9A
THE DAILY ASTORIAN • THURSDAY, APRIL 27, 2017
Three of six Port candidates appear at forum
Fulton, Hellberg
and O’Grady
mostly agree
By EDWARD STRATTON
The Daily Astorian
WARRENTON — About
20 people showed up to the
North Coast Republican Wom-
en’s candidate forum Wednes-
day at Warrenton High School
to hear from the candidates of
three contested Port of Astoria
Commission races.
But with James Camp-
bell, Dirk Rohne and Frank
Spence all declining to attend,
the forum turned into more
of a meet-and-greet for their
respective opponents Stephen
Fulton, Dick Hellberg and Pat
O’Grady, who have shared
many of the same viewpoints
and are seen by some as politi-
cal allies in the Port races.
Republican Women Presi-
dent Patricia Roberts said that,
in decades of holding such
forums, she has never had half
the candidates back out.
followed and the Port Com-
mission not being provided
the weekly updates previously
agreed upon.
“It’s our goal to help people
get educated about the issues,”
she said, adding the group
does not try to push their own
agenda at the forums.
Campbell, the owner of
Campbell Marine Towing &
Construction, said he was in
Vancouver, Washington, last
night. “I had a dry-docking I
had to attend to.”
Rohne declined to com-
ment on why he did not attend
the forum. Spence could not
immediately be reached for
comment.
Transparency
Fulton, an incumbent com-
missioner running against fel-
low incumbent Campbell, has
built a reputation as a fire-
brand, continually question-
ing and critical of Port staff and
other commissioners. He and
Commissioner Bill Hunsinger,
who attended the forum, have
become part of the losing side
in many controversial 3-2 votes
in which they’ve disagreed with
staff and fellow commissioners
Campbell, Robert Mushen and
John Raichl.
Bond issue
Edward Stratton/The Daily Astorian
From left, Port of Astoria Commission candidates Dick
Hellberg, Stephen Fulton and Pat O’Grady participated in
a candidate forum Wednesday at Warrenton High School
with about 20 people in attendance.
Fulton said staff is not shar-
ing adequate information with
the Port Commission, while
The Daily Astorian downplays
issues within the agency’s
administration and other com-
missioners turn a blind eye.
“It’s been difficult to be a
change agent,” he said Wednes-
day, adding the Port Commis-
sion has become fouled. “Staff
is hiding things, and Jim Camp-
bell is helping them.”
Hellberg, a former Warren-
ton City commissioner, and
O’Grady, a longshoreman and
local business owner, echoed
Fulton’s argument, saying
there is a lack of transparency
between the Port Commis-
sion and staff, with the agen-
cy’s existing bylaws not being
The Port is asking county
voters for $1.96 million in
bonds over three years to
develop a southern portion
of the Astoria Regional Air-
port to accommodate a new
hangar being paid for by heli-
copter medevac service Life
Flight Network, while improv-
ing nearby lands for future
development.
Fulton,
Hellberg
and
O’Grady, although support-
ive of helping Life Flight site
its new hangar, have opposed
the bond measure. They argued
that instead of spending on
speculative development at the
airport, the Port needs to focus
on repairing and enhancing the
central waterfront, where the
agency makes a large portion
of its revenue, and finding addi-
tional commodities to ship such
as wheat. O’Grady said the Port
also needs to fix its marinas,
which are filling in with sedi-
ment on the west end of Astoria
and sea lions in the east.
The Port’s lease on the
North Tongue Point indus-
trial docks east of Astoria from
Montana-based Washington
Development Co. comes up in
2019. The Port Commission
has set a goal of buying the
former U.S. Navy base, which
houses a seafood processor,
boat repair companies and ship
moorage.
Fulton said the Port should
go for a bond to buy Tongue
Point, calling it the future of the
agency. Hellberg and O’Grady
said the facility should be fixed
up and used to accommodate
support services for the fishing
industry.
The next candidate forum
will be held by the Ameri-
can Association of University
Women Wednesday in Colum-
bia Hall, Room 219, on Clatsop
Community College’s main
campus, located at 1651 Lex-
ington Ave. Candidates from
the Port, Clatsop Care Cen-
ter Health District Board, col-
lege board and Astoria School
Board are expected to attend.
Position 1: Stormwater squabble turned into flare-up
Continued from Page 1A
The two commissioners
have repeatedly clashed over
differences regarding staff
and management, largely tak-
ing opposing sides on close
3-2 votes. Campbell, along
with Commissioners Rob-
ert Mushen and John Raichl,
have largely praised the perfor-
mance of staff and Port Execu-
tive Director Jim Knight. Ful-
ton and Commissioner Bill
Hunsinger have been more crit-
ical, and are often on the losing
end of votes.
Willing to question
Fulton, an Astoria native
and project manager for War-
renton Fiber, joined the Port
Commission after the 2013
election after serving on the
agency’s budget committee.
Besides his work in Warrenton,
he has a background in consult-
ing on levee certification, inter-
national trade in the U.S., Can-
ada and Asia and refrigerated
rail transport.
Fulton has built a reputa-
tion for questioning the Port’s
finances and being critical of its
administration and fellow com-
missioners. Accused by some
of manufacturing conflicts and
micromanaging, along with
Hunsinger, Fulton has said he
is just trying to hold the agency
and its staff accountable to
the public. He has claimed the
agency’s bylaws are not being
followed, and that the Port
Commission is not receiving
required updates from staff.
Fulton launched his can-
didacy last month with sev-
eral allegations against Camp-
bell, who he has painted as
complicit with problems at the
agency and unwilling to put
the work in to be an effective
commissioner.
“I feel that I am more will-
ing to do the work necessary to
protect the value that the citi-
zens have vested in the Port of
Astoria,” Fulton said of why he
filed against Campbell.
Among Fulton’s allegations
is that Campbell has a conflict
of interest with the Port’s bond
measure in the May election
at the Astoria Regional Air-
port, where Campbell hangars
a plane. The Port is asking vot-
ers for $1.96 million in bonds
over three years to develop a
southern portion of the airport
for a new hangar being built
by helicopter medevac service
Life Flight, while readying
several nearby acres for future
development.
Campbell has said the bond
STEPHEN FULTON JAMES CAMPBELL
Age: 63
Age: 83
Residence: Astoria
Residence: Knappa
Occupation: Project manager,
Warrenton Fiber Co.
Occupation: Marine contractor
Education: Bachelor’s and
master’s degrees in business
administration from the Universi-
ty of Oregon.
Length of time in Clatsop
County: 50-plus years.
Prior Experience: Port of Asto-
ria Commission; Port of Astoria
Budget Committee; Warrenton
Business Association.
measure is an inexpensive
opportunity to put Life Flight
in a better spot and add devel-
opment opportunities at the
airport. Although supportive
of helping accommodate Life
Flight, Fulton has come out in
opposition to the bond, saying
the Port should seek a cheaper
alternative.
Fulton has also accused
Campbell of condoning a pri-
vate club nicknamed the “Man
Cave” inside a private hangar
at the airport. Fulton accused
the owner of the club, retired
dentist Philip Bales, of operat-
ing an illegal speakeasy inside
the hangar, where he has a bar
and kegs and holds gather-
Education: Beaver (Oklahoma)
High School
Length of time in Clatsop
County: 61 years.
Prior Experience: Port of Asto-
ria Commission; Port of Astoria
Budget Committee.
ings. Knight has since asked
the Clatsop County Sheriff’s
Office to investigate the accu-
sations by Fulton. The com-
missioner has also suggested
evicting Bales and using the
pad from his hangar to relocate
Life Flight, instead of the bond
measure.
two candidates.
Fulton claimed he wrote
the letter out of concern for the
Port’s liability. The agency was
recently fined $27,000 by the
state for not finishing the proj-
ect by the prescribed timeline.
“Why don’t you be honest
with the public and tell them
you’re trying to make a polit-
ical statement?” Campbell
asked Fulton at a meeting.
“I don’t think that’s the
case, Jim,” Fulton replied, reit-
erating his argument that the
Port needs answers about the
overages.
“How long did it take your
attorney to write this letter?”
Campbell asked, in an apparent
reference to John Nygaard, an
attorney for Warrenton Fiber,
Fulton’s employer.
In the port business
Stormwater squabble
Fulton sent a letter earlier
this month to the Port Com-
mission and local media outlets
accusing Campbell and Com-
mission President Mushen of
not disclosing cost overruns
on the Port’s Pier 3 stormwater
treatment system, which is over
budget and several months
behind schedule. The accusa-
tion turned into the most vis-
ible flare-up yet between the
Campbell, an Oklahoma
transplant, has been in Asto-
ria since the 1950s, when he
served locally with the U.S.
Navy. He first served on the
Port Commission for three
terms between 1965 and 1977,
and in 2013 defeated incum-
bent Lawrence Pfund.
Campbell’s background is
mainly in construction. Since
the 1980s, he has been the
owner-operator of Campbell
Towing & Marine Construc-
tion, a contractor building port
infrastructure and that helped
dredge the Columbia River
shipping channel.
“I think I have a pretty good
idea of what it takes to make a
port go, and how to maintain
and rebuild a port,” Campbell
said. “I’ve always been inter-
ested in the marine traffic busi-
ness. I pretty much know what
makes that click.”
Campbell’s campaign has
been decidedly less vocal
and attention-grabbing. He
has called Fulton’s allega-
tions against him ridiculous.
“I think he’s searching for
self-notoriety.”
Campbell has praised
Knight’s performance in mov-
ing the Port forward since the
director started in 2014. He
said the election is about cre-
ating an environment in which
staff and the Port can succeed.
“It makes it very difficult for
staff to get anything done when
they have to respond to all these
innuendos and accusations,” he
said of Fulton and Hunsinger’s
withering criticism.
Campbell said Fulton and
Hunsinger seem to be on a
mission. “Basically, I think
their motive is to get rid of Jim
Knight.”
Position 2: Port is asking county voters for $1.96 million in bonds over three years
Continued from Page 1A
DICK HELLBERG
“I believe that the current
professional management at
the Port is doing a good job
and well-regarded, but the
Port Commission gives peo-
ple pause,” Rohne said during
a recent radio interview with
Joan Herman from Coast
Community Radio.
Hellberg, a former War-
renton City commissioner,
said he was spurred to run
when the Port Commission
declined to sign a letter in
support of commercial gillnet
fishermen before a state hear-
ing on fishing in the Colum-
bia River. He is a commercial
fisherman and marine sur-
veyor. Although supportive
of commercial fishing, Port
Commission President Rob-
ert Mushen said at the time
that the Port should not take
an official side in an issue
that pits commercial and rec-
reational fishermen against
each other.
Rohne has said the issue
is about fair access for both
sides. “The fish belong to
everyone.”
Age: 78
Calming influence
During the joint interview
with Herman, both candidates
touted their civility while
serving on past boards.
Rohne said that while there
were disagreements during
his time on the county board,
nobody ever spoke ill words
about each other, something
that has become more com-
mon on the Port Commission.
“In order to be effective, I
needed to get along with these
people during the meeting.”
Residence: Warrenton
Occupation: Commercial fish-
erman, marine surveyor.
Education: Bachelor’s in
general studies and master’s
degree in science education
from Western Oregon Universi-
ty; administrative license from
Portland State University.
Length of time in Clatsop
County: 70-plus years.
Prior Experience: Warrenton
City Commission; Warren-
ton-Hammond School Board;
U.S. Marine Corps, Alaska Inde-
pendent Fishermen’s Marketing
Association; Oregon Depart-
ment of Fish and Wildlife’s Fish
Restoration and Enhancement
Board.
DIRK ROHNE
Age: 41
Residence: Brownsmead
Occupation: Owner, Browns-
mead Island Farm.
Education: Bachelor’s degree
in business and agriculture from
Oregon State University.
Length of time in Clatsop
County: 30-plus years.
Prior Experience: Brownsmead
Diking District; Knappa Water
Association; Clatsop Community
College Board; Clatsop County
Board of Commissioners.
Hellberg said that while
serving on theAlaska Inde-
pendent Fishermen’s Market-
ing Association, he conducted
orderly meetings between
people with language prob-
lems and a lack of sophistica-
tion. He has served on a vari-
ety of governing bodies, from
the Oregon Department of
Fish and Wildlife’s Fish Res-
toration and Enhancement
Board to the Warrenton-Ham-
mond School Board.
“The disharmony on that
commission kind of con-
vinced me that I made
the right decision to run,”
Hellberg said of the Port
Commission.
Rohne and Hellberg both
described the Port as an eco-
nomic engine for the entire
county.
The Port has world-class
businesses such as Born-
stein Seafoods and Englund
Marine & Industrial Supply,
Rohne said, but can’t have
clients’ leases being threat-
ened by members of the Port
Commission. Rohne was ref-
erencing calls by Fulton to
evict retired dentist Philip
Bales’ private hangar from
land he leases at the Astoria
Regional Airport. Fulton has
accused Bales of housing a
private club with alcohol that
violates his lease.
“Fulton was out of line,”
Rohne said, adding that if
the Port can stop that kind of
behavior, businesses will feel
more secure to invest in the
region.
The Port is asking county
voters for $1.96 million in
bonds over three years to
develop a southern portion of
the Astoria Regional Airport
to accommodate a new han-
gar for helicopter medevac
service Life Flight Network,
while readying nearby prop-
erties for future develop-
ment. Rohne has come out in
favor of the bond measure.
Hellberg, while supportive
of helping Life Flight, said
he opposes the bond because
of the attached speculative
development.
Goals
Herman asked the candi-
dates what their goals are on
the Port Commission.
Rohne said his primary
goal is to provide more sta-
bility, giving businesses at the
Port more security to invest
locally.
Hellberg said he would
like to see more oceangoing
cargo. Among his many for-
mer jobs, including princi-
pal of the former Fort Stevens
Junior High School, Hellberg
has been a longshoreman and
a warehouser for a wheat-ex-
porting operation at the Port.
Both candidates said rail
access, although a long shot,
would help the Port, and that
endangered shipyard Asto-
ria Marine Construction Co.,
which will likely shut down
because of a pollution cleanup
at its Lewis and Clark site,
needs help moving, poten-
tially to North Tongue Point.
Support
While Hellberg has a can-
didate committee with the
Secretary of State’s Office,
his account shows no con-
tributions or expenditures.
Rohne’s filing committee
includes contributions from
several prominent locals,
including state Sen. Betsy
Johnson, activist Cheryl
Johnson and Friends of the
Astoria Armory Board Mem-
ber Daniel Stein.
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