DailyAstorian.com // WEDNESDAY, MAY 23, 2018
145TH YEAR, NO. 232
ONE DOLLAR
Astoria
man pleads
guilty to
manslaughter
ELECTION 2018
Johns convicted in his
uncle’s death last year
By JACK HEFFERNAN
The Daily Astorian
An Astoria man pleaded guilty Tuesday
for killing his uncle last year.
Christopher Eric Johns, 46, was arrested
in Portland in March 2017 a few days
after his uncle — Ronald Boudreau, 66 —
was found beaten to death in his home on
U.S. Highway 101 Busi-
ness. Johns allegedly also
assaulted a woman before
fleeing the scene.
Johns originally was
charged with murder and
fourth-degree assault. On
Christopher Tuesday, he offered an
Alford plea — meaning
E. Johns
he asserts innocence but
recognizes prosecutors have enough evi-
dence for a conviction — to first-degree
manslaughter.
The deal with the Clatsop County District
Attorney’s Office stipulates he will serve
more than 15 years in prison, though he will
be eligible for a reduced sentence after 10
years.
Under state law, those convicted of
first-degree manslaughter are required to
serve between 10 and 20 years in prison.
Johns had considered switching attor-
neys ahead of a scheduled status check hear-
ing Tuesday. Minutes before the hearing,
though, Johns agreed to the deal negotiated
by prosecutors and Kris Kaino, his court-ap-
pointed attorney.
See JOHNS, Page 7A
PAMELA
WEV
Wev, Roscoe in a
runoff for a seat on the
county commission
By JACK HEFFERNAN
The Daily Astorian
A
n ideological split on the Clatsop County Board
of Commissioners over the role of the county
manager could be settled by voters in November.
One camp believes the county manager
should hold the reins on day-to-day operations,
while the other insists commissioners should have a more
active voice in decision-making.
A rare runoff between Pamela Wev and Peter Roscoe
in District 3 could tip the balance.
Wev, a land use planner, mirrors the views of Commis-
sioners Lianne Thompson and Kathleen Sullivan, who
have been critical of County Manager Cameron Moore
and want the board to exert more oversight.
Roscoe, a former Astoria city councilor and restaura-
teur, is closer to Commissioner Sarah Nebeker and Mark
Kujala — an incoming commissioner — who view the
county charter as giving the county manager clear author-
ity over daily operations.
The schism has spurred public and private clashes —
behavioral investigations, heated exchanges and even
threats of resignation — between commissioners and
Moore, who skipped a commission meeting in April over
what he called “rude” and “unprofessional” behavior by
Thompson and Sullivan.
PETER
ROSCOE
In a December email exchange that illustrated the
ideological divide, Sullivan expressed disappointment
that she was not invited to hiring interviews for a new
community development director. Moore countered that
it was rare for commissioners to be involved in the hir-
ing process of county employees except for the county
manager.
Roscoe said he wants to work well with the county
manager and department directors if elected. But would
he want to sit in on a hiring interview?
“Absolutely not,” he said. “I think that commissioners
hire the county manager, and the county manager’s job is
to lead the staff. That’s my focus is to be the kind of com-
missioner that allows these professionals to do their jobs.
I don’t want to hold a magnifying glass over them and
burn them down.”
Wev said she would like to have the option of accom-
panying the county manager in hiring interviews for
department heads.
“It’s important to give them their space, but for some-
one who directly reports to the county manager, it’s not
uncommon for a commissioner to sit in on an interview,”
Wev said.
Moore and other commissioners have also taken issue
with Sullivan’s and Thompson’s interactions with county
staff at board meetings. Wev, however, said the two com-
missioners are simply filling their roles.
“I think that asking questions in a commission meeting
should not be seen as a hostile act,” Wev said.
Roscoe said he would save many of his critiques of
county staff’s performance for the commission’s annual
evaluation of the county manager.
See SPLIT, Page 7A
Astoria looks
at new rules for
homeless shelters
Safety, buffer zones
under city review
By KATIE FRANKOWICZ
The Daily Astorian
A code amendment that will shape the
future of emergency warming centers in
Astoria is moving forward.
Astoria planning commissioners have
said such centers are necessary and there is
a growing need for these kinds of services in
the city. They provide temporary shelter to
people during inclement weather, but are not
addressed at all in the city code.
That absence became an issue last year
when the city required the Astoria Warm-
ing Center to obtain a temporary use per-
mit to operate a 30-bed emergency shel-
ter out of the basement of the First United
Methodist Church on Franklin Avenue, a
location between downtown and a quiet
neighborhood.
After that lengthy public process con-
cluded, Planning Commissioner Daryl
Moore suggested a code amendment to
address temporary shelter facilities in detail.
See WARMING, Page 7A
Lawmakers begin ‘cap and trade’ discussions
Mission to reduce
greenhouse gases
By PARIS ACHEN
Capital Bureau
Paris Achen/Capital Bureau
State Sen. Elizabeth Steiner-Hayward, D-Beaverton, left,
Sen. Alan Olsen, R-Canby, Sen. Fred Girod, R-Stayton,
and Sen. Michael Dembrow, D-Portland, question experts
during the first meeting of the Joint Committee on Carbon
Pricing at the Oregon Capitol Tuesday.
SALEM — A joint legislative commit-
tee charged with developing policy for a state-
wide “cap and trade” program launched its work
Tuesday during the state Legislature’s quarterly
meetings.
State House Speaker Tina Kotek, D-Portland,
and Senate President Peter Courtney, D-Salem,
appointed the 14-member Joint Committee on
Carbon Pricing after lawmakers declined to act
earlier this year on the Clean Energy Jobs Bill
to create a cap and trade program modeled after
California’s.
The committee launched its task by hearing
and questioning experts on state and national
environmental policies.
“We are here to develop a program that
can help us reduce our greenhouse gases and
to work on also growing economic opportu-
nity across the state, and I’m really looking for-
ward to working with each and every one of
you to do that,” said Kotek, the committee’s
co-chairperson.
State legislative leaders have committed to
recommending a carbon-pricing policy during
next year’s legislative session.
The Clean Energy Jobs Bill earlier this year
set an allowance, or a cap, for the amount of
emissions industry can emit free of charge. Any
business that released more than the equivalent
of 25,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide would
have been required to buy credits at auction to
offset their emissions.
The legislation called for Oregon to join the
Western Climate Initiative, which shares a mar-
ket to sell offset credits. The initiative includes
See CARBON, Page 7A