143RD YEAR, NO. 205 WEDNESDAY, APRIL 20, 2016 ONE DOLLAR DailyAstorian.com Joshua Bessex/The Daily Astorian A RARE SEAT ON THE COURT Primary replaces Judge Nelson, who is retiring from the Circuit Court bench By KYLE SPURR The Daily Astorian V oters this spring have a rare opportu- QLW\ WR ¿OO an open Clatsop County Circuit Court judge- ship that has been held by Philip Nelson, the county’s longest serv- LQJHOHFWHGRI¿FLDO Nelson is retiring this year after 24 years on the bench. Three candidates KDYH ¿OHG WR UHSODFH him : David Goldthorpe of Warrenton, a d eputy d istrict a ttorney; Dawn McIntosh of Gearhart, a lawyer who works for McIntosh & Long in Gearhart; and Ron- ald Woltjer of Astoria, a municipal court judge for Warrenton, Seaside and Cannon Beach. Each candidate has worked as a prosecutor in the District Attorney’s 2I¿FH7KH\ DOO VXSSRUW continuing Nelson’s drug treatment court program. Their differences are in their past experiences. They each sat down with The Daily Astorian in advance of the May 17 primary to talk about their visions for what it takes to be a C ircuit C ourt judge . Joshua Bessex/The Daily Astorian Joshua Bessex/The Daily Astorian Joshua Bessex/The Daily Astorian David Goldthorpe is a Clatsop County d eputy d istrict a ttorney. Dawn McIntosh is a lawyer and partner at McIntosh & Long in Gearhart. Ronald Woltjer is a municipal court judge for Warrenton, Seaside and Cannon Beach. Goldthorpe extols experience McIntosh is ready day one Woltjer cites court background The Daily Astorian The Daily Astorian The Daily Astorian avid Goldthorpe has not worked as many years as a lawyer compared to the other can- didates for judge, but he said his experience is more wide ranging. He is the only candidate to clerk for a C ircuit C ourt judge, and the only prosecutor he knows that has worked in a prison. Before his legal career, Goldthorpe spent a \HDUDVDFRUUHFWLRQVRI¿FHUDWWKH,GDKR6WDWH&RU rectional Institution, a medium -security prison south of Boise, Idaho. O ne day he would be in the WRZHUZLWKDULÀHNHHSLQJZDWFKRYHUWKHLQPDWHV D See GOLDTHORPE, Page 12A awn McIntosh has worked as a courtroom lawyer for nearly 24 years. After years of litigating , McIntosh says, she is ready to preside from the bench. “I believe I have the experience, the training, the background, the temperament and the ability to do it,” she said. “They can start scheduling me cases on day one.” +HUFRQ¿GHQFHWRKLWWKHJURXQGUXQQLQJFRPHV from an extensive career that began in the Mult- QRPDK &RXQW\ 'LVWULFW$WWRUQH\¶V 2I¿FH ZKHUH she was tasked with handling child-abuse cases. D onald Woltjer is the only candidate for judge to preside in a courtroom. Woltjer serves as a municipal court judge for Warrenton, Seaside and Cannon Beach. M unici- pal courts do not handle felonies — most people NQRZWKHPDVWKHSODFHWRVHWWOHWUDI¿FLQIUDFWLRQV — but Woltjer said the courts handle a wide range of crimes from theft and criminal mischief to dis- orderly conduct. Most people in a community only go to court maybe a couple times in their life, usually for traf- ¿FWLFNHWVRUMXU\GXW\ R See McINTOSH, Page 12A See WOLTJER, Page 12A DAVID GOLDTHORPE DAWN McINTOSH RONALD WOLTJER Age: 34 Residence: Warrenton Occupation: Deputy district attorney for Clat- sop County Education: Law degree from Willamette Uni- versity; bachelor’s degree from Brigham Young University. Length of time in Clatsop County: 7 years Prior experience: Judicial clerk for Multnomah County Judge Jerry Hodson; Marion County District Attorney’s Offi ce certifi ed law clerk; Idaho Department of Correction offi cer. Age: 50 Residence: Gearhart Occupation: Attorney and partner at McIntosh & Long Education: Law degree from Lewis and Clark Col- lege; bachelor’s degree from Willamette University. Length of time in Clatsop County: 18 years Prior experience: Attorney and partner at Campbell and Popkin; c hief d eputy d istrict a ttorney in Clatsop County; Multnomah County District Attorney’s Offi ce v iolent c rimes u nit i ntern- d eputy d istrict a ttorney. Age: 61 Residence: Astoria Occupation: Municipal court j udge for War- renton, Seaside and Cannon Beach Education: Law degree from Lewis and Clark College; bachelor’s degree from Arizona State University; associate degree from Grand Rap- ids Junior College. Length of time in Clatsop County: 25 years Prior experience: Deputy d istrict a ttorney for Clatsop County; attorney in private practice in Astoria. Port awaits word on LNG lease Cops and pot, now neighbors in Seaside Oregon LNG holds Port land on the Skipanon Peninsula New shop may be safest in Oregon By EDWARD STRATTON The Daily Astorian By R.J. MARX The Daily Astorian T he Port of Astoria is still waiting to learn the intentions of Oregon LNG, which sub- leases more than 90 acres from the agency on the Skipanon Peninsula in Warrenton but has abandoned a $6 billion termi- nal and pipeline project. SEASIDE — Marijuana dispensaries in Oregon may not be located in residential neigh- borhoods or within 1,000 feet of schools or other dispensaries. But nothing in state code prohibits their location next to a police station. Seaside Police Department RI¿FHV ZLWK D VRXWKHUQ H[SR See PORT, Page 12A The Daily Astorian/File Photo The east side of the Skipanon Peninsula, right, was the proposed site for a liquefied natural gas export terminal to be built by Oregon LNG. sure look directly onto the site of the city’s newest pot shop , Oasis Cannabis at 1111 S. Hol- laday Drive. “We wanted to buy a build- ing in town, and we saw this available,” Oasis Cannabis Manager Stephanie Schlip said. “When we saw this place, we thought it’s next to a police station, it’s secure. That’s the big thing in the cannabis indus- try: security, and making sure all our public and employ- ees are safe. And what better place could it be than a police station?” See POT SHOP, Page 12A