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THE DAILY ASTORIAN • TuESDAY, MARcH 5, 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
Richardson’s courage needed in politics
D
ennis Richardson was a
courageous man.
It may seem an easy
eulogy for a former U.S. Army
helicopter pilot who flew missions
during the Vietnam War, hauling
ammunition into the battlefield and
injured soldiers out.
But Richardson’s courage,
while surely forged during war-
time, didn’t solely manifest itself
in battle. The late secretary of state,
who died last week of brain can-
cer, showed a resolve in his life
of elected public service not often
seen in politics.
Richardson was a man will-
ing to stand on personal principles
while serving the greater good of
his state. And he showed that those
objectives aren’t mutually exclu-
sive, even in a state that didn’t often
align with his own values.
He has been remembered as a
budget hawk, demanding that gov-
ernment be held to account for
spending taxpayer dollars. It was
that credibility, based in his politi-
cal philosophy, that sealed his win
as a Republican secretary of state,
Oregon’s second-highest ranking
public office. And he lived up to the
promise, leading audits that shined
a bright light on problems and mal-
AP Photo/Timothy J. Gonzalez
Dennis Richardson greets supporters in 2016.
functions in government programs.
That work will carry on after his
death.
He was particularly effective,
even while undergoing cancer treat-
ments, because the job wasn’t a
stepping stone to a higher office.
His unsuccessful bid for governor
in 2014 nearly ended his political
career, and he showed no intention
of trying again.
As a state representative, Rich-
ardson was an advocate for his
southern Oregon district’s values.
He spoke in strong terms against
abortion and same-sex marriage,
counting them as affronts to God
and his faith.
But as a secretary of state, Rich-
ardson used his position to bene-
fit the state as a whole, not just his
conservative constituents.
He even changed course on his
approach to voter registration, sup-
porting as secretary of state the
growing number of registered vot-
ers where he once advocated in the
House for stricter rules.
But in matters of personal faith
and values, he was clear-eyed while
remaining contemplative.
In an interview with Oregon
Public Broadcasting’s “All Things
Considered” in September 2017,
he was asked directly whether
he believed homosexuality was
immoral. He said he did, and the
act of voters didn’t change the per-
spective of God. But he also said
the matter was legally settled and
that he was willing to accept both
the humanity and personal choices
of others.
Voters didn’t change his beliefs,
either, though he knew the respon-
sibility of being elected to statewide
office meant representing a much
wider and more diverse electorate.
We need more of these kinds of
people in government leadership,
willing to state their beliefs clearly
while understanding that their job is
not to enforce them on others.
In Dennis Richardson we had a
true and decent public servant, and
that takes all kinds of courage.
LETTERS
Local power needed
T
he Daily Astorian’s Feb. 13 story,
“State Legislature considers com-
munity energy bill,” and Feb. 19 letter,
“Renewable energy,” document two inad-
equate approaches to meeting the North
Coast’s electrical needs. Oregon has pre-
dicted that a Cascadia Subduction Zone
event will eliminate electrical service to us
for three to six months, and generator fuel
for one month.
We need a local renewable power
source, as proposed and designed by a
locally based public utility district in for-
mation, Cascadia PUD. Our present power
supplier has already declined to help us.
One set of solar panels atop the county
building is just their typical sop to local
politicians so they can continue to sell us
overpriced Wyoming renewable energy,
which does nothing to mitigate Cascadia
outages.
Oregon already allows us to form a
local PUD, like all surrounding areas have
intelligently formed. PUDs have preferen-
tial rights to purchase Bonneville hydro-
power at lower rates than investor-owned
utilities like our present electrical sup-
plier. This could save us millions on our
electrical bills. PUDs are already develop-
ing locally based renewable energy sup-
plies which will not go down in a Casca-
dia event; we can, too.
Our present supplier will use scare tac-
tics and glib outside legal teams to try to
prevent being bought out by the proposed
Cascadia PUD. These will be the last
gasps from a dying unresponsive bunch of
1 percent investors who have been plun-
dering us for years.
JOHN DUNZER
Seaside
Reform campaign finance
just finished reading an article from The
Oregonian, “Polluted by Money” (Feb.
22). The safest printable word I can use is
disgusting.
Our representatives, who have no time
for constituents, can meet with a lobbyist
in 90 minutes’ time — stopping bills that
protect the population in exchange for big-
money donations, and squashing concerns
from government agencies responsible for
insuring our welfare. Prostitution is not
just rampant in Portland, it’s in the state
Capitol. Buying votes, seats, and influence
— in Oregon it’s perfectly legal.
I do believe in the capitalist system, but
I also believe in democracy, which should
act as a watchdog on the system and cre-
ate a level playing field, while also pro-
tecting the public (their constituents) from
government abuse. You ever hear that
“promote the general welfare” thing?
How much money do I need to send
to Salem so I can breathe clean air, drink
clean water, eat food without poison?
Is there a bundling price like cable and
internet?
This is not a party issue, this is an
I
“everybody” issue. It seems if there was
one thing in government that would be
bipartisan, it’s this one. I think the time is
right for campaign finance reform: let’s
remove all nonindividual donations from
out of state to Oregon’s government.
Wouldn’t it be funny if lobbyists had
to actually present their case, instead of a
checkbook? Our representatives are there
to represent the people who put them in
office, and it doesn’t appear to be you and
I.
JASON HULTI
Astoria
Ban plastic bags
R
ecently I shopped at my local gro-
cery store, as usual. From the time I
entered until checkout, I was smiling. My
fellow shoppers were smiling also, nod-
ding and greeting each other. There was
not one aisle that I went down that was
not clean, orderly, and with helpful clerks.
It was a such a positive experience.
This store’s management has stated
that it would participate in the plastic bag
ban that is gaining grassroots support
locally, statewide and hopefully, some
day, nationally.
As shoppers, and as inhabitants of one
of the most beautiful and ecologically
fragile areas of our country, I do hope we
all can see the need for and support our
greatly reduced use of plastics. It begins at
the grassroots level.
CARMEN HAMMERSMITH
Warrenton
Impressed by Port
o the people of Clatsop County: I
recently attended the ad-hoc Port of
Astoria budget meeting, and was very
impressed to see the diversity of areas of
expertise, the quality of the four people
who were asked to help the Port and its
commissioners, the Port budget formula-
tion process, and the needed addressing of
the Port’s problems.
I understand Commissioner Frank
Spence proposed the idea, and he should
be commended for making it happen.
I watch this effort closely because the
citizens of Warrenton have an active inter-
est in what happens within the Port of
Astoria, and their continuation of services.
RICK NEWTON
Commissioner, city of Warrenton
T
High Point best location
for Gearhart fire station
L
ife on planet Earth is risky. Having
lived in earthquake zones my entire
life, I’ve experienced a few smaller events
and always carry in the back of my mind
the possibility of a bigger one. That’s
why I’m glad that the citizens of Gearhart
have the opportunity to come together and
choose resiliency with the construction
of a new fire station that can withstand an
earthquake, and will be out of the tsunami
inundation zone.
I strongly support building at the High
Point location; I do not support rebuild-
ing at the present location or building at
the Gearhart Park. The High Point loca-
tion offers the best resiliency for our com-
munity. High Point is already the recom-
mended assembly area for a large portion
of Gearhart. People would be gathering
in the very place that would have supplies
and help available after a natural disaster.
Unlike the other options, the High
Point location does not need a DOGAMI
exception, because the elevation is suf-
ficient for the mostly likely earthquake
scenarios. High Point is located where
we often have the greatest concentra-
tion of visitors, which is also an important
consideration.
The safety of our families and com-
munity are worth the necessary invest-
ment. Go to cityofgearhart.com, learn
about the proposed concepts and fill out
the questionnaire by April 29. Your voice
is needed to help our city make the best
choice possible for a resilient future, no
matter what Mother Nature has in store.
BEBE MICHEL
Gearhart