OPINION
6A
THE DAILY ASTORIAN • MONDAY, APRIL 3, 2017
Founded in 1873
DAVID F. PERO, Publisher & Editor
LAURA SELLERS, Managing Editor
BETTY SMITH, Advertising Manager
CARL EARL, Systems Manager
JOHN D. BRUIJN, Production Manager
DEBRA BLOOM, Business Manager
OUR VIEW
Firings show
more of Brown’s
leadership fl aws
n a move that defi es both logic and comprehension, Gov.
Kate Brown abruptly fi red three members of the state
Environmental Quality Commission last week.
This is the latest episode of the governor’s meddling in the
business of a supposedly independent state commission.
State Sen. Bill Hansell,
R-Athena, had it right when
he said, “We cannot have the
governor of our beautiful state
fi ring Senate-confi rmed vol-
unteer members of a com-
mission, simply because they
don’t do what she wants them
to do.”
Legally, a governor has
the authority to fi re political
appointees, including com-
mission members. But such
actions should be exceed-
ingly rare and must be fully
explained. Oregonians
deserve that, especially given
AP Photo/Don Ryan
Brown’s professed commit-
Gov. Kate Brown speaks to me-
ment to transparency.
dia representatives in Salem in
January. Brown dismissed three
Nothing about her action
of the five members of the Envi-
makes sense. That includes
ronmental Quality Commission
the press release issued by
Wednesday.
her offi ce on Wednesday.
It announced her appoint-
Legally, a
ment of three new members
to the Environmental Quality
governor has
Commission, thanked the
the authority
three departing members,
avoided saying they had been
to fi re political
fi red, and gave no clue to her
appointees,
reasoning — including why
including
she kept two members.
But the political infi ght-
commission
ing seems to come down to
members. But
the commission’s recent hir-
ing of Richard Whitman to
such actions
head the state Department of
should be
Environmental Quality, an
agency that has endured rough
exceedingly
times. Whitman is a former
rare and
aide to Brown and Gov. John
must be fully
Kitzhaber, and a former direc-
tor of the state Department
explained.
of Land Conservation and
Development. He served as
acting DEQ director so it is not surprising that the commission
unanimously gave him the permanent job after conducting a
national search.
Brown’s staff said she was dissatisfi ed with the selection pro-
cess — that it took too long and was insuffi ciently “collabora-
tive” with the G overnor’s O ffi ce. Yet they said Brown had confi -
dence in Whitman’s abilities.
The fi rst part of the governor’s concern may highlight a fl aw
in the hiring process — that independent commissions and semi-
autonomous agencies, which abound in state government, might
lack the expertise and resources to adequately manage top-level
hiring. That concern deserves a close look by the Legislature
during the fi nal three months of the session.
But the question of “collaboration” is deeply troubling. State
law clearly says that the governor shall appoint the commis-
sion members, the state Senate shall decide whether to confi rm
those appointments, and the commission shall appoint the DEQ
director.
Given that Whitman is in place and Brown professes confi -
dence in him, why now sack a majority of the commissioners?
The ousted commissioners say it’s because Brown did not
want them to appoint Whitman. They also say that Brown was
late in making her desires known.
Even if those allegations are only partially true, they raise
serious questions about how much involvement a governor
should have in a supposedly independent commission.
Brown has been at odds with the Oregon Fish and Wildlife
Commission over gillnetting in the Columbia River. She also
defi ed her fellow members of the State Land Board in order-
ing the Division of State Lands to create a plan for keeping the
Elliott State Forest in public ownership. As in this latest instance,
her rationale was not fully explained.
The trend is disturbing.
Oregonians have wanted stronger leadership from Gov.
Brown. But her sacking of three environmental quality commis-
sioners smacks of retribution, not leadership.
I
GUEST COLUMN
Foster care is where
miracles can happen
By JULIA MABRY
Special to The Daily Astorian
W
e have some terrible
child abuse statistics
in our community.
These statistics are not terrible in
comparison to the rest of Oregon.
That is one analytical measure. But
they are terrible because it is not
possible to have a “good” child
abuse statistic.
More than 120 children experi-
enced abuse or neglect in 2016 in
Clatsop County, and every year in
our county, approximately one in
72 children will become a ward of
the state, having endured abuse and
neglect.
This is terrible for each child,
each family, and for our commu-
nity; every child matters. The kids
who make up these numbers wor-
ried about mom getting hurt by her
partner. They waited for their dad
to sober up enough to get food.
They watched their caregiver push
a needle through her arm to get
high. They were afraid to go home
after school. They were buckled
into a car seat, waiting for some-
one, anyone to pick them up.
One-hundred twenty children
sounds like a lot, and when I men-
tion this number to people they
are shocked. Then I have to clar-
ify that 120 is not the real num-
ber of children who endured trau-
mas we don’t wish on anyone. It’s
only the number of children for
whom reports of abuse were made,
and for whom neither mom nor dad
was available to parent, so that the
state took over parenting duties
and placed them in foster care.
The true numbers of abuse and
neglect are unknown and undoubt-
edly even more heartbreaking. We
are growing a large population of
traumatized children right here at
home.
But this is also true: we have
amazing citizens who provide tem-
porary refuge to those children.
Foster care is where miracles hap-
pen. In my three years with the
Clatsop CASA Program, I have
seen it again and again, and every
time I am grateful and amazed. A
deaf child learns to sign to com-
municate. A child attends school
regularly and — surprise! — actu-
ally learns. A baby plumps up with
enough food. Teeth get fi xed. A
child, very slowly, learns to trust
that someone will be there when he
wakes up, every single day.
Those are the daily miracles
that happen in the aftermath of
child abuse and neglect. Children
can get better, and they do. So can
their parents, and they also often
do.
I am in awe of the foster fam-
Submitted Drawing
More than 120 children experienced abuse and neglect in Clatsop
County last year.
We are
growing a large
population of
traumatized
children right
here at home.
ilies whose human capacity for
love and tenacity helps those chil-
dren get better. Twenty-four fam-
ilies currently provide a home
for non relative children in our
county. They foster children who
will likely only be in their lives
for a short time. They risk loving
them anyway, knowing that they
will have to let them go. Thirty
more families foster their nieces,
nephews and grandkids. They do
the daily, diffi cult work of caring
for someone else’s children. Our
children.
Yes, we have some terrible
child abuse statistics in Clatsop
County. Yet when we worry about
numbers, percentages and compar-
isons, we miss the human side of
child abuse. We detach and look
for someone to blame. What we
should worry about is this: what
are we going to do about it? How
will we ensure that parents learn
to parent, have an opportunity to
become sober and safe, have a way
to deal with their own traumas and
mental health problems? How do
we lend a hand, instead of pointing
a fi nger?
Any one of us can be part of a
child’s safety net and family’s sup-
port system, be it through foster
care, volunteering at the schools,
or cleaning up a playground. Chil-
dren are our future. We owe it to
them and to ourselves to make it a
good one.
April is National Child Abuse
Prevention Month and Sexual
Assault Awareness Month. You
can show your support for preven-
tion at an upcoming community
walk on April 18th at 5 p.m. at The
Baked Alaska Annex in Astoria. A
blue pinwheel garden, representing
the healthy, carefree, happy child-
hood we want for all children, is
traveling around the county during
the month of April. For other activ-
ities, please visit Clatsop CASA
Program on Facebook.
Julia Mabry is the executive
director of the Clatsop CASA Pro-
gram Inc.
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