who will defend your rights, then someone who will not, will likely be your new Commis- sioner. Ron Edge Baker City Support the library levy To the Editor: Baker County is very fortunate to have the quality of library that we do. Not only is the local library open seven days a week, but they have five satellite branches that provide access to books for the most rural parts of the county open an addi- tional 15 hours a week. When my girls were little, they took part in the library reading program. It helped teach them that books could take them anywhere they wanted to go (and at their own pace). Over the years, we spent many evenings at the library getting books for the girls to read and movies to watch as a family. Many of us take internet (and comput- er) access at home for granted. Statistics I have seen recently, indicate that approxi- mately half of Baker County residents don’t have internet access in their homes. The library provides access to comput- ers and the internet for those visiting the library. The property tax levy on the ballot is not for new additional taxes. It is provid- ing continued funding for the library at the same level as in previous years. Pay it forward to the next generation just as someone else did for you. Join me in vot- ing yes on the library levy. Anthony Bailey Baker City — Contact Us — YOUR ELECTED OFFICIALS The Baker County Press President Barack Obama PO Box 567 Baker City, Ore. 97814 202.456.2461 fax Open Monday-Thursday for calls 9 AM - 4 PM Open 24/7 for emails 202.456.1414 Whitehouse.gov/contact US Sen. Jeff Merkley 503.326.3386 503.326.2900 fax Merkley.Senate.gov Phone: 541.519.0572 TheBakerCountyPress.com US Sen. Ron Wyden 541.962.7691 Wyden.Senate.gov Kerry McQuisten, Publisher Editor@TheBakerCountyPress.com US Rep. Greg Walden Wendee Morrissey, Advertising and Sales Wendee@TheBakerCountyPress.com 541.624.2402 fax David Conn, Advertising and Sales David@TheBakerCountyPress.com Published weekly every Friday. 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