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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 1, 2018)
6A THE DAILY ASTORIAN • MONDAY, OCTOBER 1, 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 PUBLISHER’S NOTEBOOK A chance to meet your local candidates Y our daily newspaper should be like your friend next door who knows some things that you don’t, and shares with you important stuff about where we live. After all, a newspaper isn’t a thing — it’s the shared work of people who live here, your neighbors. We pay property taxes, send our kids to school, attend events, buy groceries and worry about our future just the same way, and in the same places that you do. Some of the most important information for us to share with you is about local issues and candidates on the ballot. Our taxes, land use, development and environment are impacted by KARI the decisions we will make BORGEN in the upcoming election. How you choose to vote is your business. Our business is to make sure that you have as much information as possible about how each candidate intends to lead on issues, or how your tax dollars will be spent for bond levies. That’s why we’ve partnered with other local organizations to host candidate forums in Astoria, Seaside and Cannon Beach. You should have the opportunity to see and hear each candidate, and ask questions. The Seaside forum has passed, but join us at the Astoria voters forum on Wednesday at 7 p.m. at Astoria High School. Candidates for Astoria mayor and City Council, Warrenton mayor, Clatsop County commissioner and state House District 32 are expected to attend, as well as Patrick Starnes, the Independent candidate for governor. Colin Murphey/The Daily Astorian Trish Garner, left, of the American Association of University Women, will reprise her role as moderator of Wednesday’s candidate forum at Astoria High School. UPCOMING ELECTION EVENTS • Candidate forum: 7 p.m. Wednesday, Astoria High School. • Candidate forum: 7 p.m. Thursday, Coaster Theatre, Cannon Beach. • Astoria mayoral debate: 7 p.m. Oct. 10, Room 219, Columbia Hall, Clatsop Community College. All events free and open to public. The Cannon Beach forum for city candidates is at 7 p.m. Thursday at Coaster Theatre. There will also be an Astoria mayoral candidate debate at 7 p.m. Oct. 10 at Clatsop Community College, moderated by President Chris Breitmeyer. The Astoria events are co-sponsored by the American Association of University Women, Coast Community Radio, Clatsop Community College and The Daily Astorian. Go. Listen. Ask questions. Daily Astorian Editor Jim Van Nostrand and I are also interviewing local candidates lege days? All the while the Left’s closet — heck their whole house — is practically full of skeletons. These “leaders” are pointing their fin- gers at someone for a speck in his eye while a log is in their own. Do we forget so easily Bill Clinton and their defense of him? What about some of their less-than paradigms of virtue like Congressmen Anthony Weiner, John Conyers, Gerry Studds, John Edwards and Sen. Al Franken, and don’t let us miss reminding you of the Kennedys. The point is that sex scandals among the influential and powerful are nothing new. Of course they shouldn’t be taken lightly when it comes to either political party, which I admit has often been the case. But, come on, this is not about some fling in college Judge Kavanaugh had. It is obvious they hate him because of his conservative stance. CARL YATES Seaside • Are we to believe that the party of Don- ald Trump will serve to “unite us” when he and his supporters have done so much, and so often, to divide us? • Are we to believe that this Republican will oppose the offensive immigration poli- cies of her party because she immigrated as a child? • Are we to assume that this Republican nominee is going to be different, because she does not include the “Republican” label in her commercial? We do need our leaders to be truthful with us — and that is perhaps the most critical aspect of this fall’s elections. Particularly at the local level, we need to select our government representatives based not on what lip service they give to platitudes, but on what we truly can expect of their real service in the Legislature. That’s why Tiffiny Mitchell will have my vote. DANIEL J. SEIFER Arch Cape for contested positions for this election. We are spending time and asking questions to determine candidate positions on issues that are important to us on the North Coast. We will then form our recommendation to you for which candidate we would choose in each race — an endorsement. The purpose of an endorsement is to share our thoughts on these personal interviews with candidates — something most readers don’t otherwise have time for or access to. We define what we think represents the best interests of Clatsop County. Then we recom- mend the person we think sees that vision for the future. There are many newspapers now that don’t publish endorsements, because they may anger their readers. The Daily Astorian has never been afraid of voicing an opinion. Endorsements stimulate thought and con- versations that invigorate debate. And unlike much of politics these days, we don’t mind differences of opinion. If your opinion differs from ours, send us a letter to the editor. Your opinion helps inform your neighbors of other points of view. If you’re not registered to vote, you have until October 16 to register. It’s easy to do online — just search for “Oregon voter registration” and follow the links. Or drop into the Clatsop County elections office in the courthouse at 820 Exchange Street. All you’ll need is your Oregon drivers license. Read, attend a forum, become informed. And most importantly, when that ballot comes in the mail, vote. Kari Borgen is publisher of The Daily Astorian. LETTERS What do you value? Y our vote matters. If you care about affordable health care and housing, access to quality education, and clean air and water, then be sure to vote in the Nov. 6 mid- term election. The people we elect to federal, state, and local offices will make decisions that affect you. Be sure to vote by Nov. 6 for candidates who share your values. Information about candidates and ballot issues is at incovotethe- future.org and at incoregon.org The deadline to register to vote in Oregon is Oct. 16. If your name, address, or signature has changed, be sure to update your registra- tion by Oct. 16. You can register and update at bit.ly/2N5ju7K or at the Clatsop County Elections Office, 820 Exchange St. in Astoria, second floor. Remind your friends and neighbors to reg- ister and vote. The strength of our community and our democracy depends on you. STEVE BRONSTEIN, LAURIE CAPLAN, CAROLYN EADY, JOAN HERMAN, WENDELA HOWIE, MONICA PEARSON Indivisible North Coast Oregon Vote Rocka for Astoria City Council R oger Rocka once joked that folks who know both him and Don Haskell might become confused if Don supports Roger for Astoria’s City Council. After all, Don’s an enthusiastic Republican supporter of Pres- ident Donald Trump’s policies and judi- cial nominations. And Roger’s an active Democrat. Although Roger and Don are at opposite ends of the political spectrum, they’ve always managed to be good-natured about their polit- ical differences. Besides, everybody knows Astoria’s City Council is a nonpartisan gov- erning body. And it needs to remain so, if it’s to stay effective and respected governance for everybody living here. We’ve known Roger Rocka for around 20 years. We’re confident the decisions Roger Rocka will make in representing Ward 1, where we and Roger live, will be well thought out and representative of our area of town. Younger folks might not know Roger Rocka is a successful businessman, in addi- tion to heading up our local Chamber of Commerce a few years ago. His life experi- ences and knowledge of local problems make him well-suited to a seat on the City Council. We hope the folks in Ward 1 will join us and vote for Roger Rocka. DON HASKELL CAROL HASKELL Astoria How bizarre can Kavanaugh confirmation get? H ere we go again. The Left’s hypocrisy is out there for all to see and wonder at. How bizarre can it get, that a good man is being judged by unsubstantiated rumors from his college days? Even if they were true, who didn’t do something stupid in their col- Vote Mitchell for state representative T he campaigns have scarcely begun to replace retiring District 32 State Rep. Deborah Boone, and already one candidate’s advertisements are deeply offensive. The Republican candidate has regularly been running a commercial on cable TV that begins with video of boisterous street demon- strations in Portland, and then intones that we need to elect leaders who unite us instead of dividing us. This is really troublesome to me on several levels: • Are we to become afraid that street demonstrations in Portland will cause riots in District 32? If not, what is the point of this video? Astoria remembers Walldorf mayor O pen letter to Astoria’s sister city — Wall- dorf, Germany: We have just learned of the sad death of Dr. Jurgen Criegee, burger- meister of Walldorf. We cannot express the sadness we feel at this time. We remember Dr. Criegee as a fine and kind man who was always eager to listen and respond thought- fully with humor. In 1993, our town unanimously declared Burgermeister Dr. Jurgen Criegee an “Hon- orary Citizen.” In 1997, Walldorf and Asto- ria citizens will be proud to know the Asto- ria City Council dedicated Criegee Circle in his honor, located on the plateau of Coxcomb Hill, circling one of our most famous monu- ments, the Astoria Column. Burgermeister Criegee leaves behind two legacies in Astoria: his dedication to the Deutsch-American Freundeskreis Club, spearheaded by him during Mayor Willis Van Dusen’s first visit to Walldorf in 1993, and the Student Exchange Program, both of which thrive to this day. A fond memory during one of Dr. Crie- gee’s visits to Astoria is the time he was offi- cially deputized as an Astoria police offi- cer. Later that day, he was heard suggesting to friends, “I now have the authority to arrest people, and you will need to behave.” Today in Astoria we celebrate his life, friendship and remarkable achievements, and embrace our companionship with all Wall- dorf citizens, due to his dedication. Today we remember Burgermeister Dr. Jurgen Criegee. Finally, we express our heartfelt condo- lences to the family and all Walldorf citizens. In deepest sympathy; he will be sadly missed by many Astoria citizens. BRUCE CONNER Astoria Vote Wev for county commissioner I ’m voting for Pam Wev as a best choice for county commissioner because: • she has spent a career understanding and helping to implement good planning concepts. • as a private contractor she learned what good government policy is and how to use it. • she knows that collaborative efforts pro- duce good results. SARA MEYER Astoria