PAGE A4, KEIZERTIMES, MAY 1, 2015
KeizerOpinion
KEIZERTIMES.COM
Support for
Chet Patterson
To the Editor:
As a professional fi refi ghter in Seat-
tle I sometimes get the opportunity to
throw my support behind a politician
at the local or state level who would
have an impact on issues that are im-
portant to me and the citizens of the
city where I work. Never have I had
the chance to support someone whom
I can wholeheartedly throw my entire
faith and support behind. My father
is Chet Patterson and he is running to
serve Keizer on the Keizer Fire Dis-
trict Board of Directors in Position 3.
Chet Patterson doesn’t just have
the skills and qualities to be successful
serving on the board, he has the ex-
perience to back it. Not many people
in recent history can claim that they
helped form a city. Chet Patterson can.
My father isn’t just a resident of the
city, he is a founding father. His expe-
rience serving on the fi rst city coun-
cil, writing the fi rst city budget and
volunteering in different capacities
gives him insight and wisdom that is
unparalleled. His integrity and values
led him to step away from the council
for a time when he felt that his young
family needed his attention more than
the city. I benefi ted from his decision
and learned a valuable lesson. Family
comes fi rst. As my sister and I grew
and became busy with our own activi-
ties he returned to the city council. In
2010 I was proud to be in attendance
when my father was awarded the
Keizer Heritage Award, recognizing
his contributions to this city.
My father had a front row seat to
my discovery of the fi re service. The
Keizer Fire District Explorer Post fos-
tered my early love and interest of all
things fi refi ghting. My dad supported
me as I transitioned from Explorer to
Resident Volunteer in Polk County
and then to student at the Chemeketa
Community College Fire Program,
and he celebrated with me when I was
hired to work in Seattle. My dad has a
good understanding of the fi re service
today and the challenges from the vol-
unteers to the professional and cities
big and small. He’s seen it fi rst hand.
The fi re service is under ever in-
creasing pressure these days to do
more with less while still maintain-
ing appropriate staffi ng levels and re-
sponse times. The ability to plan for
the long term and budget for training,
staffi ng, apparatus, facilities, etc. is cru-
cial. My dad has had decades of expe-
rience managing budgets of millions
of dollars and conducting long term
planning. Keizer needs his experience.
Please vote for Chet Patterson for
Keizer Fire District Board of Director
Position 3. Don’t just settle for some-
one who wants to play nice with the
neighbors. Be proud of this city and
cast a vote that will help to take your
Keizer Fire District into the future.
Aaron Patterson
Seattle
To the Editor:
The one thing that is important to
me when I vote is the knowledge of
the people seeking a particular offi ce.
Chet Patterson is a candidate for
the Keizer Fire Board. He has a strong
fi nancial background and is a current
member of the Keizer Fire District
budget committee. I have seen him at
past budget meetings and many dis-
trict and advisory committee meet-
ings over the years. He is deeply fa-
miliar with the needs of the district
and knows what is needed to keep the
citizens of Keizer safe and protected. It
is because of his knowledge and dedi-
cation to the Keizer Fire District. I am
voting for Chet and encourage you to
do the same.
Bill Quinn
Keizer
To the Editor:
Keizer Professional Firefi ghters are
proud to endorse Chet Patterson for
Keizer Fire District Board Position 3.
Chet has a long history of service
to Keizer and its citizens. Chet was in-
strumental in the incorporation of the
city of Keizer and served as one of its
fi rst city councilors. Incorporating the
city of Keizer, Chet had to work side
by side with numerous agencies in-
cluding the city of Salem and Marion
County. His experience with work-
ing with other agencies will be a great
asset to Keizer Fire District. Chet is
the only candidate that truly under-
stands interagen-
cy cooperation.
Chet is a
proud
veteran
that served as a
Hospital Corps-
man, he un-
derstands
the
importance of training and having
the proper equipment to get the job
done. These aspects are critical in en-
suring our fi refi ghters can perform
their jobs.
Chet is a member of the Keizer
Fire District budget committee and is
a regular attendee of our board meet-
ings and planning meetings. He will
easily be able to hit the ground run-
ning if elected to the board. Chet has
worked tirelessly for the citizens of
Keizer and he will be there for them
if elected.
For Chet, the citizens of Keizer
and the well-being of Keizers fi re-
fi ghters come fi rst. Please join us by
casting your vote for Chet Patterson.
Brian Butler, President
Keizer Professional Firefi ghters
letters
To the Editor:
I am writing in support of Chet
Patterson for the Keizer Fire District
Board of Directors.
Chet has been involved with the
fi re district as member of the bud-
get committee and is seen regularly
at the monthly fi re board meetings.
His presence shows that he is inter-
ested in how the fi re district operates.
Through our meetings together I fi nd
that he is well prepared and seeks to
understand before he makes a deci-
sion. He will be an asset to the com-
munity and the board.
Please join me and vote yes for
Chet Patterson for the Keizer Fire
Board of Directors.
Greg Ego
Keizer
To the Editor:
I would like to express my support
for Chet Patterson as director of the
Keizer Fire District for Position 3.
I fi rst became acquainted with
Chet while we were both working
together on the feasibility study to
incorporate the city of Keizer, in ap-
proximately 1980. We served together
on the original city council after the
successful incorporation in 1982, as
two of the original fi ve councilors.
He demonstrated amazing fi nancial
ability and budgeting expertise, while
we had only a single part time city
recorder. I have great respect for his
ability and desire to do good things
for our community, and obviously is
still dedicated to the good of Keizer. I
heartily endorse Chet Patterson.
Phil Bay
Keizer
Support for
Betty Hart
To the Editor:
I am writing in support of Betty
Hart as she runs for the Board of Di-
rector’s Position 5 on the Keizer Fire-
District board.
I have known Betty personally and
professionally for nearly 25 years. I
am pleased she has decided to be a
candidate for the Board of Directors.
Betty exhibits key knowledge, skills
and qualities I look for in our com-
munity leaders. Betty is an indepen-
dent thinker who will be looking for
creative solutions to any issues. Betty
has the experience serving on boards
and commissions and has a strong
background in fi nancials and bud-
gets. Betty has already shown she is
an active participant in district meet-
ings and events and I am pleased she
is willing to carry on that interest by
running for a board position. Betty
will represent you, the voter and con-
stituent effectively.
For those of you who don’t know
Betty Hart, I urge you to familiarize
yourself with how she would repre-
sent you on the board and to cast a
vote for her.
Michael Kurtz
Keizer
Support for
Jim Taylor
To the Editor:
I am writing in support of Jim Tay-
lor for the Keizer Fire Board. I have
not personally worked with any of the
Keizertimes
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Earth Day should be every day
Earth Day occurred on April 22.
Considering the fact that the human
population is going about spoiling ev-
ery facet of our one place to live in
the whole universe —other than the
International Space Station—it’d be in
our best interest to recognize and do
something about saving our unique
world, every day of our lives. The fol-
lowing column is one small contribu-
tion to doing something about saving
ourselves:
As a child growing up in the 1950s
on the Oregon Coast, it was a pleasure
to breath air so clean and fresh. Even as
a young person, though there was no
opportunity for me to compare it to
any other place on earth, I had an in-
kling that that place for breathing had
to be among the world’s fi nest. In that
time and place there was one way the
air could be spoiled and that was by
way of getting close to a rig spewing
diesel fumes.
Over the years of my life it has be-
come a scientifi c fact that contami-
nated air causes sickness and death.
Regarding diesel exhaust in Oregon
these days, the U.S. Environmen-
tal Protection Agency estimates that
it causes 468 premature deaths per
year. This fi gure is greater than the
number of deaths from murders and
drunk driving.
So, not only is there the tragic
end-of-life factor involved but the
huge expense,
too. Oregon’s
Department of
Environmental
Quality
esti-
mates that up to
four billion dol-
lars is lost every
year here to due
to premature death, disease and lost
work days due to breathing those in-
sidious fumes.
Unfortunately Oregon, once a pro-
gressive state that led efforts nation-
wide to clean up the environment and
the air we breathe, has fallen away from
its once top-ranking status. Nowa-
days, Oregon has the least protective
diesel standards on the west coast. We
could catch up and be a contender
for top spot through political action
as one quick means to this end would
be to adopt California’s more health-
protective diesel programs for both
on-road and off-road engines. After
all, when the Environmental Protec-
tion Agency approved California’s
program, Oregon was signaled by the
EPA to join the effort.
A brief look at diesel fumes discov-
ers that its ultra-fi ne particles can travel
deep into the lungs and can even pass
from the lungs into the bloodstream.
Then, at the very least, long term ex-
posure, which is the fate of many an
Oregonian’s work and living place
gene h.
mcintyre
these days, has been proven linked
to lung and bladder cancer, heart at-
tacks and many other health maladies.
Children are the most vulnerable
because their lungs are still develop-
ing while they on average breathe 50
percent more air per pound of body
weight than adults breathe.
Since our politicians have chosen
to ignore this problem, Oregon is be-
coming the dumping ground for older
diesel engines. When our legislature
recognizes how serious this matter is,
these politicians and the governor will
hopefully see to it that old diesel en-
gines in many machines throughout
Oregon are not permitted for use in
Oregon, remembering that new diesel
engines emit 99 percent less soot than
engines manufactured even a decade
ago.
Our elected residents in the state
capitol respond to public demands.
Your representative should know
about the perils of diesel fumes in
older diesel trucks, off-road construc-
tion projects and other commercial
rigs that spew the poisons leading to
sickness and early death. Let them
know what you now know and ask
for action.
(Gene H. McIntyre’s column ap-
pears weekly in the Keizertimes.)
Representing means respecting others
As you probably already know,
here in the Oregon Legislature, there
are two political parties, one of which
is in a “supermajority” in the Senate
and one shy of “super majority” in
the House. That means we (Repub-
licans) can’t really move a whole lot
of bills we’d like to, nor stop ones we
don’t like.
What I’ve discovered over the past
few months is the importance of de-
veloping relationships. Many people
think you have to compromise your
beliefs to build relationships. But
I’ve found you don’t need to at all.
You can treat people with respect,
admire them for who they are and
agree to disagree on certain policy. It
also doesn’t hurt to eat breakfast and
lunch with them in the members-
only lounge. In that relaxed setting,
the D and R label seems to melt
away and we can see each other as
friends, not as opponents in this leg-
islative process.
So, no, I was not able to stop Senate
Bill 941, the “universal background
check” bill. Yet because of relation-
ships I have built in this building, the
other candidates, but I have worked
with Jim for more than 15 years in
local, community projects and policy
decisions that matter to all of us in
Keizer. As a lifelong Keizer resident
Jim cares deeply for the quality of life
and people of his home town. He has
no agenda other than to respond and
serve the people that elect him.
In the years that he was a city
councilor, Jim would speak his mind,
hold his position and at the same time
be open-minded to new information
and ideas when presented. The thing I
appreciate most about Jim is his ability
and willingness to listen, understand
and respond to Keizer resident’s con-
cerns.
We are all concerned about our
community safety, security and cost
and Jim is well qualifi ed to repre-
sent us on this issues. Jim Taylor has
been a long and strong supporter of
Keizer Fire District, I am confi dent in
his ability to budget for the necessary
items and reject items that will not add
from the
capitol
By BILL POST
Democrat majority leader invited
me to be a guest committee mem-
ber during the hearing in the House
Rules committee. It was an honor to
participate in the discussion and to
help provide a balance to the com-
mittee.
Not every issue is partisan or con-
tentious however. Over the past few
weeks we have passed bills that would
put a major dent in sex traffi cking
(HB3040). Sadly, Oregon is a leader
in the nation in sex traffi cking and
I am proud we were able to move a
bill forward to make it easier to ar-
rest the perpetrators. Another bill I
am especially pleased with passed the
House on a bipartisan vote. HB2317
increases the statute of limitations on
rape, one of the most heinous crimes
to our safety and
security.
Jim is also
a
relationship
“bridge-builder,”
his infl uence on
the Keizer Fire
Board will con-
tinue the work already begun under
his watch to have our competing fi re
districts work more effectively to-
gether and that will benefi t all of us
in service and cost. Join me in voting
for Jim Taylor for Keizer Fire District,
we’ll be glad we did.
Lore Christopher
Keizer
letters
State appointment is
an affront
To the Editor:
Governor Kate Brown’s appoint-
ment of Bruce Buckmaster to the Or-
egon Fish and Wildlife Commission
committed by mankind.
On a personal note, I often said
I would not introduce many bills.
Two of them have survived the re-
cent deadline, however. One, which
would help small businesses, passed
out of the House,; and, I testifi ed on
the bill before the Senate committee
on Business. Hopefully by the time
you read this it will have passed out
of the Senate and will be awaiting
the governor’s signature.
We all recognize the gridlock
that’s going on in our nation’s capital,
but the Oregon Legislature is far dif-
ferent. A very high percentage of the
bills that go through the House pass
unanimously. This does not mean
that as your state representative I am
compromising the principles that
you sent me here to uphold. Yet it
does mean I am not letting partisan
politics get in the way of the broader
work we are doing here for our state
as a whole.
(Bill Post represents House District
25. He can be reached at 503-986-
1425 or via email at rep.billpost@
state.or.us.)
is a direct affront to the sports fi shing
anglers of the state.
Buckmaster is a lobbyist and strate-
gist for the Columbia River gillnett-
ers. Sports fi shing groups have spent
countless dollars and hours trying to
overcome the strangle hold power-
ful gillnet interests have had over the
commission, and the governor’s offi ce.
The governor had one thing right:
transparency. Anglers can see right
through this one.
It’s time to step up anglers. Let your
state senator know you are against this
appointment. Numbers count. Don’t
sit back and wait for someone to do
it for you.
G.I. Wilson
Keizer
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