COAST WEEKEND: CRAB, SEAFOOD AND WINE FESTIVAL ARRIVES INSIDE
DailyAstorian.com // THURSDAY, APRIL 27, 2017
144TH YEAR, NO. 215
ONE DOLLAR
UNMOORED
Colin
Murphey
The Daily
Astorian
Election may set new course at divided Port of Astoria
POSITION 1
POSITION 2
POSITION 5
Campbell, Fulton
square off for post
Rohne, Hellberg are O’Grady, Spence
experienced hands
vie to replace Raichl
Race could tip power on board
Candidates strive for civility
O’Grady is a Fulton ally
By EDWARD STRATTON
The Daily Astorian
By EDWARD STRATTON
The Daily Astorian
By EDWARD STRATTON
The Daily Astorian
No campaign in the
May election has embod-
ied the acrimony and
infi ghting on the Port
of Astoria Commission
more than Stephen Ful-
ton and James Campbell,
James
Stephen
two incumbents battling
Campbell
Fulton
for re-election .
The race could tip the
balance of power on the Port Commission between two
camps with differing viewpoints about Port management .
Seats on the Port’s fi ve-member commission are not
geographically based, allowing candidates to run for any
position and county residents to vote in each race. Faced
with a challenge for his existing seat from former Clatsop
County Commissioner Dirk Rohne, Fulton took the rare
move of fi ling against Campbell .
Dirk Rohne and
Dick Hellberg recently
stepped out of political
retirement to run against
each other for the Port
of Astoria Commis-
sion , albeit for different
Dick
Dirk
reasons.
Hellberg
Rohne
The two candidates
are running for a seat
held by Commissioner Stephen Fulton, who avoided a
challenge from Rohne by fi ling against fellow Commis-
sioner James Campbell .
Rohne, a Brownsmead dairy farmer and former Clat-
sop County commissioner and Clatsop Community Col-
lege board member, said the Port Commission needs more
stability to attract investment and help from the state and
federal governments.
A chasm of govern-
ment experience sep-
arates the two candi-
dates running to replace
Port of Astoria Commis-
sioner John Raichl, a for-
mer appointee who is not
Pat
Frank
seeking re-election .
O’Grady
Spence
Patrick
O’Grady,
a longshoreman and
owner of Warrenton Auto & Marine Repair for the past
15 years, said he is running to improve transparency at the
Port.
Frank Spence, a retired transplant to Astoria with
more than 40 years of administrative experience in city
and county governments in Florida, said he wants to
bring his expertise in government and budgeting to the
Port.
See POSITION 1, Page 9A
See POSITION 2, Page 9A
See POSITION 5, Page 5A
MAY ELECTION
Ballots for the May special district election in Clatsop County
started going out this week .
Votes are due by mail or in-person by 8 p.m. May 16 at a designat-
ed drop site or the county Clerk’s Office at 820 Exchange St.
In races for the Port of Astoria Commission, all county voters
can choose candidates for Position 1, Position 2 and Position 5,
regardless of where they live.
All voters can also choose candidates for the Clatsop Community
College Board.
For candidates for the Clatsop Care Center Health District Board
and the Astoria School Board, only voters who live in the health
district or in Astoria are eligible to vote.
The American Association of University Women will hold a candi-
date forum at 7 p.m. Wednesday in Columbia Hall Room 219 on
Clatsop Community College’s main campus, 1651 Lexington Ave.,
in Astoria. The forum will include candidates for the Port of Astoria
Commission, Clatsop Care Center Health District Board, Clatsop
Community College Board and Astoria School Board.
Thompson pushes back on questions about expenses
Commissioner
claimed more
than half pool
By JACK HEFFERNAN
The Daily Astorian
A Clatsop County c ommis-
sioner is pushing back against
accusations that her travel
and education expenses have
been excessive by questioning
Scott
Lee
Lianne
Thompson
the B oard of Commissioners’
goals.
Commissioner
Lianne
Thompson
has
claimed
$7,328 in expenses during
the fi rst three quarters of the
fi scal
year.
The
fi ve
commissioners combined are
allotted a total of $13,500 each
year.
C ommissioners have spent
$12,692 in the fi rst three quar-
ters, or 94 percent of the allot-
ted amount .
The board voted unani-
mously Wednesday to direct
$2,000 until the end of the fi scal
year in June to account for the
decreasing amount of money
for expenses.
“We’ve got to wing this
until June,” Scott Lee, the
board’s chairman, said.
Lee addressed the issue in a
March 30 letter to Thompson .
“I know that for the
remainder of this fi scal year
you will be mindful that this
budget is for all fi ve c ommis-
sioners who also may have
travel or training plans,” he said
in the letter.
Need for expenses
Thompson
responded
Wednesday.
“Reimbursement for all
actual and necessary expenses
incurred on county business
while outside the county is both
required by the c ounty c harter
and essential for commissioners
doing that business,” she said.
Thompson added she often
seeks to limit expenses by
avoiding hotels and eating
cheaper food such as energy
bars or take out from a grocery
deli.
While explaining her
need for expenses, Thomp-
son pointed to a lack of a con-
crete vision or goals from other
commissioners . Three issues
— housing, economic devel-
opment and emergency pre-
paredness — have been the
primary focus of her county-re-
lated travel, Thompson said.
See THOMPSON, Page 5A
168 days — and counting
Record rainy
days for Astoria
By JACK HEFFERNAN
The Daily Astorian
Astorians love the rain, but
even longtime residents felt
something was different about
this season.
They were right.
Rain has hit the area on 168
days since Oct. 1. That breaks
a record of 166 set in 1894 and
1921.
Astoria has seen 84.70
inches of rain to date, which
lands in the top 10 in recorded
history. The National Weather
Service has kept track of rain-
fall dating back to 1890.
Astoria’s wettest year came
in 1915, when it saw 91.55
inches of rain.
The National Weather
Service tracks rain locally
from the Astoria Regional
Airport.
While Friday is expected to
be dry, Saturday and Sunday
likely will see some showers,
meaning the October-through-
April record could hit 170
days.
The total rainfall, as usual,
is higher than in other places
throughout the state like
Portland — 46.86 inches —
Eugene — 42.31 inches —
Klamath Falls — 10.68 inches
— and Redmond — 7.97
inches. Portland is less than a
half inch away from a record
for total rainfall in the time
period.
Because of the coast range
to the east, high -pressure
systems that move through
Astoria often rise, cool
and condense, which cre-
ates more rain, said Gerald
Macke, a meteorological
technician with the National
Weather Service . When more
high -pressure systems hit
Astoria off the Pacifi c Ocean
instead of moving north or
south, heavy amounts of rain
follow.
Danny Miller/The Daily Astorian
Afternoon rain drizzles in March. The National Weather Service
says that Astoria has set a record for number of rainy days.