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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 29, 2018)
7A THE DAILY ASTORIAN • MONDAY, OCTOBER 29, 2018 Buehler: Vowed to end homelessness Money: Cost of state races has jumped nearly $18M in 20 years Continued from Page 1A President Donald Trump has sought to expand offshore drilling to improve economic security and energy domi- nance. Brown, a Democrat, asked the Trump administra- tion to exempt Oregon, but has not heard back. Florida, which has a Republican governor, has received an exemption. Buehler, a Republican, said he is against offshore drill- ing but raised doubts about whether it would even become an issue in Oregon. No one has attempted to drill off the coast since 1964, and little was recovered. “I’m certainly against drill- ing offshore, but that is more about distraction, and the gov- ernor is trying to distract peo- ple’s attention from the big issues in Oregon,” Buehler said. “No one’s going to be drilling off the Oregon Coast. It’s very expensive. It’s very risky, and there’s lots of very inexpensive places to drill for oil right now, so it’s more polit- ical theater than actual, real policymaking.” Buehler, a Bend orthope- dic surgeon, ate breakfast at Pig ’N Pancake after speaking with diners. The gubernatorial candi- date also reiterated his opposi- Continued from Page 1A Linh DePledge/For The Daily Astorian State Rep. Knute Buehler and his wife, Patty, spoke to diners at Pig ‘N Pancake in Astoria on Saturday during a campaign stop. tion to a gillnetting ban on the Columbia River. Former Gov. John Kitzhaber, who was behind a 2013 agreement between Ore- gon and Washington state to phase out gillnetting on the river’s main stem, recently appeared in several videos advocating for the states to keep the ban in place. Brown criticized the state Fish and Wildlife Commission’s consid- eration last year to allow some gillnetting, eventually leading the commission to back down. The two states are in the process of reviewing the agreement. “Unfortunately she tends to avoid taking a stand, and that vacuum starts to be filled by other people,” Buehler said of Brown. “It’s another exam- ple where we need leadership from a governor to really start to deal with these problems and not have former gover- nors, you know, weighing in on such important issues.” Buehler said homelessness is one of the main problems he heard about in his visit to Astoria. The City Council ear- lier this month unanimously passed a ban on camping in the woods, leading to intense debate. Buehler has vowed to end homelessness within five years of taking office. His plan, released in August, calls for 4,000 emergency shelters throughout the state. “It’s become a big, big problem in the Portland metro area, but now it’s just not iso- lated there,” he said. “It’s so big now that it’s going to take leadership from the governor to help solve. It’s beyond the ability of local nonprofits or even local government to deal with it.” Owen: ‘I have some worries, but I’m optimistic’ Continued from Page 1A When he told the American Legion about the diagnosis, the legion’s auxiliary jumped into action to organize a fundraising dinner to help pay for health care costs. “We’re just here to help Matt,” said Jack Kerwin, the legion’s first vice commander. “I mean, everybody just loves the guy.” In one night, dozens of cus- tomers and co-workers over the years came out to raise about $16,000 to pay for treatment. “I suppose you can’t put this in the paper, but I guess my reaction would be, ‘Holy s---!’ I honestly didn’t think I was that well-liked,” Owen laughed. “It feels wonderful to know the community comes to support its residents when one is in need.” In a packed legion hall, every customer and colleague has their own connection to Owen. “He’s just so funny, kind and generous,” said Nannette Cooper, a regular customer who first met Owen at the Sea- side Golf Course. “He’s just so positive, and with a situation like his, man, that’s half the battle.” Jose Sosa, who used to work with Owen at the Lum- beryard, remembers him as a role model as a teenager. “On the outside he can look intimidating, but he is one of the sweetest people I know,” Sosa said. “He’s the type of guy who will always stick up for you.” Tonya Spath, another for- mer co-worker, remembers a particularly busy and under- staffed New Year’s Eve shift, where Owen, as the manager, was pitching in to do every- thing from manning the door, serving orders and washing the dishes. What makes the moment “Matt,” Spath said, is the way he kept his cool. “I remember we were all like, ‘This sucks!’” Spath said. “He said, ‘Yeah, it does. But we’ll get through it.’ That’s what makes him special. He’s always calm. He’s always Matt.” It’s a mentality he is sticking with as he faces the unknowns that come with cancer treat- ment, and one he hopes to keep sharing behind the counter at the American Legion. “Sure, I have some wor- ries,” he said. “But I’m optimistic.” Facing a hotly contested Democratic primary in May, Mitchell’s campaign fund- raising started earlier and had surpassed $400,000 as of Friday. A member of the Ser- vice Employees Interna- tional Union, Mitchell has received more than $225,000 from labor and education unions; more than $57,000 from Future PAC, the cam- paign committee for state House Democrats; and more than $46,000 from the Ore- gon League of Conservation Voters. Nearly 40 percent of her fundraising so far has been in-kind contributions from groups campaigning on her behalf. In the primary, Mitch- ell scored an upset victory over Tim Josi, a Tillamook County commissioner and former state representative heavily backed by regional industries and incumbent politicians, and John Orr, a local attorney and environ- mentalist whose campaign was more grassroots and raised less than $20,000. Lower faced no oppo- nent in the Republican pri- mary and began most of her fundraising during the gen- eral election, so far gathering more than $164,000. After coming in third in the Democratic primary, Josi crossed the political aisle and endorsed Lower, who has since been backed by many of the same timber, agri- culture and other industry groups that supported Josi, along with state Republicans. Some of Lower’s largest contributions so far include more than $90,000 from Tiffiny Mitchell Vineeta Lower Republican groups and state House lawmakers; $12,000 from the Low Income Den- tal PAC formed by Advan- tage Dental, a large Medicaid recipient; more than $10,000 from the Right to Life PAC opposing abortion; and more than $16,000 from agricul- tural, lumber and fishing groups and companies. The campaigns for House District 32 between 2012 and 2016 gathered less than $272,000 in contributions when incumbent state Rep. Deborah Boone, D-Can- non Beach, was running for re-election, according to the National Institute on Money in Politics, a nonprofit track- ing campaign finance. This year’s campaign to replace her has so far gath- ered more than $485,000 in cash contributions. A report by the institute showed that over the past 20 years, the collective cost of state legislative races in Ore- gon has jumped from around $2 million to $20 million each election. 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