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THE DAILY ASTORIAN • MONDAY, MARCH 5, 2018
editor@dailyastorian.com
KARI BORGEN
Publisher
JIM VAN NOSTRAND
Editor
Founded in 1873
JEREMY FELDMAN
Circulation Manager
DEBRA BLOOM
Business Manager
JOHN D. BRUIJN
Production Manager
CARL EARL
Systems Manager
OUR VIEW
Mending the errors of bygone polluters
storia is justifiably proud of its industrial
heritage. Canneries and an intricate
network of related support businesses
once crowded the waterfront during the salmon
equivalent of a gold rush. This evolved for a time
in the mid-20th century into a more diversified
maritime economy sparked by World War II.
Now, much of the shoreline has morphed
again, away from heavy industry toward hospital-
ity. Another large hotel was announced last week.
This transition and the simple passage of time
are bringing to light an unpleasant aftertaste of
the industrial boom: An oily sheen on some adja-
cent waters from old tanks, pipes and tainted sed-
iments. Sorting this out is worth the effort.
A dilapidated pier next to Cannery Pier Hotel
collapsed in January and damaged a tank under-
neath filled with oil once used to fire Union
Fishermen’s Cooperative Packing Co.’s retorts.
Cleanup costs quickly escalated to $1 million.
In a related development, last week we reported
the state Department of Environmental Quality
is nearing a decision on the best way to clean
up historical petroleum pollution at the Port
of Astoria’s central waterfront near the hotel’s
site, which the Port owned until 1999. Farther
away, in Jeffers Garden on the Lewis and Clark
River, Astoria Marine Construction Co. could be
doomed by a costly, state-mandated cleanup of
legacy contamination.
Until at least the 1970s, policies regarding
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buried petroleum toxins could be best described
as “out of sight, out of mind.” There was a fuzzy
awareness that oil-handling practices by earlier
operators had been sloppy at best and, at times,
deliberately intended to minimize costs at the
expense of neighbors and the estuarine environ-
ment. Stricter laws designed to protect people,
fish and animals gradually brought such negli-
gence to an end.
Nowadays in Clatsop County, there’s a con-
sensus that pollution control is a worthwhile goal
in its own right, along with awareness that pros-
perity is closely linked to a reputation for stew-
ardship of our land and waters. We definitely
don’t want to become known as the pretty place
that allows gunky old oil to seep into the waters
where salmon swim.
Dealing with all this is easy to encourage
but harder to pay for. Current property owners,
Port officials and possibly lenders and insurers
are caught up in mending the errors of bygone
polluters.
In passing a resolution to cooperate in the
Cannery Pier Hotel cleanup, the Port of Astoria
Commission took a valuable leadership position
in aiding with widespread local waterfront pollu-
tion. “This is an opportunity for our organization,
through the commission, to proclaim support
for our neighbors when our neighbors are in dis-
tress,” Port Executive Director Jim Knight said.
“This is our opportunity to proclaim our ability
to come and help manage the process when iden-
tifying who are the responsible parties, and what
will ultimately be their fair share, with the guid-
ance and support of the Coast Guard.”
The Clatsop County Board of Commissioners,
the Astoria City Council and state Sen. Betsy
Johnson, D-Scappoose, also all appear to recog-
nize the importance of this issue and the need for
some degree of unity in addressing it.
Although it has many of its own pressing mat-
ters to deal with beyond oil contamination, it’s
possible the Port could play a useful and even
profitable role in acting as lead agency for a con-
sortium working toward solutions on behalf of
Astoria. This would mark an historic and sym-
bolic turnaround from its own troubles a dozen
years ago, when a previous Port manager got
into a legal tangle with the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency for mishandling dredged
materials containing the now-banned pesticide
DDT. Then as now, the Port and its personnel
were blameless when it came to depositing the
pollution in the first place.
Fixing environmental sins of the past requires
careful thought, expert guidance and as much
outside funding as we can wrangle. A key asset
for the entire Pacific Northwest, the Columbia
River shoreline deserves and requires high-pri-
ority treatment for lingering ailments that trace
their origins to times when Astoria helped feed
and defend the nation.
An oil spill near Cannery Pier Hotel is a reminder of the risks of Astoria’s industrial past.
Edward Stratton/The Daily Astorian
GUEST COLUMN
Yes, you can do something about the direction we are going
t is easy to become frustrated with the
direction of our town, county, state or
nation. Seasoned observers lament that
money has too great an influence and things
will never change. More recent observers
don’t understand why elected officials just
don’t do the right thing regardless of the
pressures.
Is there anything you, the individual
citizen, can do to change the
course we are on? Yes, there
is. It is to become a precinct
committee person within
your political party.
As a precinct committee
person, also called a PCP,
you represent the people
BRYAN
in your precinct with the
KIDDER
responsibility to define,
organize and coordinate
the grassroots effort around the issues of
concern to you and your neighbors. This is
an elective position and the May 15 primary
elections will include ballot choices for
PCPs throughout Clatsop County. To get on
the ballot, interested citizens must submit
their application to the Clatsop County
Elections division by March 6. The applica-
tion form can be found at sos.oregon.gov/
elections/Documents/SEL105.pdf.
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Each precinct is allocated male and
female PCP positions based upon the
number of registered party members living
in that precinct. All parties registered in
a county are eligible to have PCPs. For
example, in Astoria’s precinct 47, there are
five male and five female PCP positions for
the county Democratic party because of the
large number of registered Democrats in that
precinct. And yes, Oregon law specifies PCP
positions by gender.
The PCP can be the starting point for
enacting change, because the PCP is a key
part of how parties are organized. The state
of Oregon laws on political party structure
say that PCPs are the voting members of
their party’s county leadership committee.
As such, they can bring their issues to the
party and begin moving issues forward for
broader consideration.
The PCP has the power to vote on the
leadership of the party, set its direction and
determine its priorities. For example, as
a representative of a precinct, a PCP can
bring forward neighborhood concerns about
affordable housing and then band together
with other PCPs with a similar perspective
to seek consensus on an approach. With this
broader base of support the issue can be
expressed to elected officials with the back-
ing of the party.
There is another power given to a party’s
PCPs. The precinct committee persons from
the party holding an elective office nominate
replacements to fill unexpired terms when a
position is vacated before the next regularly
scheduled election. The slate of three to
five PCP-chosen people goes to the county
commissions in that district, who have the
ultimate authority to fill the open seat. This
is not as uncommon as you might think,
giving PCPs a special role when unexpected
openings arise.
So why is being a PCP any more effec-
tive in inducing change than expressing
your opinion through letters to the editor
or speaking at city council meetings? The
truth is that for democracy to work, all those
options are needed. As a PCP, you may learn
of issues through the media or public meet-
ing attendance. It is what you do with that
knowledge that sets the PCP apart.
PCPs are the eyes and ears of the political
community. The large number of voices they
represent brings legitimacy to a political
party’s issues. The debate at the party level
refines issues through the fire of discussion.
As an active member of their neighborhood,
they are already hearing what others have to
say about local issues.
Does this sound like too much work? You
don’t have the time? True, it can be hard
work and it will take time. But recognize
that the actions you are upset about or the
laws you disagree with were worked hard
over a long period of time by someone else
to get where they are today. No one said
making change would be easy.
Becoming a PCP can also be a stepping
stone to higher office. By building rela-
tionships in your neighborhood and party,
you are building a network for your ideas.
Learning the process as a PCP exposes you
to the workings of a body like a city council,
transportation district, county commission,
fire district or state office, should your inter-
ests go in that direction.
But the first step is to become the precinct
committee person for your neighborhood.
Take the time to download the application
form, fill it out and submit it to the county.
Then tell your friends to vote for you. This
is a good way to do something about the
direction we are going. If someone has ever
told you that you should run for office, now
is your chance. Become a PCP and bring
your perspectives into the process.
Bryan Kidder is communications director
for the Clatsop County Democratic Central
Committee.