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-
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Nelson is retiring this
year after 24 years on the
bench.
Three
candidates
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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
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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
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rectional Institution, a medium -security prison
south of Boise, Idaho. O ne day he would be in the
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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.”
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from an extensive career that began in the Mult-
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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
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— 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-
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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
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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