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THE DAILY ASTORIAN • THuRSDAY, JANuARY 24, 2019
OPINION
editor@dailyastorian.com
KARI BORGEN
Publisher
JIM VAN NOSTRAND
Editor
Founded in 1873
JEREMY FELDMAN
Circulation Manager
JOHN D. BRUIJN
Production Manager
CARL EARL
Systems Manager
OUR VIEW
Secrecy isn’t the answer
Oregon governments must
remain fully transparent
I
t was with alarm that we
learned that lawmakers in
Salem are actively considering
a proposal to make Oregon govern-
ment actions less open.
And it was with extraordinary
disappointment that we learned
that the latest move in this direc-
tion is being spearheaded by the
North Coast’s former Rep. Deborah
Boone, and recommended by our
state Sen. Betsy Johnson.
What on Earth are they thinking?
Public confidence in govern-
ment is already at an all-time low.
But here are two lawmakers who
represent us in Salem, signaling
to Clatsop County residents that
they want to curtail public access
to information about governmental
decision-making.
Supporters say Senate Bill 609 is
designed to prevent people making
blanket requests for public records
and expecting officials at public
agencies to answer them fully and
immediately — whatever the time
and cost.
We have all heard of occasional
examples where a community activ-
ist has demanded full reports on
some issue and caused an agency
considerable time and expense in
trying to comply. Often it has been
curmudgeonly characters with legal
beefs against that agency trying to
act as their own lawyers and create
a paper trail to win their cases.
However, even those public
records requests have been known
to unearth government abuses.
AP Photo/Don Ryan
Oregon already allows more than 500 exemptions for public requests for information.
Most public records requests are
totally legitimate queries in good
faith. They are not “fishing expe-
ditions,” as Boone alleges. Instead,
they come from members of the
public or journalists seeking infor-
mation about a specific issue.
Additionally, Boone’s sugges-
tion that requestors must reveal
how the information is going to be
used is totally inappropriate. Pub-
lic records are open to taxpayers.
Period. Requesters can paper the
wall with them if they want to —
taxpayers shouldn’t have any such
requirement.
Oregon quite rightly gained a
reputation some years ago of being
the nation’s paragon of openness.
Other states have consulted our
folks in Salem on best practices
when considering modifications in
their own openness policies.
It is a matter of pride to us that
Oregon laws were originally written
on the basis that everything should
be public, with very few exceptions.
However, this has been eroded
away by more than 500 exemptions,
instead of just allowing a few very
carefully defined, narrow categories.
Thankfully, there are public offi-
cials who understand. The Ore-
gon Newspaper Publishers Associa-
tion and the Society of Professional
Journalists, two groups we are
closely affiliated with, have honored
Northwest public officials who have
promoted openness. Some county
clerks set superb examples and pro-
vide expertise to neighboring agen-
cies on how to interpret both the
reality and the spirit of the law.
This ill-considered action is an
appalling waste of everyone’s time
on a non-issue. Any crisis, if there
is one, is manufactured. Boone
embarrasses herself by admitting
that she cannot point to a single spe-
cific instance where a broad pub-
lic records request has caused an
agency difficulty or expense — she
just says it is a problem.
We try to avoid clichés on both
our news and opinion pages, but
we can think of no better descrip-
tion than “using a sledgehammer to
crack a walnut.”
Even if the occasional records
request proves costly, it isn’t a big
enough problem to require legisla-
tion to tighten access to information
from legitimate questioners.
The public in Oregon, whose
taxes pay for our government, quite
rightly expect to be able to scruti-
nize decision-making. In making
public records requests, citizens are
simply asking how their money is
being spent. Sometimes — often,
in fact — we in the press ask the
questions on behalf of the pub-
lic. That’s our function as a watch-
dog in a democracy, a duty we have
taken seriously since the nation was
founded.
When Boone announced her
retirement from the House, we
were complimentary about her
lengthy service to the state, first as
an employee and later as a legislator
representing fishers and other inter-
ests on the North Coast. But, over
the years, we have been critical that
the Democrat has not demonstrated
memorable leadership in any one
specific bill or law.
If this latest is to be her last act
— and her legacy — it will indeed
be a sad one.
This is an idea that needs to die.
It benefits no one and it hurts every-
one. Any representative even con-
sidering going down this path needs
to stop. Right now.
LETTERS
President Trump holding
American citizens hostage
I
would like to take this opportunity to
congratulate President Donald Trump on
setting some remarkable records. While we
are moving into our second month of the
shutdown, it should be noted that no domes-
tic or foreign terrorist, or criminal entity,
has been able to match the records for dura-
tion and the number of people held hostage.
Yes, I said terrorist or criminal. One
who seizes or takes a person, and holds
that person as security for the fulfillment of
a condition. In the last 30 years, the Amer-
ican citizen has been held hostage, accord-
ing to Wikipedia, on 18 occurrences, for a
total of about 242 hours or 11 days, plus or
minus. The president is well over 30 days,
and is holding over 800,000 American cit-
izens hostage, with the sole purpose of
political exercise.
Whether you consider the president to
be a hero or a villain, this cannot stand
in our country. He has held our fami-
lies, friends and neighbors hostage to his
demands. It is unacceptable, wrong — on
so many levels — and horribly injurious
to the American citizen and to the fabric of
our society.
Get our families and friends back to
work, and then finally fix our broken immi-
gration policy with bipartisan effort.
PAUL DUEBER
Cannon Beach
Timber management is
significant public issue
I
n a recent article (“Wyden promises to
fight for Coast Guard pay, end to shut-
down,” The Daily Astorian, Jan. 7) the
reporter — purportedly summarizing
Sen. Ron Wyden’s response to two ques-
tions about logging and forest manage-
ment issues — mentioned only that he said
he supported the Clean Energy for Amer-
ica bill, that increases taxes on fossil fuel
corporations. In reality, the clean energy
piece was only a small fraction of Wyden’s
lengthy response.
Wyden began his answer with an impas-
sioned defense of public lands, condemn-
ing Republican congressmen advocating
more timber harvest on public land to pre-
vent wild fires. He was particularly ada-
mant about ending clear cutting, which he
described as a significant contributor to
global warming.
When asked about the Oregon For-
est Resources Institute’s promotion of
cross-laminated timber as the next boom
to the Oregon economy, Wyden’s response
was cool. He suggested that it could be a
factor in the economy of timber counties,
along with other wood products. Wyden
also spoke with pride about his efforts to
achieve broader protection for wild and
scenic areas, such as the Rogue River.
The troubling aspect of the reporting
on Wyden’s remarks is not the brevity,
although in a county where timber man-
agement is of significant public interest,
one would think it deserved more than a
short paragraph.
This reader has seen a growing trend in
The Daily Astorian to present only news
that is supportive of the timber industry.
This may or may not be intentional. Read-
ers will have to decide.
ROGER DORBAND
Astoria
Good to have strong
and differing opinions
T
he considerable friction between Bruce
Jones and Sarah Jane Bardy should
in good part remain. As a community we
are very divided over how development
should or shouldn’t be allowed to proceed.
It’s good to have strong and differing opin-
ions on our boards, commissions, and City
Council to ensure full representation to all
of those who call Astoria home.
However, it can be unhealthy for our
community if Bardy and Jones only view
each other through the lens of a few top-
ics they are strongly divided on. It’s a new
year, but it remains to be seen if Astoria
has any real newness in it. If I remember
accurately, Jones expressed a need for the
City Council to focus on a few core things,
along with a need to address housing
issues, certified daycare and disaster pre-
paredness. There may also be the need to
mitigate the local harm being done by the
ongoing government shutdown.
It would be good if Jones and Bardy
could discover a few things they share a
concern or passion for and to find a way to
cooperate in those endeavors. Communi-
ties are far healthier when people’s natural
resentments and divisions are tempered by
areas and issues of commonality.
“SASHA” ALEX MILLER
Astoria
Time to bring sanity
back to the White House
A
s the current government crises con-
tinue, more than ever we need to eval-
uate our beliefs as Americans, as well as
our faith in government; to review what
we want our country to stand for, and what
international relationships our top execu-
tive should promote.
Unfortunately, our current president
appears to be more an aspiring auto-
crat, seeking immunity from criticism,
disdaining diplomacy, and marginaliz-
ing his opponents. His governing strategy
is to promote chaos and inflame fears of
national instability.
To be afraid without reason is
intolerable; there needs to be a face to
the fear in order to face the fear and
gain control of it. President Trump has
provided many faces to focus our fear on,
while he hammers home his monolithic
solution. He has become the face of my
fear for the nation’s regression into illib-
eral policies and actions. To me, it is as
if a mourning veil has been drawn over
the Lady of Liberty’s welcoming figure,
that her appearance might not rebuke our
injustices.
The only way I can gain control over
my fear is to participate in one of our
democracy’s great achievements, our sys-
tem of free elections, so I will make my
voice heard in 2020, and do my part to
bring sanity back to the White House and
to our country.
SARA G. LAY
Ocean Park, Washington