ASTORIA STANDS WITH THE VICTIMS OF VIOLENCE IN CHARLOTTESVILLE PAGE 5A
DailyAstorian.com // MONDAY, AUGUST 14, 2017
145TH YEAR, NO. 31
ONE DOLLAR
Astoria Police in conflict under former chief
Independent assessment
shows leadership failure
By DERRICK DePLEDGE
and KATIE FRANKOWICZ
The Daily Astorian
The Astoria Police Department under former
chief Brad Johnston was riven by failures in lead-
ership and undermined by politics, discord, con-
flict and staffing shortages that sapped morale, an
independent assessment found.
The police department had been at the “point
of a crisis” in Astoria, the assessment concluded,
but the most serious issues have been averted by
Johnston’s sudden decision to retire earlier this
month.
City Manager Brett Estes asked Akin Blitz, a
Portland labor attorney, to direct an assessment
of the police department’s leadership at a time
when three police officers and a clerical worker
had left and the department was stretched thin.
Estes also asked Blitz to investigate a complaint
from within the police department that Johnston
had improperly obtained city reimbursement for
personal travel in late May. The separate probe
found that Johnston violated city travel and ethics
policies and that his choices reflected “extraordi-
narily poor judgment.”
Estes was briefed on the findings of the assess-
ment and the investigation prior to Johnston’s
Aug. 2 retirement. Johnston was also aware of the
findings before his retirement. Estes said he did
not ask the former police chief to step down. “It
was a decision made in his own volition,” he said.
Johnston, who was named by Estes as police
chief and assistant city manager in 2014, resigned
as assistant city manager in July, citing the dif-
ficulty of balancing the two roles. He has not
responded to interview requests, but he explained
on Facebook that his abrupt departure after 25
years with the police department was “sudden,
but necessary.”
See TURMOIL, Page 7A
Department selects
interim police chief
Spalding is an experienced leader
By KATIE FRANKOWICZ
The Daily Astorian
A former Beaverton police chief who is
well-respected in the law enforcement com-
munity will lead the Astoria Police Depart-
ment until a permanent chief is hired.
Geoff Spalding, who retired as chief of
the Beaverton Police Department in 2016 and
previously spent 31 years with the Fullerton
Police Department in California, joins the
Astoria Police as interim chief on Aug. 28.
Joshua Bessex/The Daily Astorian
Astoria Police Chief Brad
Johnston retired earlier
this month. An indepen-
dent assessment docu-
mented leadership failures
and low morale at the po-
lice department.
See SPALDING, Page 7A
2017 ASTORIA REGATTA
An evolving tradition
Geoff
Spalding
Cutter Alert
gets a new
commander
Reid takes over
from Culver
By EDWARD STRATTON
The Daily Astorian
Colin Murphey/The Daily Astorian
A float carrying the 2017 Astoria Regatta royalty makes its way through downtown Astoria on Saturday during the Grand
Land Parade. Find more photos from this year’s Astoria Regatta online at DailyAstorian.com
Astoria Regatta takes to
the streets downtown
By BRENNA VISSER
The Daily Astorian
T
housands lined the streets Saturday to cel-
ebrate the Astoria Regatta with the Grand
Land Parade, carrying on a 123-year tra-
dition to honor the region’s maritime roots.
The parade, with the theme “Full Steam
Ahead,” was the anchor to a weekend full of
festivities, including the Highwater Boat Parade
and Regatta Fireworks show. Many of the parade
staples, such as the Regatta Court float, march-
ing bands and bags of candy being thrown into
the sea of enthusiatic paradegoers, all remained
Cmdr. Patrick Culver, who led the Asto-
ria-based U.S. Coast Guard cutter Alert for
the past two years, transferred command Fri-
day to Cmdr. Tobias Reid.
Reid comes from Charleston, North Car-
olina, where he was executive officer aboard
the cutter Hamilton for the past two years.
Culver heads to Coast Guard headquarters in
Washington, D.C., where he will be chief of
drug and migrant interdiction.
Rear Adm. Pat DeQuattro, deputy com-
mander of the Coast Guard’s Pacific Area
that oversees the agency’s operations in the
Pacific and Indian oceans, described Cul-
ver as a consummate professional who set
an example for his crew by leading from the
front. DeQuattro said the nearly 50-year-old
Alert ran smoothly on all but two operational
days during Culver’s command. Those two
days were spent in port in San Diego during
a large storm, DeQuattro said, during which
See REID, Page 5A
Astoria Regatta apologizes for
Confederate flag at parade
Organizers say it was an unfortunate incident
By JACK HEFFERNAN
The Daily Astorian
The Astoria Regatta apolo-
gized today for Confederate flag
displays on Saturday during the
Grand Land Parade downtown.
Organizers described the dis-
plays from Sons of Beaches, an
off-road enthusiast group, as an
unfortunate incident and said it
was an oversight that the symbols
were not caught at the start of the
parade.
“The Astoria Regatta Associa-
tion deeply regrets the display of a
See FLAG, Page 7A
See REGATTA, Page 7A
Edward Stratton/The Daily Astorian
Cmdr. Patrick Culver, left, transferred
command of the U.S. Coast Guard cut-
ter Alert to Cmdr. Tobias Reid, right,
Friday. The ceremony was overseen by
Rear Adm. Pat DeQuattro, deputy com-
mander of the Coast Guard Pacific Area
that oversees the agency’s operations
in the Pacific and Indian oceans.
A fearful reminder of war
Hartman fled
the Nazis as a
young man
By DWIGHT CASWELL
For The Daily Astorian
AMMOND — Martin
Hartman sits in the liv-
ing room of his Hammond
home. Tall, thin, his hair white,
he leans on his cane and rem-
inisces. “I was 16. It was May
10, 1940,” he said. “We heard
bombing and saw planes. It was
the German invasion, and the
blitz was over in three days.”
“Gradually Nazism crawled
H
into Holland. Good people
were sent to prison, Jews and
ministers. My father said, ‘We
have the Nazis now. We don’t
know when we will be rid of
them.’”
It had been difficult times in
Holland in the 1930s. The Hart-
man family business was con-
struction and the Depression
had hit them hard. Now, just as
things were getting better, they
became much worse. Not long
after the invasion, the Germans
began barricading city blocks
and sweeping the apartments
for young men to replace Ger-
man soldiers lost in the war.
At the time, Hartman was
enrolled in a trade school learn-
ing languages, bookkeeping
and other skills that would be
valuable in the family business.
He graduated in 1943 and the
next day was ordered to Ger-
many by the Labor Depart-
ment. There was no question
in Hartman’s mind; he was not
going to Germany. Making that
decision left only one alterna-
tive: go underground.
Submitted Photo
See HARTMAN, Page 5A
Martin and Frances Hartman live in Hammond. Martin
Hartman fled the Nazis in Holland as a teenager.