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THE DAILY ASTORIAN • FRIDAY, OCTOBER 26, 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
Endorsements around the county
E
leven days to go until the Nov. 6
general election.
Eleven long days of waiting
for local candidates in Clatsop County.
Eleven frenetic days of knocking
on doors and talking to voters, most of
whom should already have received
their ballots.
Here are The Daily Astorian’s
endorsements for contested races in
Warrenton, Gearhart, Seaside and
Cannon Beach.
Thanks to all the candidates who took
the time to meet with the newspaper’s
editorial board in recent weeks, and who
took the stage at election forums we
co-sponsored with community partners
in Astoria, Seaside and Cannon Beach.
Our endorsements for local bond
measures will appear in Monday’s
newspaper.
and Hammond would be well-served in
keeping him as mayor.
That said, we are impressed with
Washington’s enthusiasm and his deter-
mination to make sure Hammond res-
idents are equally represented in city
government. He has some good ideas
about affordable housing. We hope he
continues to be involved in the city’s
affairs as a volunteer if he is not elected.
Mayor Henry Balensifer, communi-
cations manager for Lektro Inc., faces
challenger John Washington, a retired
automotive technician and commercial
truck driver.
Balensifer has served on both the
Planning Commission and the City
Commission, and was appointed as
mayor last year to serve out what
remained in former Mayor Mark
Kujala’s term after Kujala stepped
down.
Washington is a political newcomer
and portrays that as a selling point. He
told The Daily Astorian’s editorial board
that he wants to run a clean campaign,
but has repeatedly hammered Balensifer
for an alleged lack of transparency.
We believe that charge to be
unfounded. Balensifer is one of the most
open and communicative leaders we’ve
seen at the local level, and has hosted
open forums on issues confronting the
city. We’re sure he would be willing to
consider any constructive suggestions
for improving dialogue with citizens.
Washington does not back the
Warrenton school bond as written, cit-
ing the tax burden on residents, he said.
He “absolutely” supports the bond for a
new county jail, to protect the county’s
law enforcement officers.
Balensifer said he supports the school
bond, but takes no position on the jail
bond.
Balensifer is clearly the best-quali-
fied candidate, and voters in Warrenton
Benefield, Swedenborg
for Cannon Beach council
Barber for
Seaside mayor
Smith for
Gearhart council
Balensifer for
Warrenton mayor
100th anniversary year.
Smith has earned our vote in
Gearhart.
In Gearhart, Jack Zimmerman has
come on strong in an election that has
lived up to the city’s history of spirited
and vigorous debate.
Zimmerman is looking to unseat
Kerry Smith, who was elected to City
Council Position 1 in 2014. Paulina
Cockrum, who was appointed in 2015,
is running unopposed for Position 3.
It is tempting to believe, as
Zimmerman proposes, that Gearhart
has the option to bypass state hous-
ing goals that could require expansion
of the urban growth boundary, but it is
unlikely that challenge would succeed
or be worth the resources.
Zimmerman’s aggressive stance on
no growth is appealing, but the city’s
inventory of buildable land already lim-
its development. Short-term rental reg-
ulations, put into place while Smith
was a member of the council and with
his support, further limit commercial
expansion and investor speculation that
could threaten Gearhart’s commitment
to enhancing its residential community.
Keeping the fire station at its cur-
rent location at 698 Pacific Way, as
Zimmerman proposes, may play well
with some, but doesn’t make sense
in case of a tsunami. Other locations,
including the city park on Pacific Way
on North Marion, provide the neces-
sary elevation to meet a “medium-size”
wave scenario.
Zimmerman has alleged the Oregon
Department of Fish and Wildlife has
been negligent in its supervision of
Gearhart’s elk herd, but we see little
evidence that ODFW is not doing its
job. Smith supports a “no-feeding” ordi-
nance supported by other council mem-
bers — a small first step.
Smith’s first term has promoted
emergency disaster protection, sound
environmental policy and maintaining
the goals of the city’s original
vision — so celebrated in the
In Seaside, John Chapman is try-
ing to unseat Jay Barber, who was
appointed mayor after the death of for-
mer Mayor Don Larson in December
2015.
Chapman has distinguished him-
self as a broadcaster, station owner and
tireless community volunteer. His con-
tributions to the Seaside Gulls as an
announcer and coach are significant,
and he in many ways exemplifies the
spirit of Go Gulls.
Barber has teamed with a cohesive,
focused board that has delivered on a
number fronts, including working with
the school district on the bond project
for a new campus, offering a path for-
ward for replacement of the Avenue
U bridge and aesthetic upgrades at the
south end of town, a $15 million bond
issue to renovate the Seaside Civic and
Convention Center, and a new five-year
agreement with Hood to Coast.
Chapman is critical of the Hood to
Coast deal, but we believe revisiting
it would revisit territory already trod-
den and put the city’s relationship with a
cherished partner at risk.
While both agree on the need for
affordable housing, they have differ-
ent approaches to homelessness, incen-
tives for affordable housing and changes
in system development charges to pro-
mote housing. While the current City
Council has yet to come up with a com-
prehensive plan for a Cascadia disaster
response, Chapman has offered no path
forward. In a devastating tsunami, the
likelihood is “there won’t be a Seaside
anyway,” he said, “as the city would be
decimated.”
Nature may dominate in the end, but
government at all levels owes each resi-
dent and visitor a lifeline — considered
evacuation, resiliency and recovery sce-
narios — when the Big One hits.
Barber’s dignified style, gracious-
ness and sense of teamwork play well in
Seaside.
We’re confident that Barber is lead-
ing a forward-thinking council that
works well on all cylinders, and has
embarked on a positive agenda to meet
emergency, infrastructure and social
concerns.
Mike Benefield, Robin Risley and
Greg Swedenborg are running for two
at-large seats on the Cannon Beach City
Council.
All three candidates are strong, highly
qualified and worthy of our vote.
Benefield, the incumbent, has served
since 2014. He has experience on the
Planning Commission as well as the
council, and has first-hand experience in
city governance.
He wants to steer lodging tax dollars
away from supporting tourism promotion
and more toward improving tourism-re-
lated facilities. He advocates investing
more in public art, more events and con-
certs, or using the money to develop an
event center at the old Cannon Beach
Elementary School site.
We are impressed by Benefield’s ded-
icated service, considered input and the
deep respect he holds from residents and
fellow council members alike.
Over the course of three decades,
Risley has served on several boards and
committees, including the Cannon Beach
and Clatsop County planning com-
missions, the Oregon State Parks and
Recreation Commission and Cannon
Beach Chamber of Commerce board. She
was also appointed the president of the
Clatsop Association of Realtors last year.
“I am firmly committed to protect-
ing this community’s thoughtful planning
values and village character for future
generations,” she said.
Swedenborg, a Cannon Beach native
and co-owner of The Waves Oceanfront
Lodging, decided to run after feeling the
business community and working fami-
lies needed a stronger voice.
“I care about the people and busi-
nesses in this city, and I think I could add
to the discussion,” he said.
Swedenborg has taken the extra step
in reaching out to communities through-
out the state to consider solutions to park-
ing, traffic and other critical issues. He
went so far as to dust off an old city traf-
fic study and evaluate its weakness and
strengths. His idea to collect parking rev-
enue in state-run parking lots is a real-
world solution that could have benefit for
residents and help fund city programs
All three candidates are well-liked and
communicate well with the community.
They are solution-oriented and willing
to do the hard work necessary to make
this small city manage its outsized role in
welcoming tourists, protecting our coast-
line and keeping Cannon Beach a magi-
cal place to live.
We narrowly lean to endorsing
Benefield and Swedenborg — Benefield
for his experience, and Swedenborg for
the great ideas he has brought to the table.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Vote Lower for rep, Buehler
for governor
his November, Clatsop County voters
have some serious choices to make for
governor and state representative.
Seems like every other year the state
is always $2 or $3 billion dollars short.
The Public Employees Retirement System
(PERS) is $22.5 billion behind in its obli-
gation, with no end in sight, and state pro-
grams are costing billions this state doesn’t
have. Oregon is in a state of confusion right
now, under the present leadership.
Who pays for their mistakes? Of course,
we do. Make no mistake people, there need
to be changes on how this state operates.
It isn’t working. We cannot afford, or con-
tinue, to live like this; it’s expensive to live
in Oregon. That’s why we need someone
T
like Knute Buehler for governor. Knute is
someone willing to step up and make the
tough decisions required to operate a state
like Oregon.
Everyone knows the shortage of afford-
able housing here in Oregon. And it’s not
too difficult to see that our roads, bridges
and other infrastructures need major repairs
or reconstruction. The need for creating
family wage jobs still exists, and improving
school conditions and reducing state taxes.
All are high on Vineeta Lower’s agenda.
Now is the time. So, let’s take advantage
of this opportunity to turn things around in
Oregon. So please, Clatsop County, check
out and vote for Vineeta Lower for state
representative, and Knute Buehler for gov-
ernor. You will be glad you did. Two pos-
itive solutions now, and for the future. So,
let’s make the right choices for us, and
our state.
RAYMOND GARDNER
Warrenton
We need Jones’ emergency
experience
’m writing to urge fellow Astorians to
vote for Bruce Jones for mayor. In Bruce
we have someone seasoned in emergency
planning and rescue — resources that we
need.
Our region lies under the grim, substan-
tiated forecast of coming violent shifts in
the Cascadia Subduction Zone. I rode out
the Loma Prieta earthquake and Tropical
Storm Irene. Communities need thorough
planning and preparation well in advance of
catastrophes.
I
Bruce led the Coast Guard response to
Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans, a rare
resource, an experience that shaped both his
character and his ideas for future planning.
The fruits of our efforts now could affect our
continued survival.
I’m a volunteer at the Columbia River
Maritime Museum, and I have observed
Bruce Jones earning his daily bread. He has
good instincts — intelligence, mental agility,
low-key gravitas, compassion, social apti-
tude, and a marvelous sense of humor.
Should the wreck arrive early, I have had
a blessed life. This isn’t about me: I want
the children and grandchildren here to have
the chance to say the same thing — because
we loved them, thought of them, planned for
them.
STEPHANIE SMITH
Astoria