in other words
april4
2019
3
County-wide Election Candidates Finalized
Positions on school, commu-
nity, and public safety boards all across
Columbia County will be up for election
on May 21, 2019.
Voters now know who is run-
ning with the deadline to file hav-
ing passed on March 21. A total of 56
races will be decided on election day,
although a majority of those positions
have candidates running unopposed.
In Vernonia, the Vernonia
School Board has four seats up for elec-
tion, but two of those seats did not have
any candidate file to run, and will be
vacant unless someone mounts a write-
in campaign. Current Board President
Greg Kintz is running for re-election
unopposed for his Director Position #2.
Steve Whiteman, also currently on the
Board, will run for the four-year Posi-
tion #3 unopposed after being appointed
to fill the Position #6 vacated by Brett
Costley, who resigned to take a teaching
position. Position #6 will only be a two-
year term to complete Costley’s previ-
ous term. Current Board member Brit-
tany Roberts missed the filing deadline,
but indicated she is considering running
a write-in campaign. Former Board
member Katie Cook resigned from her
#7 seat prior to the filing deadline.
The Vernonia Rural Fire Pro-
tection District has three positions up
for election and all the races have the
current Director running for re-election
unopposed. Joel Glass is running for
Position #2, Jesse Harbour is running
for Position #3, and Tim Buchanan is
running for Position #4.
The Mist-Birkenfeld Rural Fire
Protection District has two Director
positions up for election, with current
Position #1 Director D. Scott Carpen-
ter facing a challenge from former Fire
District Chief David Crawford. Current
Board Treasurer Joan Jones is running
unopposed for Position #2.
The Columbia 9-1-1 Commu-
nications District has several positions
up for election, including District #4,
which includes Vernonia. Former Mist-
Birkenfeld RFPD Chief Dave Craw-
ford, the current Vice President on that
Board, is running unopposed for his po-
sition.
In addition, the Columbia 9-1-1
Communication District is seeking the
renewal of its five-year tax levy to fund
operations of its emergency dispatch
center. The levy calls for continuing the
Salem Report
with a short-term (31-60 days) made to
a borrower with a regular income. HB
2089 prohibits a practice known as
“debt stacking” where payday and title
loan companies lend additional money
to individuals who have outstanding
debt with those companies. Legislation
passed in 2007 to reform title loan and
payday lending included that interest not
exceeding 36% per year, a payday loan
can be renewed only twice, and estab-
lished a seven day “cooling off period”
between payday loans. Previous legisla-
tion did not clearly prevent payday lend-
ers from “stacking” or offering multiple
loans to a consumer as long as the loans
were not within seven days of the expi-
ration of a loan. By clarifying the statu-
tory language, HB 2089 seeks to limit
payday lenders to one loan at a time,
giving consumers time to repay the loan
and help prevent a cycle of high-interest
debt. The bill was approved by a 46-13
House floor vote and moves to the Sen-
ate for consideration.
By Representative
Brad Witt
Recently in Salem I
was proud to join my
colleagues in helping to
pass House Bill 2014,
which lifts the current $500,000 cap
on non-economic damages for victims
of negligence. There is no limit to the
amount juries can award for economic
damages in lawsuits, which covers med-
ical bills, lost wages and property dam-
age. But a 2016 Oregon Supreme Court
ruling established a $500,000 cap on
non-economic damages. I signed on as
a sponsor of this bill because it would
restore fairness to the system and allow
victims to recover the damages a jury
determines are owed. The cap on non-
economic damages is a cap on justice for
the victims of negligence. The House
voted 36-22 to advance HB 2014 to the
Senate.
On March 26 the House passed
legislation to strengthen consumer pro-
tections for payday lending. A payday
loan offered by a non-bank payday
lender is a cash loan of up to $50,000
Consumer awareness of single-
use plastics and their impact on the en-
vironment has prompted bills regulating
single use plastic bags, straws, and poly-
styrene.
Plastic bags are among the most
current rate of $0.29 per $1,000 of as-
sessed property value.
The Portland Community Col-
lege Board of Directors has two posi-
tions up for election, including Position
#7 which includes Vernonia. Alex Diaz
Rios of Hillsboro is running unopposed
for the seat that is currently held by
Deana Palm.
Three positions are up for elec-
tion for Commissioners on the five
member Board at the Port of Columbia
County (formerly the Port of St. Hel-
ens). For Position #1 current Treasurer
Patrick Trapp faces a challenge from
Nancy Ward and Stephen Hanson. For
Position #2 current 2 nd Vice President
Mike Avent is being challenged by Chip
Bubl and Amie Jo Kopecky, and current
Vice President Larry Ericksen is run-
ning unopposed for Position # 3.
Columbia County will not be
publishing a voters guide for this elec-
tion. For more information on positions
up for election or to see the Candidate
Filing applications visit the Columbia
County Elections Department webpage
at www.co.columbia.or.us/departments/
elections-department-main.
commonly found litter and pose a ma-
jor contamination problem at recycling
centers. Beginning with the City of Port-
land’s ordinance in 2011, 16 local juris-
dictions have regulated the use of plastic
check-out bags. They have been totally
banned in both Hawaii and California.
Such a ban may also help stimulate de-
mand for recycled paper bags as the bill
requires.
HB 2509 prohibits the use of
thin, single-use plastic bags at retail es-
tablishments and restaurants. Retailers
may offer paper bags, but there will be a
charge of at least eight cents. The extra
charge will be waived for customers par-
ticipating in food assistance programs
such as EBT, WIC, and TANF. Small
plastic bags for produce and meat will
still be provided in-store for consumer
health reasons. Bags used for dry clean-
ing, pet waste, newspapers, or garbage
liners will also be exempt.
HB 2883 is a ban on the use of
polystyrene takeout containers. Every
day millions of disposable plastic items
are discarded, and polystyrene common-
ly referred to as Stryofoam is among the
worse forms of plastic pollution. Like
all plastics, it does not biodegrade, but it
does break down into smaller and small-
Publisher and Managing Editor
Scott Laird
503-367-0098
scott@vernoniasvoice.com
Contributors
Congresswoman
Suzanne Bonamici
Jack Kauppila
Representative Brad Witt
Photography
Jason Gonzales
Scott Laird
Want to advertise?
Have an article?
Contact: scott@vernoniasvoice.com
One year subscriptions
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Vernonia’s Voice is published
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Vernonia’s Voice, LLC
PO Box 55
Vernonia, OR 97064
503-367-0098
er pieces, which can be swept into wa-
terways, ending up in oceans and lakes.
Portland banned polystyrene takeout
containers 30 years ago, and other Or-
egon cities have followed suit.
Reports from cities who have
implemented a ban are positive, less
trash and plastic pollution and an in-
creased market for less costly recycled
paper containers. Many individuals and
organizations came to Salem to offer
support for this ban, and HB 2883 was
scheduled for a work session on April
2 in the House Committee on Energy
and Environment.
Email: Rep.BradWitt@oregonlegisla-
ture.gov
Phone: 503-986-1431
Address: 900 Court St NE, H-374,
Salem, OR, 97301
Website: http://www.oregonlegislature.
gov/witt
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