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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (March 18, 2016)
OPINION 4A THE DAILY ASTORIAN FRIDAY, MARCH 18, 2016 Congratulations, you get to live on an airplane Beneath occasional moments of glamor, being a member of Congress is an awful job A candidate came to see me. He’s running for the Republican nomination to oppose U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden. As I listened to his pitch, a thought bubble over my head said “Why?” Sam Carpenter of Bend — the GOP Senate aspirant — brought me his book, Work the Sys- tem: The Simple Mechanics of Making More and Working Less. Carpenter LVDEXVLQHVV¿[HU2ZQ- ers pay him to turn their ¿UPVDURXQG :KHQ , PHHW D ¿UVW time candidate for Con- gress, I ask why they want that job. I’m really wondering if they know what they are getting into. What they often don’t know is that beneath the Steve very occasional moments Forrester of glamor, it is an awful job. Being a member of Congress from Oregon means you live on an air- plane. Spending so much time going back and forth from Washington, D.C., makes one won- der: Which time zone are they really in? Years ago, when Wyden was a member of the House, one of his aides told me: “You will never outwork Ron Wyden.” That’s one reason why he’s impregnable. The other is that Wyden will easily roll up a huge margin in Multnomah County, and he’ll also do well in rural Ore- gon, because he spends so much time there and because he’s helped them (think Grant County forest stewardship program). The Daily Astorian/File Photo Sen. Ron Wyden speaks during a group discussion at Fort George Brewery in July. The discussion was part of Wyden’s tour of Oregon’s seven wonders to promote the economic impact of tourism and recreation. T he election season once contained an ele- ment of enlightenment and even entertain- ment. Not any more. It may be that I’ve seen too much of this. Or it may be that the species of homo politicus candidatus is in decline. 6RPH¿YH\HDUVDJRDIULHQGZKRZDVDDLGH to a dynamic Northwest congressman said: “It used to be that new members came to the House to do something. It’s unclear whether these new crops of members want to do anything.” The other odd element in electoral politics is WKHFDQGLGDWHZKR¶VUXQQLQJIRUSHUVRQDOH[SR- sure, but not to win (Think Ben Carson, who saw sales of his book balloon). 5XQQLQJIRURI¿FHLVDKHDG\EXVLQHVV²D bit of a rush. Having seen this happen to people, I think we should be restrained in suggesting that VRPHRQHUXQIRURI¿FH The ego-feed that comes with campaigns and HOHFWLYHRI¿FHLVDGGLFWLYH Running for office is heady business. Wyden. Rep. Bob Smith of Burns had been a stand-out senior Oregon state legislator. Many of XVH[SHFWHG6PLWKWRTXLFNO\EHFRPHDOHDGHU To our great surprise, that didn’t happen. “Moving from a state Legislature to Con- JUHVVLVQRWMXVWJRLQJWRDODUJHUSOD\LQJ¿HOG´ Congressman Les AuCoin told me. “It’s the difference between playing chess and playing three-dimensional chess.” G rowing up in a newspaper family, politi- cians were occasional dinner guests and the topic of conversations. One of our family legends f you watch candidates long enough, you can was about my grandfather, E.B. Aldrich, who spot “the look,” which is the man or woman was editor of the East Oregonian when Wayne who feels like a winner. In 1980, I met two of Morse was a young politician in the 1940s. My them within the same month. Ron Wyden was grandfather was so averse to Morse’s renowned running as a Portland Democrat for the House. powers of argument that he would leave his Sam Carpenter Denny Smith was running as a Republican for RI¿FHZKHQ0RUVHFDPHWRWRZQ³,NQRZKH¶OO the big Eastern Oregon House seat. The look in convince me,” he told his family. their eyes said winning candidate. And both won Relatively few of today’s Oregonians had the my wife and I saw vivid evidence of those gressman’s spouse whom our friends knew. The in that big Ronald Reagan election. H[SHULHQFHRIVHHLQJ0RUVH+HZDVDEOLQGLQJ destructive forces. Our dinner was with a con- woman loudly shared with the entire bookstore :LQQLQJLVRQO\WKH¿UVWVWHSDQGPDQ\FDQ- intellect and a ferocious speaker. gressman and his wife whose relationship had her anger at the lot of being a political spouse. didates fail to grasp that truth. While Wyden VXGGHQO\ JURZQ FKLOO\ 7KH\ VXEVHTXHQWO\ If any of us had ever thought about running for took off like a rocket as a freshman congress- he saddest aspect of being a candidate or divorced. RI¿FHWKDWH[SHULHQFHLQRFXODWHGXVDJDLQVWHYHU man, another Oregon freshman failed to ignite, being in Congress is that it can be a home Following dinner, we walked to a nearby taking that plunge. HYHQ WKRXJK KH KDG IDU PRUH H[SHULHQFH WKDQ wrecker. One night in Washington, D.C., bookstore to browse. In the shop was a con- — S.A.F. I T Open forum Reject recall F or several decades my wife Con- nie and I have enjoyed visiting Cannon Beach, initially as casual once or twice a year visitors. Over the \HDUVWKRVHYLVLWVJUHZLQIUHTXHQF\ until it made sense for us to buy a second home in one of the world’s most beautiful places. For over 20 years that home became our treasured escape from the daily rigors of our professional lives in Seattle. During that time we made many new friends in Cannon Beach, mar- veling at the community’s collective commitment to maintaining a livable town, and the volunteer hours con- tributed by so many to ensure that status would be in place for future generations. We watched as the community wrestled with growth and social issues, always seeming — after some- times heated debates — to arrive at VROXWLRQVUHÀHFWLQJWKHPXWXDOJRDORI making Cannon Beach an even bet- WHUSODFHWROLYH$SHUIHFWH[DPSOHRI that process in action is the Cannon Beach Fire District Board of Direc- WRUVDJURXSRI¿YHGHGLFDWHGFLWL]HQV who every four years submit them- selves to the scrutiny of the elector- ate, at least those citizens who partici- pate in our democracy by voting. During the past two decades that board, with the assistance of a dedi- FDWHG WHDP RI YROXQWHHU ¿UH¿JKWHUV has grappled with a myriad of issues that ultimately improved service and kept insurance rates low throughout the district, including relocating the ¿UH VWDWLRQ IURP LQDGHTXDWH VSDFH in downtown to the midtown area, UHSODFLQJDJLQJHTXLSPHQWZLWKPRG- ern state-of-the-art tools, and improv- ing the service available to Arch Cape, among others. ,Q DGGLWLRQ WR WKRVH ¿VFDOO\ responsible actions, the board has functioned as the district’s person- QHO PDQDJHU ,W LV WKH H[HUFLVH RI WKDW ¿GXFLDU\ UHVSRQVLELOLW\ WKDW KDV led to the current effort by the fam- LO\DQGIULHQGVRIWKHIRUPHU¿UHFKLHI to lodge a recall election against three current members of the board, a recall effort based on as yet unproven alle- JDWLRQVWKDWWKHIRUPHU¿UHFKLHIZDV wrongly terminated. That recall effort should be answered with a resounding rejec- tion from district voters. The board, LQ H[HFXWLQJ LWV ¿GXFLDU\ SHUVRQ- nel oversight duties followed, with advice from counsel, the applicable statutory process. To have done oth- erwise would have been a breach of their sworn obligations. The board is to be commended for its action, not condemned by heated rhetoric that tests the bounds of libel and slander. Vote no to recall at the April 5 election. PHIL AND CONNIE WINBERRY Seattle with, I never listened to him on the TV shows. I wasn’t interested in any of that type of show. :KHQ , ¿UVW KHDUG KLP KH ² along with the others — was saying ZKDWKHZRXOGEHGRLQJWR¿[ZKDW is wrong with our country, and the president, and politicians, and the rich businesses going overseas and keeping the money in their pock- No recall ets. Also, giving the money we pay wanted to clear the air about the LQ6RFLDO6HFXULW\WD[HVHYHU\ZKHUH situation at the Canon Beach Fire That money should not have been Department. The majority did not spent, and the trust fund left with sign the recall. As a matter of fact, IOUs. only 10 of the 26 members signed. I’ve found Trump says things Many members feel as I do, that the after being accused of things he board was doing the job they were QHYHUVDLGRUWKHSUHVVH[DJJHUDWHV elected to do. or adds to what he says. It reminds , VXSSRUW WKH ¿UH GLVWULFW DQG WKH me of when F. D. Roosevelt put the board members. A recall will only U.S. together. The ones who always KXUWWKH¿UHGLVWULFW,I\RXIHHOVRPH- put the money in their pockets fought one needs to be replaced, do it when him. we vote on new board members in the Trump’s the only one with the QH[W\HDURUVR:HDUHKHUHIRU\RX PRVW JRRG LGHDV +H¶V FRQ¿GHQW so please support us and vote no on because he knows how to do things. I the recall. DPDFRQ¿GHQWSHUVRQRUZDVZKHQ LT. MIKE JOHNSON I was young. Cannon Beach Fire and Rescue All I can say is, if you vote for some who are desperate to get in, that’s what you’ll get. I believe in &on¿Gent Ln Trump each person voting for their choice. get very tired of hearing people FLORENCE HAWKINS attack Donald Trump. To begin Long Beach, Washington I I Thank you T he family of Ray Hickman would like to thank the Can- non Beach Police and Fire Depart- ments, the Coast Guard, the search and rescue teams from Clatsop, Til- lamook, Washington, Multnomah and Clackamas counties, Moun- tain Wave Search and Rescue, and all the volunteers, neighbors and friends who spent time and effort in such inclement weather to search for Ray when he went missing on Jan. 30. Many of you are still look- ing as time permits, and we appreci- ate that so much. We’d also like to thank everyone who donated money, and the man from Hamlet who lent the use of his drone. We’ve learned that many Can- non Beach and Seaside restaurants donated food for the searchers. And we know that many from the com- munity donated food for the search- ers and for us. Thank you all. Such an outpouring of support from the entire community has been just overwhelming, and very spe- cial. It keeps us going every day. We appreciate all of it so very much. ANITA, HOLLY, MICHAEL AND MAYA HICKMAN Cannon Beach 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 HEATHER RAMSDELL, Circulation Manager Founded in 1873
