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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (March 27, 2015)
OPINION 4A Tom McCall Mark Hatfield THE DAILY ASTORIAN • FRIDAY, MARCH 27, 2015 Vic Atiyeh John A. Kitzhaber Former Oregon Govs. Tom McCall, Mark Hatfield and Vic Atiyeh left things better; John Kitzhaber left wreckage. When humility vanishes, political wreckage follows O ne consequence of John Kitzhaber’s sudden resignation is that Oregon will elect a governor three times in three years. Kitzhaber’s successor, Gov. Kate Brown, must run for election in 2016. Then we’ll have an- other governor elec- tion in 2018. Of all these, the pivotal race will be the Democratic pri- Steve mary election 14 Forrester months from now. The big question is whether state Treasurer Ted Wheeler will challenge Brown. ,IWKDWLVQRWHQRXJKSROLWLFVWKH¿UVW stirrings of the 2016 presidential race are out there, with Republican Ted Cruz launching his campaign this week. It is a safe bet that few of us antici- pate greatness as an outcome in all of these races. That is not the political cul- ture we inhabit. We will be fortunate WRKDYHXQÀDVK\FRPSHWHQFH:LQVWRQ Churchill summed up an attitude of re- alism toward politics and government. “Democracy is the worst form of gov- ernment except all those other forms that have been tried from time to time.” The bargain we make in a democrat- They don’t realize they are temporary and the office is permanent. ic society is that occasionally we’ll get a strong governor or president. We hope for a decent batting average. T KH WZR PRVW VLJQL¿FDQW HUDV LQ Oregon postwar political history overlapped Jan. 9, 1967. After Tom 0F&DOO WRRN WKH RDWK RI RI¿FH DV 2UHJRQ¶VQHZJRYHUQRU0DUN+DW¿HOG left by a side door to begin the trip to Washington, D.C., where he entered the 6HQDWH$VJRYHUQRU+DW¿HOGHQODUJHG our consciousness about civil rights. McCall widened our vision of the en- vironment. 'XULQJWKDWWUDQVLWLRQIURP+DW¿HOG to McCall, my father visited with :DUQH1XQQZKRKDGEHHQ+DW¿HOG¶V chief of staff. As Nunn and his subordinates were FOHDQLQJRXWWKHLURI¿FHVIRUWKHDGYHQW of McCall, Nunn had a startling mo- ment of self-awareness. “I realized that we had been there so long that we had come to believe we were the govern- ment.” Nunn’s observation speaks volumes about what easily happens to people ZKRRFFXS\SXEOLFRI¿FH,WDOVRVSHDNV to the virtue of a two-term limit on our governors and the president. 7RR RIWHQ HOHFWHG RI¿FLDOV GR QRW grasp their own mortality. Humility goes out the window. They don’t real- L]HWKH\DUHWHPSRUDU\DQGWKHRI¿FHLV permanent. T he best governors and presidents OHDYH WKH RI¿FH DQG WKH VWDWH RU nation in better shape than they found LW%RWK+DW¿HOGDQG0F&DOOJDYHQHZ GLPHQVLRQWRWKHRI¿FHRIJRYHUQRU9LF Atiyeh did the same. All three of them were Republicans. By contrast, Gov. John Kitzhaber in KLVWKLUGWHUPGLPLQLVKHGWKHRI¿FHDQG abandoned the wreckage. President Abraham Lincoln led the nation through its worst national trau- PD 3UHVLGHQW 5LFKDUG 1L[RQ LQÀLFWHG the worst national trauma on the nation — what President Gerald Ford called “our national nightmare.” I f you watch politicians at close range long enough, you see many who are unable to separate themselves IURP WKH RI¿FH 5HFRXQWLQJ WKH KLV- tory of Clatsop County government to a newcomer, I mentioned how two separate commissions imploded from VHOILQÀLFWHG ZRXQGV 2QH ZDV D OLE- eral bunch, the other was at the other end of the political spectrum. What they had in common was a lack of hu- mility about themselves and their task. Perspective went out the window. 2Q7XHVGD\ DW WKH SRVW RI¿FH , HQ- countered a friend who doubted wheth- er the Port of Astoria Commission would ever improve. Its malady over decades is a succession of players moti- vated by self interest. There were rumblings about opposi- tion candidates for the Port Commission in the May election. But the incumbents are running unopposed. There should be no surprise in that. With the excep- tion of John Raichl, the commission has conditioned us to expect wrong-headed decisions motivated by self-dealing. — S.A.F. Open forum Shocked by sign A s I drove to work recently, I was shocked by the raunchy new sign that has been installed by Annie’s Tav- ern. To maximize impact and poke the decent folks of Astoria in the eye, the sign is positioned to make a horrible impression entering Astoria. The sign is an affront to Astoria, to the neigh- borhood and to the effort to make our community a better place. It’s a disgrace to see children waiting for a school bus with Annie’s over their shoulder. It is a widely reported fact that strip bars are a common entry point in the ZRUOGRIVH[WUDI¿FNLQJ,ZRXOGOLNH to challenge our school coaches, com- munity leaders, church members and our various great service organizations that work so hard to lift people up to take action. 7KHUHLVQRSODFHIRUWKHREMHFWL¿- cation of women and an industry that leads to so many tragic life stories. Astoria deserves better. The standards of decency in our community should be higher. Don’t let Annie’s bring us down. FERGUS LOUGHRAN Astoria Hoorah for the vote I absolutely loved the editorial “Bad behavior” (March 19). It warmed the cockles of my heart, and gave me a modicum of faith again in The Daily Astorian’s editorial thoughts and opin- ions. And hoorah for Cindy Price and Drew Herzig for their votes against the quite questionable proposed enter- SULVH]RQHDQGZKRPLWZRXOGEHQH¿W (“Council rejects enterprise zone,” The Daily Astorian, March 17). Perhaps Zetty Nemlowill thought that the Port of Astoria commissioners do not read The Daily Astorian (which could possibly be correct, consider- ing their stand on so many issues that affect the working people of Astoria) and she felt prompted to tell the Port commissioners in person how sorry she was that she couldn’t vote because RIDFRQÀLFWRILQWHUHVWEXWVKHZRXOGD if she coulda. If Nemlowill is going to apologize to anyone, it should be the constit- XHQWVZKRSXWKHULQRI¿FH+HU¿UVW meet and greet event as a City Council member was held in another ward, not her own. There are several quite nice places here in Uniontown that would KDYH MXVW ¿W WKH ELOO DQG HYHU\RQH would have appreciated the gesture. MARY TANGUAY WEBB Astoria prevent use by anyone with large hands or a large dog. I can barely wedge one of my mitts into the things, and the advantage of the opposable thumb, upon which I rely is negated E\WKHWLJKW¿WDV,DPXQDEOHWRVSOD\ my digits inside. These bags are entire- O\ LQVXI¿FLHQW WR KDQGOH WKH FDSDFLW\ of my dog’s deposits, not only failing to collect the object in its entirety but leaving no plastic with which to tie off the package. It has been recommended that I use two bags for each episode, but this does not alter the limitations noted above. It is my understanding that this low-quality option was intended as a cost-saving measure by the Parks and Recreation Department. Of course, the savings will be even greater in that a large proportion of the population will not be able to use the bags at all, there- by making them last even longer, un- less some people with small hands end up using two bags, which, of course, would negatively impact said savings. ,I LQWHQGHG FRVWVDYLQJ LV WKH MXVWL¿- Sad sacks cation, why not cite the same motive hen I moved to Astoria two and refrain from purchasing any bags years ago, I was delighted to at all? EHQH¿W IURP WKH FLW\¶V SURYLVLRQ RI Ostensibly, these bags are provided high-quality dog waste disposal bags. to aid in keeping the city free of pet These well-placed, attentively re- waste. But I would argue that to pro- stocked, biodegradable Mutt Mitts vide a product that won’t serve the made it easy for owners to clean up very group in greatest need — those after their sidekicks, keeping the Riv- whose large dogs leave the largest, erwalk and the entire town far more most offensive statements — is un- “doody-free” than they would be oth- dermining the purpose of providing erwise. However, the recent down- WKHPLQWKH¿UVWSODFH,UHFRJQL]HWKDW grade in the quality of the bags has ef- budget cuts are occurring everywhere, fectively, by and large, rendered them and that provision of these bags is a useless. privilege. The new bags are so small as to And sure, I can resume use of the W T HE D AILY A STORIAN Founded in 1873 plastic bags from grocery stores, until the county votes to ban them, at which time I can add the expense of purchas- ing bags to the dog budget. But if the goal of a town free of pet droppings is taken seriously, I would ask that a vi- able product once again be provided. NATE MARTIN Astoria Not a ghost town P lease don’t misunderstand what I am saying. The improvements in Ilwaco, Wash., are great. Cleanup and “new” are always good. Here is my concern: There has been so much fo- cus on what Ilwaco doesn’t have, little has been said about what we do have. Ilwaco is not a ghost town. Does a ghost town have the sound of children playing, dogs barking, joggers, bicy- clists and the hustle of regular truck deliveries? School buses, city buses, trucks, cars, mobile homes? It’s time to stop rolling through the light on red at First Avenue and Spruce Street — we have pedestrians. Businesses in Ilwaco made a choice to take on new opportunities elsewhere or to retire. Maybe those of us still here did not have any other opportunities? Maybe we are just willing to risk it all in our desire to be self employed? May- be we are too young to retire? Or too young to know any better? I don’t know. I would like to know. I would like to see some focus on those of us who are still here in Il- waco. Those of us who survived the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression. We deserve an award. Before we are drowned out by the thrill of the new, could we have a nice write-up in The Daily Astorian, Coast River Business Journal? Maybe by looking at what worked in Ilwaco, we will encourage those looking to go in to business to give Ilwaco a chance. I took a chance, and Ilwaco took a chance on me. Thank you for 10 years of ups and downs, and most likely 10 more years. KELLY FRECH Ilwaco, Wash. Dogs and graveyards T hrough recent decades, the Asto- ria Parks and Recreation Depart- ment has grown to an abundant size, although the population of Astoria has remained the same 10,000. All sorts of entertainment can thus be enjoyed by children and retirees. Now, a dog park has been suggested to be added to the amenities, at an added cost, with pos- VLEOHSUREOHPVRIWUDI¿FDQGSDUNLQJ With parks’ department budget fully used for all of the many current amenities, it seems that the city’s cen- tury-old responsibility for upkeep of 2FHDQ9LHZ&HPHWHU\ZRXOGSRVVLEO\ be negated by the young. To solve that budget problem, may I suggest that the city incorporate the proposed dog park into the whole cemetery, where there would be all sorts of space for dogs and parking. This would also relieve the congestion of dogs and bicycles on downtown sidewalks, and might alleviate some of the costs of lawn fertilization at the 2FHDQ9LHZ&HPHWHU\ 3$8/9$1'(59(/'7 Astoria STEPHEN A. FORRESTER, Editor & Publisher • LAURA SELLERS, Managing Editor BETTY SMITH, Advertising Manager • CARL EARL, Systems Manager JOHN D. BRUIJN, Production Manager • DEBRA BLOOM, Business Manager SAMANTHA MCLAREN, Circulation Manager