7A
THE DAILY ASTORIAN • THURSDAY, JANUARY 19, 2017
Trump: He
has 40 percent
approval rating
Continued from Page 1A
Hillary Clinton as the can-
didate who would be sworn
in Friday. While some local
conservatives were confi-
dent in July that they would
return to BJ’s to celebrate a
victory, others were not so
optimistic.
‘Snowball’s
chance in hell’
“I really underestimated
his appeal,” George Warren,
a farmer, said. “I didn’t think
he had a snowball’s chance in
hell.”
Ed McNulty, the vice
president of Clatsop County
Republicans, said he knew
Trump had a solid chance
after speaking with residents
while campaigning door-to-
door in Astoria.
“I know so many people,
you talk to them one-on-one,
and they said, ‘I’m voting
for Trump,’” McNulty said.
“And they wouldn’t be the
people you would expect.”
While approaching own-
ers about placing signs in
front of their businesses,
Republicans received similar
reactions in a county that typ-
ically favors Democrats.
“They said, ‘Our heart
is with you, but I’ll just
lose too much business in
this county,’” retired real
estate agent Stephanie Miller
said.
Loyal Republican vot-
ers were hungry for Trump’s
message of lower taxes and
fewer government regula-
tions. “You look at logging
and longshoremen, the jobs
we had more than 30 years
ago are disappearing,” said
Jim Hoffman, the president of
Clatsop County Republicans.
‘Toxic political
divisiveness’
Coral Rose Shipley started
a Northwest Tea Party meet-
ing Wednesday night with a
prayer. She thanked God for
Trump’s inauguration and
asked for a safe and festive
celebration.
A red hat with Trump’s
famous “Make America
Great Again” slogan was at
the end of the table — just
a few feet in front of a large
American flag.
Trump will take the oath
of office with a 40 percent
favorable rating — accord-
ing to Gallup, in polling the
Republican dismissed as
“rigged” — as well as the
stubborn fact his Democratic
rival won the popular vote
nationally.
Don Haskell, a for-
mer Clatsop County com-
missioner and attorney,
believes Trump’s “no-non-
sense approach and finan-
cial independence will make
him a successful president.”
He predicted improvements
in health care, the economy,
immigration and national
security under the new
administration.
“Trump’s hardest chal-
lenge will be to heal the
country’s wounds from toxic
political divisiveness,” Has-
kell said in an email. “But
as the successes of his presi-
dency become apparent, con-
troversy swirling around his
sometimes crass comments
will fade away.”
INAUGURATION DAY
Donald Trump will take the oath of office as the 45th presi-
dent of the United States at the U.S. Capitol in a ceremony
that starts about 11:30 a.m. Friday — 8:30 a.m. Pacific time.
The inaugural parade down Pennsylvania Avenue to the
White House starts about 3 p.m. — noon Pacific time.
Major news channels are expected to cover the events live
from Washington, D.C.
Danny Miller/The Daily Astorian
Laurie Caplan, center, talks with a group of organizers in her living room about details for Saturday’s Women’s March.
March: Event is not a protest
Continued from Page 1A
“I wasn’t anywhere near as
pissed about the election once I
had a plan,” Kit Ketcham said.
So far, roughly 400 people indi-
cated on the march’s Facebook
page they will participate Sat-
urday. At least one Astoria
business, the Blue Scorcher
Bakery and Cafe, will close
during the 11:30 a.m. event to
allow employees to attend.
Demonstrations such as the
protests against the Dakota
Access Pipeline in Novem-
ber and the Oregon LNG proj-
ect over the past several years
gave many in Clatsop County
the confidence to organize and
speak out. While many ques-
tion the impact of protests, pub-
lic opinion and spirited demon-
strations had an influence on
the Dakota Access Pipeline,
which is facing further environ-
mental review in North Dakota,
and Oregon LNG, which was
abandoned by investors last
year.
“It gave people the idea
that they have power, that their
voices matter,” Laurie Caplan,
a leading voice in the campaign
Danny Miller/The Daily Astorian
Laurie Caplan shows some of the signs that she and oth-
er organizers have prepared for a Women’s March taking
place on Saturday in Astoria.
against Oregon LNG, said. “I
kind of think that gave people
permission.”
Organizers have made doz-
ens of signs leading up to Sat-
urday’s march and encourage
others to bring signs with a pos-
itive message about causes they
would like to promote. Phrases
like “Fascism is not an option,”
“It’s about the people’s planet”
and “Support Nasty Women”
adorn some of the signs.
One noticeably absent name
on the signs: Trump. Organiz-
ers have emphasized that Satur-
day’s event is not a protest.
“It makes it more politi-
cal than we’re trying to be,”
Caplan said. “I would love it if
some Trump supporters came
out.”
Caplan said she is aware
some who participate in the
march may bring negative
signs and that those who do
not support some of the causes
addressed in the march may
show up as well. Organizers
said they encourage people not
to engage with any hecklers.
Following opening remarks
at Heritage Square beginning at
11:30 a.m., marchers will stroll
along a half-mile route on side-
walks downtown. Just after 1
p.m., a few brief remarks will
round out the day. Musicians
likely will play instruments
throughout the afternoon, and
the march may include sponta-
neous chants, Caplan said.
Several organizers will uti-
lize the march to kick-start a
group called Indivisible North
Coast Oregon. The group will
meet regularly to discuss what
societal issues they would like
to address and how.
One theme organizers agree
with about the march: this is
just the beginning.
“The idea is to channel this
energy into positive change
and to counter efforts to under-
score the values we hold as
Americans,” Deb Vanasse said.
“Something good that might
come out of people’s anger is
unity.”
Widow: ‘We had a third interloper in the form of Steve Mnuchin’
Continued from Page 1A
organizations — premiered
Wednesday and targeted
Republican senators in Ari-
zona, Iowa and Nevada who
may be persuaded not to sup-
port Mnuchin.
Mnuchin’s
confirmation
hearing begins today before
the Senate Finance Committee.
U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden of Ore-
gon, the ranking Democrat on
the committee, said in a state-
ment that “our staff is continu-
ing to carefully and thoroughly
vet Mr. Mnuchin to ensure
that he will put the interests
of working families before his
own. I look forward to asking
tough questions about his his-
tory of predatory lending and
his plans to create prosperity
for all Americans, not just the
ones at the very top.”
Democrats have branded
Mnuchin the “Foreclosure
King” because, during his ten-
ure at OneWest, the California
bank forced thousands of peo-
ple out of their homes. Pros-
ecutors suspected the bank of
ethically and legally dubious
practices.
Mnuchin, a former Gold-
man Sachs executive, hedge-
fund manager and movie finan-
cier, had sold OneWest to CIT
Group by the time Fraser lost
her home but served on the
CIT Group board until stepping
down after his nomination.
“Lisa Fraser’s story is just
one of 36,000 across the coun-
try,” said Kaitlin Sweeney,
press secretary at the Progres-
sive Change Campaign Com-
mittee, one of the organizations
behind the ad.
Calling Mnuchin “the
poster child for how Trump
is betraying America’s work-
ing families, including his own
voters,” Sweeney said the nom-
inee “made millions of dol-
lars by foreclosing on people’s
homes.”
Unflattering depiction
Mnuchin has disputed this
unflattering depiction, saying
his business also modified loans
and helped many people stay
in their homes. “In the press it
has been said that I ran a ‘fore-
closure machine,’” according
to a Politico report on his pre-
pared statement for the Senate
Finance Committee. “This is
not true. On the contrary, I was
committed to loan modifica-
tions intended to stop foreclo-
sures. I ran a ‘Loan Modifica-
tion Machine.’”
Unfortunately, Lisa Fraser
was not one of these homeown-
ers. The Daily Astorian was
unable to independently ver-
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ify the circumstances surround-
ing the foreclosure, but Fraser’s
friends did set up a GoFundMe
account soon after John’s death
that described her financial
struggle and her need to move.
“They tortured us with
endless phone calls, endless
requests for documents,” she
said in an interview.
As John’s condition wors-
ened, she said she tried to mis-
lead her husband about the seri-
ousness of their situation so he
would not worry. It didn’t work.
“He did know I was going
to lose the house, and he was
extremely upset about it,” she
said.
The final years of John’s
life, she said, should have been
spent going on picnics and tak-
ing drives along the beach —
activities he could still physi-
cally do.
“But I couldn’t do that,
because I was so stressed out
and trying to save the house,
so I frequently would be short
with him,” she said. “And this
is the part that kills me the
most: Those last couple years,
it should have been all about
me and John and nothing else.
“And, as it turned out, we
had a third interloper in the
form of Steve Mnuchin.”
‘A very emotional story’
Fraser reached out to Sen-
ate Democrats who had solic-
ited stories from homeowners
who had dealt with OneWest.
The move brought her and the
Progressive Change Campaign
Committee together.
“What really struck us
the most about Lisa was just
how much she spoke from the
heart,” Sweeney said. “I mean,
what she went through, the fact
that she had to fight to allow
her husband to die in his own
home, the fact that they fore-
closed on her very soon after
the funeral — it’s a very emo-
tional story. It’s a very power-
ful story, and we’re really hop-
ing lots of people see it.”
“It’s embarrassing to lose
your frickin’ house,” Fraser
said, “so I didn’t talk about it
at all until the very end, when it
was imminent.”
Nearly one year removed
from her husband’s death, Fra-
ser, 61, now rents a cabin in
midtown Cannon Beach. She
said she will, in the end, be
OK. She still has Once Upon
a Breeze, the kite shop she and
John co-owned.
“I just am clinging to the
shop,” she said. “I lost John
— the biggest thing — and the
house. I mean, it’s really rather
stunning when you think back
on it.”