12A THE DAILY ASTORIAN • WEDNESDAY, APRIL 20, 2016 Goldthorpe: He says he has the temperament to stay even-keeled Woltjer: He always tries to explain his decisions to people McIntosh: She says she’ll have no problem dealing with busy docket WKHUH LV D FRQÀLFW ZLWK 5RQ- ald Woltjer — now a munici- Another day he would be in the pal court judge — being mar- gymnasium making sure no one ried to Circuit Court Judge was hurting each other. Once in Cindee Matyas. As an exam- a while, he would have to physi- ple, Goldthorpe says if Matyas writes a search warrant that is cally restrain an inmate. He looks back on his time challenged in court, Woltjer at the prison as an eye-open- could not be the judge to review ing experience. He recalls see- the search warrant, and vice ing how much some inmates versa. That work would always fall to Judge Paula Brownhill. changed for the better. ³,ZRXOGQ¶WKDYHDFRQÀLFW´ “I personally don’t believe a prosecutor should ask to send Goldthorpe said. “I feel I have somebody somewhere that you the experience that would make me an excellent judge, and my haven’t seen,” he said. Becoming a judge has been a experience shouldn’t be deval- lifelong goal for Goldthorpe. He ued by just years as an attorney.” believes he has the personality Goldthorpe said he would bring and temperament to stay even- a different world of experience keeled in the courtroom and to the Circuit Court. Growing up, he became an make the right decisions. “It’s always a job I’ve seen Eagle Scout. He lived in Europe myself willing and able to do,” for two years experiencing how the world works outside of the he said. As a deputy district attorney, United States. As a judicial Goldthorpe only represents the clerk, he helped handle child state. He said he does not have abuse, drug, homicide and civil WKH VDPH SRWHQWLDO FRQÀLFWV DQG cases. His work in the District baggage as his opponents. He $WWRUQH\¶V 2I¿FH UDQJHV IURP believes Dawn McIntosh, an attempted-murder cases to traf- attorney and former prosecutor, ¿FYLRODWLRQV No matter who is elected, could not be the judge on a hear- ing for the many people she rep- Goldthorpe said, they will have resented in private practice. She a learning curve. “Everyone is KDVDQDXWRPDWLFFRQÀLFWKHVDLG going to have their areas that In addition, Goldthorpe said, they have to learn,” he said. Continued from Page 1A ZLWK UHVSHFW WR ¿QG VROXWLRQV to problems, she said. Working in private prac- When she became a dep- uty district attorney in Clat- tice before serving as a judge sop County in 1998, McIn- means McIntosh will come tosh supervised all child-abuse across people she has repre- prosecutions. She was also sented. In response to con- a founding member of the FHUQVDERXWSRVVLEOHFRQÀLFWV Lighthouse for Kids, a child- McIntosh said, the fact that a abuse assessment and preven- judge knows somebody does not change their job of being tion center. McIntosh is not concerned fair and impartial. If she did represent some- with the potential emotional one in the past and they came toll from being a judge. “As a judge it’s not a steady before her, a different judge diet of child abuse. For me, for would have to handle the case. that many years, it was,” she However, McIntosh said, con- ÀLFW UXOHV DUH VSHFL¿F DQG said. Five years after moving many times people are willing to Clatsop County, McIntosh to sign waivers and proceed. McIntosh also points out went into private practice. In VKH VWDUWHG KHU ¿UP LQ that both Judge Philip Nelson Gearhart. and Judge Paula Brownhill As a Circuit Court judge, were lawyers in the commu- McIntosh said, she will have nity before taking the bench. no problem handling a busy “Just because you dealt docket. with somebody doesn’t mean “Anybody that knows me WKHUH LV D FRQÀLFW´ VKH VDLG knows that the workload is ³<RXKDYHWRKDYHFRQ¿GHQWLDO probably the least of my wor- information that causes you ries,” she said. “I work very not to be impartial.” hard.” If elected, McIntosh said, McIntosh sees the role of a she would prepare herself by judge as the person who keeps visiting with the current judges D OHYHO SOD\LQJ ¿HOG LQ WKH and court administrator. “I’m courtroom. Judges make sure ready to go back to public ser- everyone is treated fairly and vice,” she said. Continued from Page 1A Woltjer said people’s experiences of how they were treated in municipal court often form how they see the entire court system. As a judge, he explains to each person their rights and makes sure they are com- fortable moving forward. “I always explain my decision to people,” Wolt- jer said. “Even if they walk out not with the result they hoped for, at least they know they were listened to.” Working as a judge in small communities can mean sentencing neighbors and acquaintances. A judge at any level must stick to the law, Woltjer said, and make decisions based on facts and not personal feel- ings. In municipal court , he said, there were people who were likable that he found guilty, and more chal- lenging people he found innocent. “You have to make sure people are aware you are doing this solely on what is before you,” he said. As a Circuit Court judge, the majority of the day is Continued from Page 1A focused on complex felony crimes. To avoid an emo- tional toll, Woltjer said, he is able to compartmentalize work and not take it home with him. However, not taking his ZRUN KRPH PD\ EH GLI¿- cult, since Woltjer’s wife is Circuit Court Judge Cin- dee Matyas. If Woltjer is elected, the couple would work together in the same courthouse. Woltjer insists he does not see an issue with work- ing at the same judicial level as his wife. He compares it to two schoolteachers work- ing in the same building, but teaching in different class- rooms, grading different papers and developing dif- ferent lesson plans. “It is unusual. I will grant you that,” he said. “I don’t see an issue.” Whoever is elected will have more than six months to prepare. Woltjer believes his work at the munici- pal level has provided him a foundation. “I’m already a judge, so I have the basic framework and the basic understanding of how a hearing works,” he said. Port: The leased land’s appraisal has risen from $384,000 to $1.29 million ³5HJDUGLQJWKHVWDWXVRIWKH lease, the Port has the option to The Port leases the property amend the lease if they want to from the Department of State change the use, or the Port and Lands for $129,000 annually, department can mutually agree which is paid through the sub- to terminate the lease,” Lorna lease to Oregon LNG. Oppo- Stafford, assistant to the direc- QHQWV RI WKH OLTXH¿HG QDWXUDO tor of the State Land Board, gas project shared their relief said in an email. “We have not Tuesday at a Port Commission yet been contacted by the Port PHHWLQJWKDWWKHVDJDLV¿QDOO\ regarding the lease.” ending. “We’ve worked almost 12 Calpine years on this, the community, In November 2004, the Port the state,” said Lori Durheim, leased more than 90 acres on who regularly attends Port meet- the Skipanon Peninsula from ings and criticizes the Port’s sub- the Department of State Lands lease to Oregon LNG and its IRU¿YH\HDUVZLWKWZR\HDU options to renew. The Port was predecessor, Calpine Corp. Ted Thomas, another regu- initially charged $38,400 a lar Port Commission attendee \HDU DQG WKH OHDVH VSHFL¿HG and LNG opponent, said the the land could only be used for Port should withdraw from a golf course or marine indus- the lease and request the prop- trial facility. Several days after execut- erty revert from state to county ing the lease with the state, control. “I would say that I’m pretty the Port Commission unani- sure that the Port is going to mously approved a sublease to have an important role to play Skipanon Natural Gas, a sub- in the dissolution, or the end- sidiary of Calpine Corp., a Cal- ing of Oregon LNG here in ifornia-based energy company Clatsop County,” Jim Knight, that wanted to build a natural the Port’s executive director, gas terminal at the mouth of WKH6NLSDQRQ5LYHUDQGVWDUWHG said after the meeting. Continued from Page 1A paying the Port’s lease to the state. Calpine, reporting $10 bil- lion lost amid a slumping ZKROHVDOHHQHUJ\PDUNHW¿OHG for bankruptcy near the end of 2005. To help satisfy its debts, the company sold Skipanon Natural Gas and the sublease on the Skipanon Peninsula to LNG Development Co. LLC, a sub- sidiary of Leucadia National Corp., a New York-based hold- ing company. The sale came after Leucadia agreed to the Port’s request for a guarantee of payment on the lease. over whether the Port or state owned the land on the pen- insula, and how the original Calpine Corp. lease was struc- tured, commissioners delayed renewing the lease with the Department of State Lands. Oregon LNG sued the Port to force it to renew the lease. A judge eventually ruled the agency had violated the sub- lease with Oregon LNG by not renewing the lease with the state. The Port eventually renewed the lease and settled to avoid paying damages to the company. Dueling appraisals In 2012, the value of the Skipanon Peninsula prop- erty shot up from $384,000 to $1.29 million. Meanwhile, the annual lease payments Oregon LNG pays through the Port to the state went from $38,400 to $129,000. An amended lease between the Port and state from 2009 said the rent would be recalculated every ¿YH \HDUV EDVHG RQ WKH IDLU market value of the land. In December 2011, an appraiser hired by the state had valued the land at more than $1.6 million, largely because of a zoning change from urban recreational — for a golf course — to marine industrial for a gas terminal. The appraisal was challenged by Oregon LNG, and a sec- ond appraisal valued it at $692,000. A third-party appraiser was brought in and com- pared the site to other indus- trial property in Vancouver, :DVKLQJWRQ DQG 5DLQLHU and valued the land at $1.29 million. Oregon LNG LNG Development Co., doing business as Oregon /1* VWDUWHG LWV RZQ ¿OLQJV ZLWKWKH)HGHUDO(QHUJ\5HJX- latory Commission, but ran into ¿HUFH RSSRVLWLRQ IURP ORFDOV and a competing terminal proj- ect by NorthernStar Natural Gas Inc., which had been plan- ning a similar project at Brad- wood Landing east of Astoria. The Port Commission even- tually renewed the agency’s sublease with Oregon LNG. But amid lingering questions NEED A JOB? WE CAN HELP. Local and National Employers FREE SERVICES Q Computer access Q Skills review and assessment Q Resumes and cover letters Q Job leads and referrals Q Interview practice R.J. Marx/The Daily Astorian Kyle and Stephanie Schlip are managers of Oasis Cannabis in Seaside. Pot shop: ‘Cannabis has so many healing qualities that help people’ The store’s mission is “to present the recreational in an Schlip and her husband, informed way to get away from Kyle, manage the store, backed the stereotypes of recreational by investors Sherry Bateman use,” Sivers said. “We want peo- and Dennis Sivers, who ple to be aware of all the chemi- helped purchase the building. cals involved in the strain of can- Sivers, president and CEO of a nabis and its potential effects.” Stephanie Schlip, a Manza- Portland real estate and invest- PHQW¿UPKDVEHHQFRPLQJWR nita native, worked in a medical a family home in Arch Cape for dispensary in Portland before the couple returned to the coast. 50 years. “I had no idea what the can- He sees Seaside as “the heart nabis industry was like until I of the north Oregon Coast.” “It seemed a place that made got into it,” she said. “I realized how it really helped people. sense,” Sivers said. Continued from Page 1A Cannabis has so many healing qualities that help people.” Oasis Cannabis is Sea- side’s fourth dispensary, join- ing Highway 420 and Cannabis Nation in town and the Sip Stop in Elsie. “I want us all to be friends and be teams,” Schlip said. “If I don’t have something I want to be able to send them down the road and vice versa.” ³3HRSOH ZLOO ¿QG WKH WKUHH places have different approaches DQG¿QGWKHRQHWKDWVXLWVWKHP best,” Sivers said. Q Job fairs GET STARTED NOW! Call 503-861-9502 or visit www.goodwilljobconnection.org www.facebook.com/meetgoodwill @Goodwill_Power