3A
THE DAILY ASTORIAN • FRIDAY, MARCH 31, 2017
Environmental commissioners Local law enforcement claims
defi ed governor’s orders, fi red Warrenton man threatened police
By JACK HEFFERNAN
The Daily Astorian
By PARIS ACHEN
Capital Bureau
SALEM — Three former
state environmental quality
commissioners say they were
fi red Wednesday by Gov. Kate
Brown because they defi ed
the governor in selecting a
director for the Department of
Environmental Quality.
Commissioners kept the
Governor’s Office informed
every step of the way in their
search for a new director, but
Gov. Brown did not make
her wishes known until the
“eleventh hour,” former
commission
Chairwoman
Colleen Johnson wrote in a
statement.
“She went so far as to sug-
gest that any decision contrary
to her wishes could have neg-
ative consequences,” Johnson
wrote.
The three commission-
ers — Johnson and Morgan
Rider and Melinda Eden —
received a phone call early
Wednesday informing them
of Brown’s decision. The gov-
ernor’s news release on the
change included the names of
her nominees to replace the
three commissioners, indicat-
ing the decision had been in
the works for some time.
“After the past two years,
it has become clear to Gov.
Brown that the Environmen-
tal Quality Commission has
not been able meet new chal-
lenges and implement poli-
cies that protect Oregonian’s
air and water resources,” said
Bryan Hockaday, a spokes-
man in Brown’s offi ce. “It is
critical to Gov. Brown that
leadership of the agency
ensures DEQ achieves this
mission.”
The commission selected
Brown’s natural resources
adviser, Richard Whitman, as
DEQ director Feb. 15, follow-
ing a national search.
Whitman,
who
had
been adviser to Gov. John
Kitzhaber, then Brown, had
served as interim director
since October. That month,
former Director Dick Ped-
ersen resigned amid scandal
over the agency’s response to
heavy metal emissions in the
Portland area.
The governor asserted
that the process for hiring the
director “did not signal a col-
laborative approach that will
lead to signifi cant improve-
ments in the operations at
DEQ,” Hockaday said.
“Gov. Brown is confi dent
in Richard Whitman’s ability
to guide DEQ, and by appoint-
ing new members to the EQC
to support his leadership, she
looks forward to a more col-
laborative and transparent
approach to DEQ’s policy and
rule making process.”
Johnson defended the
commission’s process for
selecting the director.
“We take extreme pride in
the way those searches were
conducted — open, impartial,
and always informed by our
judgment of what was best for
the state and DEQ,” Johnson
wrote. “After considerable
time, effort, and deliberation,
including a self-imposed two-
week delay to thoroughly and
carefully consider the com-
ments from the Governor’s
AP Photo/Don Ryan
Gov. Kate Brown speaks during her State of the State ad-
dress in Portland in 2015. The governor has fired three
members of the state Environmental Quality Commission.
Offi ce, the commission unan-
imously decided to hire Rich-
ard Whitman. Unfortunately,
Gov. Brown seems to feel that
despite the clear language of
(Oregon statute), the decision
about the new director was
really hers to make.”
She said the governor “is
now trying to distance her-
self from the idea that our fi r-
ing has anything to do with
the decisions about whom to
hire as a director, rather say-
ing it was the process that
concerned her.”
Yet Commissioners Sam
Baraso and Ed Armstrong
will remain on the commis-
sion, Johnson noted.
Brown has nominated
Kathleen George, a member
of the Grande Ronde Tribal
Council; Wade Mosby, a
founding member of the For-
est Stewardship Council; and
Molly Kile, an associate pro-
fessor at Oregon State Uni-
versity, to replace them. If
confi rmed by the Senate April
26, they will start their new
positions May 3.
The governor believes her
new picks will bring new per-
spectives to the commission
and work more collabora-
tively with her offi ce, Hock-
aday said.
The Capital Bureau is a
collaboration between EO
Media Group and Pamplin
Media Group.
Law enforcement offi cials
are requesting that a man who
led police on a brief chase and
then ran into his apartment
Sunday night not be released
from jail.
Warrenton Police Chief
Mathew Workman and Clatsop
County Sheriff Tom Bergin
contacted the District Attor-
ney’s Offi ce saying Edward
Frederick Gates Sr., 38, of
Warrenton, made threats to kill
police during the incident.
Workman said he makes
such a request whenever a sus-
pect threatens to kill police in
order to give them more time
to decompress. Both Gates
and the passenger in the car
— Isaac Daniel Lyons, 23,
of Warrenton — were listed
on the county jail roster as of
Thursday afternoon.
Warrenton Police Offi cer
Tyler Johnston attempted to
pull Gates over Sunday after he
allegedly did not come to a com-
plete stop while pulling out of the
Super Mart parking lot on South
Main Avenue. He then drove to
an apartment building on South-
west Cedar Avenue.
When they reached the
complex, Gates fl ed up to the
second fl oor . Lyons, mean-
while, stayed in the parking lot .
Once backup arrived, police
arrested Lyons and charged
him with resisting arrest and
interfering with a police offi -
cer. He pleaded not guilty at an
arraignment Monday.
Gates eventually surren-
dered himself to police more
than 1 1/2 hours after they
arrived at the apartment com-
plex. He was indicted earlier
this week on seven charges,
including
second-degree
escape, resisting arrest and
recklessly endangering another
person . “It was quite a fi asco,”
Workman said.
Gates said at his fi rst
arraignment Monday that
he is fi ling a complaint with
the American Civil Liberties
Union over his treatment by
police.
He is also facing harass-
ment and disorderly conduct
charges stemming from a case
earlier this month involving his
girlfriend.
Circuit Court Judge Cin-
dee Matyas ordered that Gates
have no contact with his girl-
friend, who was in the court-
room at the time. Gates,
appearing from jail through
video, expressed his frustration
with the decision and became
visibly upset. Matyas asked to
Gates calm down or she would
end the arraignment.
“I’m not going to calm
down,” Gates said.
Matyas then ended the
arraignment. Gates threw
documents at the screen and
stood up, telling deputies not
to touch him before the video
disconnected.
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