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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (May 4, 2017)
OPINION 6A THE DAILY ASTORIAN • THURSDAY, MAY 4, 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 Campbell’s leadership merits re-election to Port Position 1 C lose observers of the Port of Astoria say the agency is at a crossroads. They also predict the outcome of the election for the commission’s Position 1 seat between two incum- bents — a political rarity — could determine its future. Vying for the post are Position 1 incumbent James Campbell and Position 2 seatholder Stephen Fulton. Port commissioners are elected on a nonparti- san, countywide basis without regard to geo- graphic districts. With three seats up for elec- tion, Fulton filed to challenge Campbell rather than try to retain his seat. Fulton has often been allied with Commissioner Bill Hunsinger and on the losing end of 3-2 votes coming at the hands of Campbell and Commissioners Robert Mushen and John Raichl. By oppos- James Campbell ing Campbell and potentially winning, Fulton could shift the balance of voting power depending on the outcome of the other two contested seats. Allies of Campbell and Fulton oppose each other in both of those races. We believe voters should re-elect Campbell; he has a far better track record and he gets our endorsement. Campbell’s platform is one of experience and civility. He’s steady and well respected for his integrity and service. He served three terms on the Port Commission from 1965 to 1977 and then a fourth that began in 2013. His background is in marine construc- tion and aviation, a decided plus for a port needing economic and infrastructure improvements at its piers and airport. Campbell favors the Port’s $1.96 million bond measure to improve airport infrastructure and relocate the Life Flight Network to an upgraded facility. While Fulton says he supports Life Flight, he opposes the bond measure because of the project’s expense. He says the Port should be focused on marine development, not airport infrastruc- ture. Campbell, however, says the measure will put the Port in position to land future aviation-re- lated businesses, something it now lacks. Campbell agrees the Port’s infrastructure is a priority, but also believes it needs to keep looking for sustainable, long-term eco- nomic opportunities rather than be resigned to the status quo. Campbell is a strong supporter of the Port’s professional staff and its executive director, Jim Knight. He says that since Knight’s arrival the Port has done a “fantastic job” of improving its finan- cial health, and that the commission should give Knight “the tools he needs to do his job,” and not try to micromanage the staff as he believes Fulton does. Fulton is an Astoria native and a project engineer for Warrenton Fiber. He was elected in 2013 after serving on the Port’s Budget Committee. During his tenure he has fervently questioned the Port’s finances and has been publicly critical of Knight, Port staff and fellow commissioners other than Hunsinger. He contends, among other things, that the administration routinely violates Port bylaws by not providing required updates from staff, who he says needs to be held more accountable. Whatever Fulton’s motivations, and whatever passionate mes- sages about Port operations he wants to deliver, it is lost in his public presentation, which has been polarizing and divisive. His innuendos and unsubstantiated accusations at commission meet- ings and during his campaigning have put him in the limelight and reflected back on the Port for the wrong reasons. The Port has a professional staff for hands-on management, and it needs its elected commissioners to provide leadership in developing high-reaching, long-term policy to drive the economic engine that the Port can be rather than having its commissioners being out of sync, too far in the weeds and in the way. Campbell is the leader voters need in the Position 1 seat. He should be re-elected. LETTERS WELCOME Letters should be exclusive to The Daily Astorian. Letters should be fewer than 350 words and must include the writer’s name, address and phone numbers. You will be contacted to confirm authorship. All letters are subject to edit- ing for space, grammar and, on occasion, factual accuracy. Only two letters per writer are printed each month. Letters written in response to other letter writers should address the issue at hand and, rather than mentioning the writer by name, should refer to the headline and date the letter was published. Discourse should be civil and people should be referred to in a respectful manner. Submissions may be sent in any of these ways: E-mail to editor@dailyasto- rian.com; online at www.dailyas- torian.com; delivered to the Asto- rian offices at 949 Exchange St. and 1555 N. Roosevelt in Seaside or by mail to Letters to the Editor, P.O. Box 210, Astoria, OR 97103. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Surprise package ecently I woke up in the mid- dle of the night, and I guess kind of a message or vision came to me. Each morning I would find at my doorstep a package marked, “Today’s surprise for you.” Sure enough, when I checked my door- step that morning, there was my package. I carefully unwrapped the pack- age. The first thing I found in it was a pair of sun glasses. The prom- ise of a sunny day. Also, many happy events — meeting friends, birthdays, a job well done. When I looked closer, there was an enve- lope in the bottom of the package. Anxiously I opened it and inside was a note that read: “This is the day the Lord has made, rejoice and be glad in it.” The next morning again, sure enough, another package at my doorstep, again marked “Today’s surprise for you.” Hurriedly tore open the package and the first thing I found was an umbrella. Oh no, I thought, not another rainy day, a day of feeling tired, depressed and defeated, and still mourning the loss of loved ones. But suddenly I noticed in the bottom of the package not one, but four envelopes. I opened the first one, and it had a message that read, “Come unto me all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” In the second a message that read, “We are more than conquerers, through him who loves us.” The third enve- lope appeared to be wrinkled and sealed with someone’s tears — the message was, “Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted.” The fourth envelope had a small smear of blood on it — the message within, “Be of good cheer for I have overcome the world.” Each day is brand new, a never been lived before day — who knows what adventures and sur- prises await us? But whatever your surprise package holds, know this: we are called to be “more than con- querors” and “victorious overcom- ers” in a very fast moving and chal- lenging world. JIM BERNARD Warrenton R AP Photo/David Goldman Alan Hasman, of Rochester, N.Y., takes a photo of a televi- sion in the exhibition hall broadcasting President Donald Trump speaking at the National Rifle Association’s annual convention in Atlanta on Friday. A lesson for 2018 here’s an old saw that says, “I don’t care what you say about me, just spell my name right.” Which means, of course, that name recognition triumphs over content most every time. Case in point, Donald Trump. I think he became the media dar- ling. He was outrageous. He was quotable. He didn’t answer ques- tions, he made statements. He “tweeted,” and when asked about it would say he didn’t mean that, but something else. He said the first thing that came into his head, and then either denied saying it, or was misquoted or he misspoke. He didn’t sit still while Hillary was dodging FBI allegations. He made headlines while Clinton’s campaign was trying to keep itself in one piece. His name was in the news because he was loud and unapologetic. He was outrageous. He didn’t care about facts or truth or proof, he was a one man rumor machine, and his own news source, and all the while Hillary’s campaign was silent or cautious. Looking back, it’s no wonder he won. He wasn’t careful. He didn’t care. It wasn’t about Hilary. It wasn’t about the presidency. It was all about Donald, and what are you going to do about it? He was arrogant and foul-mouthed and abusive and he won. Which speaks reams about the mood of the country and its attitude toward establishment politics, and as a precursor to the elections of 2018 and beyond. If this were basketball we could blow the whistle, call a foul and take him out of the game. But this isn’t basketball, this is real, and the consequences are tangible. Mr. Trump will take care of himself and his friends first. The only salvation for the working stiff is to get involved. Give up one night a month to your local party, be active in your neigh- borhood, your church or school. Door-bell or phone canvas or put a campaign sign on your lawn. Talk to your neighbors. Go to a can- didates night. It’s all worthwhile, and what makes democracy work at the local level and nationwide. If you are hesitant or uncertain, call your local party for meeting places and times. It doesn’t matter if you’ve never done this before, trust me, you’ll be welcome and you will be put to work. So, I guess if we are going to see a change for 2018, we’d bet- ter get busy. Now. JACK GUYOT Astoria T Fix the potholes .S. Highway 30 is littered with potholes, cracks and imperfec- tions in the road, which need to be fixed. When living in Knappa, and you need to do much of anything, you need to drive into Astoria. The roads are horrid going into Astoria, and in Astoria. When I drive my car to Astoria, I shouldn’t have to be worried about getting a flat tire constantly, I should be able to just drive, and not have to swerve around each and every sin- gle crack and or pothole in the road. If we fixed the roads, then we would be able to go the speed limit, and there would be less traffic con- gestion from John Day all the way to Seaside. DAWSON WHITESIDE Astoria U Successful breakfast ur most successful breakfast ever,” according to the city of Warrenton Finance Director April Clark. The Warrenton Commu- nity Center Advisory Board would like to thank the local businesses for their donations. These donations were very important in making our “Breakfast with the Easter Bunny” Saturday, April 8, a great success. Some 500 pancakes, 42 dozen eggs, sausage, coffee and juice were served to 237 participants including 101 children ages 12 and under. You can guess the Easter Bunny was very busy handing out plastic eggs ‘O filled with candy. Our thanks, also, to the great vol- unteers, who without their help, this breakfast would not be possi- ble. They included Advisory Board members, their families, friends and especially important were the volunteers from the Senior Center lunch crew. The Community Center is an important part of the community, as it provides rental space for the community, businesses and fam- ily events. The local senior group enjoys lunch twice a week at the center. Socialization is an important aspect of the center. We thank all who attended for their support. MEL JASMIN Chairman, Warrenton Commu- nity Center Advisory Board Warrenton Be safe on roads s we all know, the summer tour- ist season is coming up soon. That means more cars on the road, and more people crossing the streets, and those two things are just added dangers to everyone. Remember to drive safely, and make sure to look both ways when crossing the street A and turning out onto the roadway. JUSTIN PERDEW Astoria Finding Judith Hansen hank you for doing the nice article on Miss Oregon Alexis Mather’s visit to Astoria High School (“Q&A: Real estate, psychol- ogy in Miss Oregon’s future,” The Daily Astorian, Feb. 24). It was great to have her recognized in your paper. I was wondering if someone could please help us out. We have been trying to make contact with the 1957 Miss Oregon, Judith Hansen, since Alexis’ visit. We have called a contact number we were given, and every Hansen in the Astoria phone book, but no luck. We have also spo- ken with Skip Hauke at the Asto- ria-Warrenton Area Chamber of Commerce, with no success. It would be absolutely amazing if we could have Alexis and Judith together for a photo. Judith would be in her late 70s at this point in her life. If anyone has any information about how to contact Judith Han- son, please call Dan Foss at 503-325- 3911, ext. 401. DAN FOSS Teacher, Astoria High School T