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THE DAILY ASTORIAN • THURSDAY, JANUARY 24, 2019
Oregon Legislature kicks off work to curb campaign spending
By LAUREN DAKE
Oregon Public Broadcasting
Gov. Kate Brown, who
was part of the state’s most
expensive governor’s race
ever last year, told lawmakers
on Wednesday that it’s time
to curb the amount of polit-
ical money spent in Oregon.
A newly-created cam-
paign fi nance committee in
the state Senate is tasked with
reining in Oregon’s campaign
fi nance laws, an area that is
akin — as the governor likes
to say — to the “wild, Wild
West.”
“I want to see change that
makes elections more com-
petitive and that reduces
barriers to participating for
candidates and frankly for
donors as well,” Brown told
the Senate Committee on
Campaign Finance.
The governor said she
raised three times more than
her three Democratic pre-
decessors in her last race.
And she urged lawmakers to
increase transparency when it
comes to reporting contribu-
tions and expenditures.
Campaign spending and
donations should be posted
quickly for the public to see,
she said. Currently, there
is often a 30-day window
before transactions become
public.
The governor also said
it’s time for Oregon to tackle
what’s known as “dark
money,” essentially dona-
tions made to nonprofi ts that
do political work but aren’t
limited in how much they can
collect and aren’t required to
disclose their supporters.
“As long as dollars fl ow
unfettered in Oregon, the
very least we can do is ensure
that everyone can follow the
Seaside woman
arraigned on 145
theft-related charges
Wednesday, she pleaded no
contest to one felony count
of identity theft and one fel-
A Seaside woman was ony count of computer crime.
arraigned on Wednesday on
Judge Paula Brownhill
145 charges related to steal- found Schehl guilty on both
ing people’s identities.
counts, but postponed sen-
Desirai
Skye
tencing until a reso-
Schehl, 27, was
lution is reached on
charged with mul-
the new charges.
tiple felony counts
Schehl decided to
of identity theft and
waive her right to a
mail theft.
grand jury investi-
Schehl was also
gation. In exchange,
charged with one
the state is offering
count of racketeering, Desirai Skye to recommend no
Schehl
as well as three counts
more than 10 years
of forgery, one count
in prison.
of burglary and one count
“Almost every count is a
of theft . The crimes were repeat property offense. My
allegedly carried out from client’s exposure would be
September 2017 to June and her natural life in prison,”
involved more than 100 peo- said James von Boeckmann,
ple and businesses, according Schehl’s defense attorney .
to court documents.
Schehl is being held on
Schehl was indicted on $100,000 bail. Her next
similar charges stemming court appearance is sched-
from an incident last year. On uled for March.
By BRENNA VISSER
The Daily Astorian
Bradley W. Parks/Oregon Public Broadcasting
Gov. Kate Brown speaks to reporters in her ceremonial offi ce
at the Capitol in Salem in January.
money in politics,” Brown
said.
Brown, who benefi ted tre-
mendously from union sup-
port in the last election cycle,
also told lawmakers that it’s
time to limit how much can-
didates can accept.
Oregon is only one of a
handful of states that doesn’t
have any cap on how much
money can be given to
candidates.
Brown, who can’t run for
re-election after this four-
year term ends, has in the
past pushed for a $2,600 limit
for individual donors and
$5,000 for political action
committees.
Voters would need to
amend the state’s constitu-
tion to move forward with
changing the campaign con-
tribution rules. Oregon voters
have been reticent to amend
the free-speech clause of the
constitution.
The governor, a lawyer,
said previously she thinks
there is a route to amend the
provision in the constitution
dealing with elections.
“Quite simply, the fact
that in Oregon, we cannot
even discuss what limits can
or should look like because
of the way our constitution
has been interpreted is both
mind-boggling and frankly
deeply disappointing to me,”
Brown said.
The governor said she
would like to see something
on the ballot in the 2020 elec-
tion. Independent Party Can-
didate Patrick Starnes also
attended the hearing.
In a surprise move toward
the end of the 2018 gover-
nor’s race, Starnes dropped
out and endorsed Brown.
He said he was convinced
Brown was the candidate
most willing to address cam-
paign fi nance reform and that
his decision was infl uenced
by Republican candidate
Knute Buehler’s decision
to accept $2.5 million from
Nike co-founder Phil Knight.
State Sen. Tim Knopp, a
Republican from Bend, and
a member of the campaign
fi nance committee, said
the state is quickly moving
toward being a constitutional
republic where very few peo-
ple dictate who gets elected.
“I think that should be dis-
turbing for every American,
every Oregonian,” he said.
Jackson County asks state to deny pipeline permit
Associated Press
MEDFORD — Jack-
son County commission-
ers are asking the state to
block a proposed natural
gas pipeline that would
ferry gas over 229 miles
of southern Oregon to an
export terminal near Coos
Bay.
The Oregon Depart-
ment of State Lands is
considering whether to
grant the project a key
permit and is taking pub-
lic comment until Feb. 3.
There is broad opposition
to the pipeline in Klam-
ath, Jackson, Douglas
and Coos counties, The
Mail Tribune reported
Wednesday.
Pembina
Pipeline
Corp., a Canadian com-
pany, wants to use the
pipeline to export North
American natural gas to
Asian markets. But county
commissioners have long
been opposed to the proj-
ect because of the possi-
bility that eminent domain
could be used against
property owners unwilling
to have the pipeline cross
their land.
“All indications are
that the benefi ts to Jackson
County will be extremely
minimal, while the costs
to our wetlands and water
bodies is high,” the letter
says.
Pembina says the proj-
ect would create 1,400
jobs during the pipeline’s
construction and 1,000
jobs while the export ter-
minal is being built. More
than 200 people would
have permanent jobs
once construction is done,
mainly at the export facil-
ity, it says.
The project would gen-
erate $60 million annu-
ally in tax revenue for the
southern Oregon counties,
according to Pembina.
In their letter, Jackson
County offi cials said there
is no guarantee that Pem-
bina would cover the costs
of restoration if the pipe-
line is damaged or fails.
They point to the
example of PG&E. The
power utility announced
it will go through Chap-
ter 11 bankruptcy after its
equipment was implicated
in 2017 and 2018 wildfi res
that burned 24,600 struc-
tures and killed more than
100 people in California.
The letter says Pem-
bina wants to use water
from reservoirs, a lake and
an irrigation canal in Jack-
son County to fi ll the pipe-
line and test its strength.
“These water sources
are important for irriga-
tion, fi re suppression and
livestock watering,” the
letter says. “Considering
the drought conditions
of the last several years,
and extreme fi re confl a-
grations in Oregon and
this region of the coun-
try, removing water from
these sources is detrimen-
tal to our ranching com-
munity and a life-safety
issue when reducing water
supply available for wild-
land fi re suppression.”
The pipeline would
cross 87 waterways and
wetlands in the county,
including the Rogue
River, and cross beneath
the Rogue River 2 miles
north of Shady Cove.
County offi cials say
in the letter the crossing
is too close to homeown-
ers, who would be sub-
jected to construction and
drilling noise and other
effects. They also worry
about the leakage of drill-
ing fl uid into the river.
The Federal Energy
Regulatory Commission
is reviewing the project
at the national level. The
commission denied a pre-
vious iteration of the proj-
ect in 2016, saying poten-
tial harms outweighed
potential benefi ts.
Knappa coach accused of having sex with student
The Daily Astorian
Nathaniel Stephen Dale
Truax, an assistant coach
at Knappa High School,
was arraigned Wednes-
day on one count of rape
in the third degree and one
count of sodomy in the third
degree .
Truax, 21, allegedly had
sex with a student who is a
minor.
Knappa School District
S uperintendent
Paulette
Johnson said Truax has been
suspended as a coach while
the incident is being investi-
gated by the school district.
Truax, a Knappa gradu-
ate, was released on the con-
ditions that he make no con-
tact with the victim or visit
the h igh s chool.
Truax’s
next
court
appearance is scheduled for
late February.
every beat • every breath • every second
We Are There
County unemployment inches up in December
The Daily Astorian
Clatsop County’s sea-
sonally adjusted unemploy-
ment rate continued to inch
upward, reaching 4.3 per-
cent in December, accord-
ing to state fi gures.
The
county’s
rate,
slightly higher than the
statewide — 4.1 percent
— and national — 3.9 per-
cent — rates, was tied
with Wasco County for
the ninth-lowest among 36
counties.
The state tracks season-
ally adjusted unemployment
rates, comparing expected
changes with reality.
Clatsop County lost 270
jobs in December, 40 fewer
than expected. The county’s
nonfarm payroll employ-
ment was at 18,820, a gain
of 40 from one year prior.
In December, the private
sector lost 250 jobs, while
government employment
dipped by 20. Leisure and
hospitality shed 170 jobs;
construction 40; local gov-
ernment 40; and food man-
ufacturing 30. Education
and health services added
40 jobs.
Over the past year, retail
trade has added 220 posi-
tions, and leisure and hospi-
tality 200. Professional and
business services has cut
150; construction 80; and
local education 80.
Columbia County had a
seasonally adjusted unem-
ployment rate of 5 percent,
and Tillamook County was
at 4.6 percent.
Elk illegally killed and left to rot on Oregon Coast
Associated Press
SALEM — Offi cials say
four elk were illegally killed
and left to waste in Lincoln
and Tillamook counties in
early January.
The Statesman Jour-
nal reported that Oregon
State Police are asking for
Clatsop Post 12
SPAGHETTI
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help in identifying those
responsible.
Offi cials say on Jan. 8,
a fi ve-point bull elk was
found dead and wasted in
Toledo, just inland from
Newport.
Police say an investiga-
tion revealed the elk had
been shot by a high-pow-
ered rifl e.
Police say four days
later three cow elk were
found shot and killed with
a high-caliber rifl e and were
left to waste in a clearcut
several miles from Highway
6 on Fox Creek Road.
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To My Bride, Helen
Looking Forward To Another
13,000
Days with you.
I’m Enjoying Growing Old With You.
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Thanks,
The Luckiest Guy In The World, Scott
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