ELECTION
4A
THE DAILY ASTORIAN • WEDNESDAY, MAY 17, 2017
Port: Rohne, Spence to join commission in July
Continued from Page 1A
formed an alliance critical of
Port management and Exec-
utive Director Jim Knight,
and opposed to the agency’s
$1.96 million bond measure
to develop infrastructure at the
Astoria Regional Airport.
Campbell, Rohne and
Spence lauded staff’s per-
formance and supported the
bond measure, which narrowly
failed Tuesday.
Rohne, a former Clat-
sop County commissioner
and Clatsop Community Col-
lege Board member, said
that although he is generally
opposed to running on slates,
one formed organically in
response to their opponents’
critique of Port staff. “It basi-
cally became people who want
to see the current administra-
tion succeed, and those who
want to replace the current
administration,” Rohne said.
“I think it definitely is a
repudiation of our opponents’
position and what they’ve
been a part of in not moving
the Port forward,” Spence, a
former city administrator and
member of the Port’s budget
committee, said of the results.
Rohne and Spence will join
the commission in July.
The Daily Astorian/File Photo
Life Flight Pilot and Customer Service Manager Dan
Travers points to one of the proposed locations for the
Life Flight base and hangar in the southeastern airport
property in Warrenton. Currently, Life Flight’s base and
hangar are separated by about a quarter mile.
Colin Murphey/The Daily Astorian
James Campbell, left in red jacket, and Frank Spence, right, won their spots in the Port
Commission races Tuesday night. They celebrated at Fort George Brewery.
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View the vote count:
https://tinyurl.com/mtk65pk
Campbell and Fulton
Most heated was the cam-
paign between Fulton, a wet-
lands specialist for Warren-
ton Fiber, and Campbell, a
marine contractor. Both were
elected to the Port Commis-
sion in 2013. Campbell had
also served on the Port Com-
mission from 1965 to 1977.
Campbell, who captured
more than 70 percent of the
vote, said the message had
gotten out about how disrup-
tive Fulton and Hunsinger
have been.
“I’m glad I won,” he said.
“Maybe we’re getting one step
closer to getting something
done.”
Facing a challenge by
Rohne, Fulton changed seats
at the filing deadline and ran
against Campbell, with whom
he has clashed repeatedly over
differences of opinion regard-
ing staff. The two have been
on opposite ends of many 3-2
votes won by Campbell and
Commissioners Mushen and
John Raichl and lost by Fulton
and Hunsinger.
Fulton dominated head-
lines with several allegations
against Campbell throughout
the campaign, from condon-
ing a private clubhouse at the
airport and conflicts of inter-
est because he hangars an air-
plane at the airport to helping
staff hide cost overruns on the
Port’s Pier 3 stormwater sys-
tem, which has gone over bud-
get and fallen several months
behind schedule.
Campbell dismissed Ful-
ton’s allegations as political
maneuvering. He intimated
that Fulton’s employer, War-
renton’s Nygaard family, has
Colin Murphey/The Daily Astorian
A voter drops their ballot in the box outside county offices
at 820 Exchange St. in Astoria on Tuesday.
Colin Murphey/The Daily Astorian
Ballots are counted by volunteers during the special dis-
trict election in Clatsop County on Tuesday.
been behind much of his cam-
paign material, and that his
campaign is part of a plot to
get rid of Knight.
Fulton gathered no new
political contributions to his
campaign committee since
the 2013 election, accord-
ing to state campaign-finance
records. Campbell received
contributions from state Sen.
Betsy Johnson, D-Scappoose,
marine contractor John E.
McAmis, Bornstein Seafoods,
Bergerson Construction and
Ann Bales, the wife of Philip
Bales. Fulton had alleged that
Philip Bales’ “Man Cave” at
the airport was an “unlicensed
speakeasy,” but the retired
dentist and pilot was exoner-
ated by a Clatsop County Sher-
iff’s Office investigation.
Rohne and Hellberg
Rohne, a Brownsmead
dairy farmer, had more than
69 percent of the vote in his
race against Hellberg, a former
Warrenton city commissioner,
commercial fisherman, marine
surveyor and longshoreman,
for Fulton’s seat on the Port
Commission.
Rohne filed for the Port
Commission in February on
a campaign to bring stability,
public trust and positive work-
ing relationships with local,
state and national partners.
“I’m grateful that the results
are what they are,” Rohne said.
“It seems like there’s a man-
date for supporting the man-
agement and trying to move
the Port forward in a positive
direction.”
Hellberg said he hopes
the Port still prioritizes their
money and focuses on main-
taining
revenue-generating
properties on the central water-
front. He pointed to a demo-
graphic shift driven by more
liberal retirees as contribut-
ing to his loss in the election.
Port races are nonpartisan, but
Rohne is a Democrat.
“The Democratic block in
Astoria, they are what they
are,” he said. “They aren’t
going to vote for anything that
upsets the peace in Astoria.”
Hellberg, a former long-
shoreman, gathered contribu-
tions from other current and
former longshoremen, includ-
ing Hunsinger and local long-
shore union chapter Presi-
dent Chris Connaway. Rohne
received contributions from
state Sen. Johnson, Born-
stein Seafoods and Bergerson
Construction.
O’Grady and Spence
In the Port’s quietest
campaign,
Spence
had
more than 60 percent of the
vote against O’Grady, a local
auto shop owner, farmer and
longshoreman. Spence will
replace Raichl, who was
appointed in 2014 to fill out
the term of Ric Gerttula after
he resigned.
O’Grady largely echoed
Fulton’s positions on many
issues, calling for more disclo-
sure by staff to the Port Com-
mission. Spence campaigned
on bringing his expertise in
government and budgeting to
the Port.
Like Hellberg, O’Grady
gathered contributions from
other current and former long-
shoremen. Spence received
contributions from Bridgewa-
ter Bistro owner Tony Kischner
and Bornstein Seafoods.
Bond: ‘Nobody wants
to pay more taxes’
Continued from Page 1A
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among Clatsop County’s
political leadership, failed 51
percent to 49 percent, or by
145 votes.
The Port wanted $1.96
million in bonds over three
years to develop about 10
acres of land at the southern
end of the airport.
“I think it was as much a
voice of the people who are
tired of being taxed,” Jim
Knight, the Port’s executive
director, said of the results.
Part of the project would
have provided a pad for Life
Flight Network, which has
received a state grant to help
finance a new permanent han-
gar and crew quarters. The
medevac service has been
operating out of a trailer near
the 12th Place entrance to the
airport, while storing its heli-
copter in a rented hangar a
quarter mile away during bad
weather. The current location
has been deemed unsuitable
in the long term because of
issues with noise and nearby
U.S. Coast Guard, taxiway
and refueling traffic.
Knight said Life Flight
had been clear that it did not
want to pay for the infrastruc-
ture involved in its new han-
gar, while the Port was clear
it could not afford the devel-
opment to move Life Flight.
The bond would have paid
to extend Flightline Drive
to a new southern entrance
at Airport Lane, created an
access driveway for Life
Flight’s hangar, extended
utilities to the area and made
shovel-ready several acres of
adjacent land.
After researching five
locations around the air-
port’s tarmac, Port staff rec-
ommended the southern site
as the best location for Life
Flight. The site also received
backing by the Airport Advi-
sory Committee, a subgroup
of the Port Commission
made up of tenants including
the U.S. Coast Guard and air-
plane tug manufacturer Lek-
tro, and signoff from the Fed-
eral Aviation Administration.
View the vote count:
https://tinyurl.com/mtk65pk
A political action com-
mittee, the Coastal Air Med-
ical Protection PAC, formed
to stump for the bond mea-
sure and was led by former
Astoria Mayor Willis Van
Dusen. The committee has
been financed by contribu-
tions from Van Dusen and
state Sen. Betsy Johnson,
D-Scappoose.
Knight said he’s not cer-
tain what the next move is.
“It’s going to be up to Life
Flight what they want to do
next.”
Port Commission candi-
dates James Campbell, Dirk
Rohne and Frank Spence,
who all won handily Tues-
day, came out in favor of the
bond measure.
Their opponents — Ste-
phen Fulton, Dick Hellberg
and Pat O’Grady — were
supportive of helping relo-
cate Life Flight but opposed
the bond. They argued the
bond is speculative devel-
opment, and that the Port
should find a cheaper alter-
native for Life Flight and
focus on fixing existing reve-
nue-producing infrastructure
on the central waterfront.
Fulton, in particular, tried
to create several alternatives
to the bond, from creating a
backup fund to build a pad
for Life Flight to evicting an
existing tenant from his pri-
vate hangar to make way.
Rohne said that opposi-
tion by Fulton might have
tipped the scales against the
measure.
“Nobody wants to pay
more taxes,” he said. “It’s
difficult to pass a tax levy
when there is no opposition.”
He and Spence said the
measure was also harmed
by the county having no vot-
er’s pamphlet to explain the
issue.
“The general public didn’t
know enough about the bond
measure and what it was for,”
Spence said.
Waldorf: Estimated refurbish could cost up to $6 million
Continued from Page 1A
“You guys do win the
prize for the most pigeons
ever,” Garver said. The
building, she said lightly, has
its “rough spots.”
But it also carries a lot of
promise and there are fas-
cinating historical features,
Garver added. She fell in
love with the ground-floor
lobby, she told the com-
mission. Studio units and
planned retail space located
on this floor are going to
have soaring, 15 1/2-foot
high ceilings.
Innovative Housing is
still in the midst of a due dil-
igence period, “deciding on
if the risk is worth us doing
the project,” Garver said.
It could be at least a year
before they even begin to
break ground, assuming all
the necessary funding comes
in. On that timeline, apart-
ments wouldn’t be ready for
tenants until summer 2019.
“That’s longer than any-
one wants,” Garver said. But,
she told the commission, it
could cost up to $6 million
to refurbish the Waldorf —
the bulk of which will come
in the form of grants and tax
credits. The group landed a
Jeff Daly/For The Daily Astorian
Innovative Housing of Portland hopes to convert the historic Waldorf Hotel into affordable housing while keeping many
of its unique features. More photos of the historic Waldorf Hotel can be found online at DailyAstorian.com
$100,000 state grant for the
project earlier this month and
one reason for the presenta-
tion Tuesday was to begin
brainstorming with the com-
munity about other ways to
fund the project.
Garver pointed out a pic-
ture of the building’s facade,
the words “Save the Mer-
wyn!” pasted on the window.
“That’s Astoria,” she said.
“That’s what the community
wants.”
Remained the same
What
some
people
wanted at one point, how-
ever, was a demolition. In
2012, Groat Brothers pur-
chased the building intend-
ing to tear it down to make
room for an expansion of
the library. But preservation-
ists and others in the com-
munity pushed back against
these plans and the Historic
Landmarks Commission ulti-
mately voted against demol-
ishing the building. The
library remained the same,
and so has the Waldorf.
Innovative Housing is on
the preservationists’ side in
many ways. After coming on
the scene earlier this year,
they hope to keep some of
the former hotel’s character
and many of its historic fea-
tures intact. Things like the
tall ceilings, or high-qual-
ity marble hidden under
paint, Garver said. They plan
to keep as many of the his-
toric walls and original lay-
out in place as possible, too,
creating each apartment unit
by simply combining two
hotel rooms and opening up
a doorway between them.
“It’s exciting to see
this go forward,” said act-
ing commission President
Michelle Dieffenbach after
Garver wrapped up her pre-
sentation. Garver showed the
commission work Innovative
Housing has accomplished at
other historic buildings and
talked about how the group
involved the communities to
achieve the end results.
Garver said she is look-
ing to the Astoria community
now. She wants to know how
people want to participate in
this project, what they want
to see and how they want to
make it work. For Innovative
Housing to just come in and
say, “Here it is” and “This
is how we’ll do it,” Garver
said, “There’s not serendip-
ity in that.”