A3
THE ASTORIAN • TUESDAY, MAY 7, 2019
Long Beach
marks
Loyalty
Days with
a parade
Port candidates meet
in election forum
Hunsinger,
McClaine square
off in Seaside
By EDWARD STRATTON
The Astorian
SEASIDE — Port of
Astoria Commissioner Bill
Hunsinger touted his expe-
rience and criticism of what
he sees as ineffective Port
management at a candidate
forum on Saturday, while
Scott McClaine, his chal-
lenger in the M ay election,
stressed he would bring
fresh eyes.
The two are running for
a four-year term in Position
3 on the Port Commission.
Commissioner Robert Ste-
vens, a retired Coast Guard
captain, is running unop-
posed for Position 4.
Hunsinger, a commer-
cial fi sherman and for-
mer longshoreman, has
been on the Port Commis-
sion for 12 years. McClaine,
the owner of an online coin
shop and a Coast Guard vet-
eran, recently quit his job as
a security guard at the Port to
campaign against Hunsinger.
The Port is in dire fi nan-
cial straits , with staff esti-
mating more than $20 mil-
lion in maintenance on
decaying infrastructure and
barely enough money to
cover operating costs.
“I want to thank Commis-
sioner Hunsinger for his 12
years of service to the Port.
It’s seen both good and bad,”
McClaine said at the forum,
which was held at the Bob
Chisholm Community Cen-
ter and sponsored by Clat-
sop County Democrats. “But
I want to say that I think I
bring a set of fresh eyes to
the Port. I’ve been known for
thinking outside the box.”
Hunsinger pointed to his
experience with the Port,
along with the fi shing and
shipping industries, as giv-
ing him credibility. He has
been the biggest critic of
Port management and has
said Port Executive Director
Jim Knight should resign or
be fi red.
“I’ve seen the Port at its
very best, and I’ve seen the
Port go a different direc-
tion,” he said. “The reason
I’m running again is I’d like
to turn things around.”
A volunteer committee of
fi nancial professionals has
recommended a more pro-
active Port management and
the sale of multiple prop-
erties to help fi x decaying
docks and keep the agency
solvent.
Hunsinger at fi rst said he
is totally opposed to selling
public property to make up
for managerial mistakes. But
he later stated his willingness
to sell the Astoria Regional
Airport, which loses money
operationally but brings
in the vast majority of the
Port’s federal grants .
McClaine said the Port
Chinook Observer
Bill
Hunsinger
Scott
McClaine
needs to study the fi nance
committee’s recommenda-
tions. Selling buildings, but
not the land underneath,
could be a good option, he
said.
The Port recently shut
down a causeway over the
East Mooring Basin after
an inspection by state engi-
neers found a signifi cantly
rotted substructure, leaving
several boat owners with-
out access to their vessels.
Asked how they would bal-
ance safety with servicing
customers, Hunsinger said
the Port needs a more expe-
rienced grant writer to seek
government support.
The
Port
Commis-
sion has long been beset
by squabbling , much of it
related to Hunsinger’s con-
stant criticism of the agen-
cy’s staff and Knight. Asked
about making commis-
sion meetings more cor-
dial, Hunsinger started with
a laugh in recognition of his
self-appointed position as a
whistleblower .
“You all know I am,” he
said. “I don’t like watch-
ing public dollars be spent
recklessly, throwing money
away. And that’s what they
do.”
The Port Commission
should resemble a family,
McClaine said, with unity
in public and disagreements
hashed out privately .
“Live debate is not
good,” he said.
The Port’s largest source
of revenue is from charges
to log ships exporting timber
for Astoria Forest Products,
a business nearly halted
by tariffs amid a trade war
between the U.S. and China.
McClaine credited Hunsing-
er’s role in attracting a log
exporter to Astoria, but rec-
ommended the Port look
beyond logs.
Hunsinger said the Port
needs to do a better job mar-
keting itself and take advan-
tage of the potential for ship-
ping cargo by barge on the
Columbia River.
He recounted the Port
of Grays Harbor in Aber-
deen, Washington, which
was similarly dependent on
wood products but diversi-
fi ed into agricultural, liquid
and auto exports, attracting
more than $200 million in
private investment. In 2011,
Grays Harbor was named by
state offi cials as the Wash-
ington Port of the Year.
“Aberdeen was in worse
shape than we were by far,”
Hunsinger said. “And what
did they do to change that?
They marketed their port.
They marketed worldwide.”
Patrtick Webb/Chinook Observer
The Astoria Scandinavian Midsummer Festival brought its royalty to the Long Beach parade.
The royal party included, left to right, Miss Norway Jordan Walter, Junior Miss Norway Phaira
Lane, Miss Sweden Hannah Sundstrom Eaton, Junior Miss Sweden Katelynn McCauley,
Senior Court Chaperone Rebeckah Orton and 2018 Miss Scandinavia Kourtney Tischer.
Channeling Seeger at fundraiser for the PAC
Local musicians
honor folk singer
By PATRICK WEBB
The Astorian
Patrick Webb/The Astorian
Keith Clark celebrated folk
singer Pete Seeger at a
fundraiser on Saturday.
used its Small Business
Development Center when
starting a small business and
SEASIDE — Incum- studies in its historic preser-
bent Andrea Maz-
vation program.
zarella and chal-
She
was
lenger Sara Meyer,
appointed to the col-
candidates for the
lege board in Janu-
Clatsop Commu-
ary 2018 to replace
nity College Board,
Patrick Wingard,
shared many similar
and also serves on
views in a Saturday
the Astoria Bud-
candidate
forum,
get Committee. The
Karen
albeit from different
May election is to
Burke
backgrounds.
fi ll out the remain-
They are running
ing two years of
for Zone 2, Posi-
Wingard’s term.
tion 2, which covers
“I may not be
Astoria and outlying
considered an aca-
neighborhoods.
demic in some tra-
Also at the forum
ditional
senses,
was Karen Burke,
but I do under-
Andrea
a former nurse and
stand how a com-
Mazzarella
instructor who is
munity college not
running unopposed
only builds a strong
for Zone 1, Position
foundation for fur-
1, covering much of
thering your educa-
the eastern portion
tion, but also offers
of Clatsop C ounty.
an opportunity to
The college’s two
explore your cre-
positions covering
ativity,” Mazzarella
South County and
said at the forum,
Sara
Warrenton have no
which was held at
Meyer
candidates and will
the Bob Chisholm
likely be decided by
Community Center
write-in campaigns.
and sponsored by Clatsop
Mazzarella, 38, spent County Democrats.
more than 20 years in the
Meyer, 74, came to Asto-
service industry before ria in the 1970s with her hus-
becoming a real estate agent band, Chuck. She worked at
and delving into community the Tongue Point Job Corps
service. She was in the col- Center and opened the Com-
lege’s Upward Bound high pleat Photographer with her
school enrichment program, husband in 1977, running it
By EDWARD STRATTON
The Astorian
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SATURDAY, MAY 11TH, 2019 • Astoria Golf & Country Club
Schedule of Events: 3:00pm - Champagne Reception
3:30pm - Helicopter Drops Golf Balls
4:00 to 6:00pm - Social & Silent Auction
WHERE TO BUY TICKETS:
*All golf ball ticket sales must be made in advance.
Ticket holders need not be present to win.
-Holly McHone Jewelers, Astoria
-The Sweet Shop, Gearhart
-Any Assistance League Member
SPECIAL THANKS TO OUR MAJOR SPONSORS
the communist “witch hunt”
era of the 1950s.
Clark joined 29 musi-
cians from the North Coast
folk scene who performed
Seeger material, including
many protest anthems of the
1960s.
The event, attended by
240 people, was a fundraiser
for the venue, the Clatsop
Community College Per-
forming Arts Center.
for 40 years.
She served on the Astoria
School Board from 1976 to
1980 and the college board
from 1996 to 2000. She has
a bachelor’s degree from the
University of Oregon.
“I want to serve more,”
Meyer said. “I’ve got the
time now. I’ve got the
experience.”
The college recently pur-
chased the land it leased for
the Marine and Environ-
mental Research and Train-
ing Station, its career-tech-
nical campus at South
Tongue Point. It is trying
to gather $14 million from
a variety of sources to pair
with up to $8 million in
matching state bonds to
build a new maritime sci-
ence center .
Asked how the college
can get the money, Maz-
zarella focused on reach-
ing out to companies that
employ the mariners trained
at the campus and looking
at phasing in improvements
to save money.
Meyer said donors to
the Columbia River Mari-
time Museum should also
be supportive of the expan-
sion of maritime science
education.
Both candidates agreed
on the need to empower
staff, promote the impor-
tance of higher education
and strengthen connections
with K-12 students.
Meyer touted her retired
status as providing more
time to serve on the college
board, while Mazzarella
said she has invested signif-
icant time in learning about
the organization and wants
to delve deeper.
Burke made a call at the
end of the forum for res-
idents interested in serv-
ing as Warrenton and South
County representatives on
the college board.
“Please consider think-
ing about who might serve
and serve us well, because
we do need a fully func-
tioning team to be a good
board,” she said.
Jeffrey
Allan
Hamel
Hamel, 56, of Tillamook, formerly of
Seaside, died in Tillamook on Monday,
April 15, 2019. Waud’s Funeral Home of
Tillamook is in charge of the arrangements.
In lieu of flowers make a donation to
Tillamook animal shelter.
Celebration of life and potluck reception
Saturday, May 11th at 1 p.m.,
Seaside American Legion,
1315 Broadway in Seaside.
For potluck information, contact
Kim Wright at 503-440-7630
Good News from
CANNON BEACH
CHOCOLATE CAFÉ
Beginning Friday, May 17th
we will expand our hours and serve a
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World famous
ESPRESSO
Italian Frittata, Authentic French Toast,
Breakfast Muffins, Chocolate Croissant, and more.
OPENING AT 8 A.M.
ASTORIA GOLF &
COUNTRY CLUB
SEASIDE TEMPS
Most know Keith Clark
as a world-traveled classical
orchestra conductor who has
been the leading light at the
Astoria Music Festival.
But on Saturday, his
musical repertoire embraced
another genre when he took
down his cherished “wall
ornament,” a banjo which
Pete Seeger, a friend of his
father, had had made for him,
and performed in Astoria at
a folk concert to commem-
orate what would have been
Seeger’s 100th birthday.
Clark performed “Wasn’t
That A Time,” a song that
got Seeger in trouble during
College candidates have similar views, different backgrounds
WANTED
l
ua
LONG BEACH, Wash.
— Hundreds of people took
part in Sunday’s Loyalty
Days parade through Long
Beach.
The annual event cele-
brates patriotism.
SENATOR BETSY JOHNSON
NORTH COAST DENTAL CLINIC
We are a volunteer organization focused on promoting self-esteem and
emotional well being of children in our community. 100% of all proceeds
go to children in Clatsop County.
Visit us at:
www.assistanceleaguecp.org
Cannon Beach Chocolate Café
232 N Spruce St., Cannon Beach • 503-436-4331