FRIDAY, JULY 7, 2017
4 — THE BAKER COUNTY PRESS
Local / Politics
County: Local disaster Stop election manipulation
declared in advance of
solar eclipse
Submitted by Oregon
Secretary of State
Dennis Richardson
CONTINUED FROM
PAGE 3
Durflinger said that the
collection of taxes owed
to the County by Charter
Communications has been
further delayed, due a
recent Supreme Court case.
The job description of the
position of Program Coor-
dinator, part of the County
Health Department, was
approved, with a motion
from Bennett, and a second
from Nichols. Martin
explained the purpose of
the creation of two posi-
tions of this type, which
will be at Range 8 on the
SEIU (Service Employees
International Union) wage
table.
Oregon Department of
Transportation (ODOT)
Rail And Public Transit
Division Agreement No.
31985, between ODOT
and the County, was ap-
proved, with a motion
from Bennett, and a second
from Nichols. Accord-
ing to the agreement, the
County will receive not
more than $134,000 from
ODOT, for associated
projects.
Amendment No. 1 to
the Professional Services
Agreement between attor-
ney Kenneth A. Bardizian,
P.C. and the County, for
indigent defense services
to County Justice Court,
not to exceed the budgeted
amount, was approved,
with a motion from Ben-
nett, and a second from
Nichols.
A County Mass Notifi-
cation system purchase,
from Boise-based Alert
Sense, was approved, with
a motion from Bennett,
and a second from Nich-
ols. Yencopal discussed
the details with the Board,
which included four bids,
Alert Sense being the low
bid, at $4,200 for the base
unit. The County currently
uses the Code Red system,
and that contract expires
on August 21, 2017, but
the transition will be a
smooth one, and users will
be notified in advance,
Yencopal said.
Order No. 2017-138,
Designating A Sole Source
Provider IBM I Power 8
Baker County Technology
Department, was approved,
with a motion from Ben-
nett, and a second from
Nichols. Lee discussed
the details with the Board,
including the cost of the
replacement server, at
$40,042.54, from Manage
Incorporated, which was
anticipated over several
budget years, the life cycle
of the server, and to be
expended from the Server
Replacement Fund.
A County Fairgrounds
grandstand bid request was
approved, with a motion
from Bennett, and a second
from Nichols. Sid Johnson
& Company was approved,
having the low bid of two
bidders, at $59,980 total
for grandstand project
work; and $44,687 total
for southeast fence and
sidewalk project work.
The first public hearing
was held in the matter
of Order No. 2017-140,
Adopting A Fee Schedule
For The Baker County
Juvenile Department. Er-
ickson explained the pur-
pose of the order, a need to
increase the detention fee,
from $140.00, to $180.00
per day, as determined by
the Norcor Juvenile Deten-
tion Center. Elms had a
couple of brief questions,
but no public comment
was offered otherwise.
There will be a second
hearing on the matter,
scheduled for Wednesday,
19, 2017.
Order No. 2017-134,
Authorizing The Sale
Of County Owned Parks
Identified As Shanghai
Creek Park And Puzzle
Creek By Private Sale, was
approved, with a motion
from Bennett, and a second
from Nichols. Spencer and
Elms discussed the order
with the Board (the Parks
Department budget is out
of balance about $50,000
for Fiscal Year 2017-2018,
prompting the liquidation
of some properties), and
the Parks and Recreation
Advisory Board will
determine the specifics of
the sale of the properties,
during its next meeting.
Order No. 2017-139,
Appointing A Member To
The Baker County Cultural
Coalition, was approved,
with a motion from Ben-
nett, and a second from
Harvey. Roberta “Lynne”
Proudfoot was appointed,
her term set to expire on
July 1, 2018.
Resolution No. 2017-
1024, Appropriation Of
Unanticipated Funds In
The FY (Fiscal Year)
2016-2017 Budget To Be
Expended In The Non
Departmental Department
Of The Parks Fund, was
adopted, with a motion
from Harvey, and a second
from Nichols. $18,540,
received from the Oregon
State Weed Board (OSWB)
Grant, was added to Park
Maintenance, for a new
total of $34,540.
An emergency Declara-
tion Of Local Disaster, in
anticipation of the Total
Solar Eclipse event, was
approved, with a motion
from Nichols, and a second
from Bennett. Yencopal
discussed the details with
the Board, and per the
declaration, the follow-
ing are included in the
request: additional funding
to prepare and prevent
loss of life and property
damage; declaration of
State of Emergency, to
enlist the National Guard
to provide air and ground
medical resources, and
to allow rural fire emer-
gency medical responders
to transport to a higher
level of care; to direct the
Oregon State Fire Marshall
(OSFM) to be prepared for
an Emergency Conflagra-
tion Act; to be prepared for
a Proclamation of Public
Health Emergency; ODOT
Emergency Waivers, to
allow for additional driver
hours for the delivery of
fuel and food; to make
available mobile fuel tanks
from the National Guard;
and to request Governor
Kate Brown contact the
Honorable Secretaries of
the United States De-
partment of Agriculture,
the United States Forest
Service, and the Bureau of
Land Management, to pro-
vide additional resources.
Resolution No. 2017-
1025, Temporary Permits
For Commercial Gather-
ings And Events Related
To The Solar Eclipse, was
adopted, with a motion
from Bennett, and a second
from Nichols. Kerns dis-
cussed the resolution with
the Board, which states
that the number of visitors
expected to the County
far exceeds the existing
lodging capacity, forcing
visitors to gather and stay
in areas not traditionally
used or zoned for those
purposes.
According to the
resolution, with respect to
commercial events or com-
mercial gatherings of less
than 3,000 people, between
August 15-31, 2017, in
all land use zones in the
County, the enforcement of
certain zoning ordinances
is temporarily suspended,
by the granting of permits
for such gatherings. Kerns
said this is “very tempo-
rary,” as indicated by the
resolution.
Walden praises VA
whistleblower law
Continuing his support
for legislation to improve
the care Oregon veterans
receive at Veterans Af-
fairs, Rep. Greg Walden
applauded a new law that
would increase account-
ability at the VA. The
Department of Veterans
Affairs Accountability and
Whistleblower Protec-
tion Act of 2017 will
streamline the process for
removing poor performing
VA employees and expand
whistleblower protec-
tions for those who reveal
wrongdoing in the agency.
Walden said this legisla-
tion is a big step forward
in reforming the VA and
getting veterans the care
they deserve.
“One of the commit-
ments we made to the
American people, espe-
cially our veterans, is to
improve the situation at the
VA,” said Walden. “We all
remember the stories about
wait times, where veterans
actually died waiting to get
access to care, and where
the VA actually lied to
Congress and the Ameri-
can people about their wait
time lists. We’re changing
all of that with legisla-
tion the President has now
signed into law, called the
Veterans Affairs Account-
ability and Whistleblower
Protection Act. This sets
up a streamlined process
to deal with the manage-
ment issues faced by the
VA when it comes to VA
employees who aren’t
doing their jobs or are
misleading. They can be
replaced and we can get
good people in positions
quickly. This will be really
important for those who
every day go to work at the
VA to do their job, and do
it well and help veterans
and they see things that
aren’t going right. We give
them additional protections
as whistleblowers so we
can get the VA in the place
it should be to provide
world-class care for the
people who protect our
freedom.”
I need your help. The
Oregon House Rules Com-
mittee will soon vote on
an amendment to institute
a special election next
January.
This special election will
waste millions of your tax
dollars, will suppress voter
turnout, and will keep vot-
ers in the dark.
As Oregon's chief
elections officer, I take
seriously my responsibil-
ity to ensure a fair election
process and encourage
maximum citizen partici-
pation in our democracy.
I strongly believe that the
A7 amendment to Senate
Bill 229 should be rejected
because it manipulates the
election process and keeps
voters in the dark. These
political shenanigans are
unacceptable.
The Oregon Constitution
gives you the right to over-
rule the legislature through
the referendum process.
This protection ensures ac-
countability and safeguards
fundamental rights.
This amendment does
just the opposite. It is a
political ploy to undermine
accountability by increas-
ing power for politicians at
the expense of the people.
The key problems with
this amendment include:
Suppresses Voter Turnout:
A special election in Janu-
ary is expected to suppress
voter turnout by ap-
proximately 14%, thereby
excluding over 270,000
Oregonians from the politi-
cal process.
Wastes Taxpayer Money:
A special election in
January will waste millions
in taxpayer dollars that
could have paid for more
teachers or expanded voter
access.
Disrupts the Holiday
Season: A special election
in January means that the
holidays will be disrupted
with robocalls, political
telemarketers, nasty TV
ads, and campaign junk
mail. This will prevent you
from enjoying the holidays
in peace with friends and
family.
Deceives the Voters: This
amendment subverts the
nonpartisan process for
drafting a ballot title by
injecting partisan politics
and political bias into the
process.
Please call House Speak-
er Tina Kotek at 503-986-
1200 and Governor Kate
Brown at 503-378-4582
to ask them to join me in
opposing the manipulation
of your and your fellow
Oregonians' vote.
View my video statement
here: https://youtu.be/6Uj-
dRacwnw
Thank you.
Dennis Richardson
PS You can also email
the members of the House
Rules Committee to make
your voice heard:
Rep.JenniferWilliam-
son@oregonlegislature.gov
Rep.MikeMcLane@
oregonlegislature.gov
Rep.DanRayfield@
oregonlegislature.gov
Rep.GregBarreto@
oregonlegislature.gov
Rep.JodiHack@oregon-
legislature.gov
Rep.PaulHolvey@
oregonlegislature.gov
Rep.BillKennemer@
oregonlegislature.gov
Rep.RobNosse@oregon-
legislature.gov
Rep.BarbaraSmith@
oregonlegislature.gov
Parrish says Democrats are
stripping voters rights
Representative Julie
Parrish (R-Tualatin/West
Linn) chastised Democrat-
ic leadership for passing
amendments to SB 229,
which would grant the
majority party broad and
overreaching powers to
manipulate election dates
and draft ballot titles. Rep.
Parrish likened the effort to
attack Oregonians’ rights
to refer legislation to the
ballot akin to voter sup-
pression and an abuse of
power by majority Demo-
crats.
“Amendments to this
bill have popped up at the
eleventh-hour; they’re
designed to circumvent our
normal election process,”
said Rep. Parrish, who tes-
tified in opposition the SB
229 amendments this af-
ternoon in the House Rules
Committee. “Like many
bills in these last few days,
citizens of this state are be-
ing stripped of their ability
to provide input. Today’s
committee work session on
newly introduced partisan
amendments to an other-
wise unanimously bi-par-
tisan bill from the Senate,
allowed not one everyday
citizen to speak their con-
cerns. It’s precisely why
people support the referen-
dum process.”
Rep. Parrish was spe-
cifically critical of several
provisions of the -10 and
-11 amendments, includ-
ing:
Arbitrarily setting a
special election date for
any measure passed by
the Legislature during the
2017 session and referred
by Oregon voters to be
held on January 23, 2018,
which would inevitably
drive down turnout;
Grant lawmakers the
authority to draft ballot
titles for potential referen-
dums and remove nearly
three weeks of the public
comment process voters
currently enjoy under the
existing law. The drafting
would be done by a par-
tisan committee made up
of a majority of legislative
Democrats;
Allow lawmakers to draft
explanatory statements for
potential referendums;
Requires millions of
additional taxpayer dollars
to be spent in order to
facilitate a special election
held in January.
Require elections work-
— Contact Us —
ers in 36 counties to have
to cancel holiday plans
with their families to run
a special January elec-
tion. Oregon currently has
four regularly calendared
elections in March, May,
September and November.
Representative Parrish
noted in the testimony that
as someone who grew up
in the social system with
government-sponsored
healthcare, her aim in
a referral is not to gut
Medicaid, but to hold it
accountable for the billions
of dollars the state has po-
tentially overpaid and the
loss of hundreds of mil-
lions in failed IT software
projects by a mismanaged
state agency. Further,
Parrish believes there were
three other bill possibilities
which could have covered
a Medicaid shortfall. None
were given hearings by
House Democrats.
Following Representa-
tive Parrish’s testimony,
the House Rules Com-
mittee adopted the con-
troversial -11 amendment
and referred SB 229 to
the Joint Ways and Means
Committee for further
consideration.
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