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THE ASTORIAN • SATuRdAy, OcTObER 5, 2019
OPINION
editor@dailyastorian.com
KARI BORGEN
Publisher
DERRICK DePLEDGE
Editor
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JEREMY FELDMAN
circulation Manager
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BEHIND THE NEWS
‘I did my due diligence’
tate Rep. Tiffiny Mitchell is the tar-
get of a recall drive by #Timbe-
rUnity over her vote for cap and
trade.
But House Bill 2020 — which would
have squeezed industrial polluters and
consumers to reduce fossil-fuel consump-
tion and cut greenhouse gas emissions —
wasn’t a difficult choice
for the Astoria Democrat.
She campaigned last year
on the need for action on
climate change.
Her hardest vote was
in May for a new law
that trims benefits to help
DERRICK
contain the $26 billion
DePLEDGE
unfunded liability in the
Public Employees Retire-
ment System. Mitchell, who worked
for the state Department of Human Ser-
vices and was a member of the Service
Employees International Union, was
elected with union help.
“For those who are angered by my
vote, I hope they know that I looked at
this issue from every angle, thought about
it, fought against it, and only arrived at
the final outcome after significant delib-
eration and, from a human level, a lot of
tears,” she wrote in a vote explanation.
“This was an incredibly complex issue,
and I made the hardest decision of my
life knowing that there would be a lot of
implications and consequences for it.”
Two unions that represent public
workers have already struck back. The
Oregon American Federation of State,
County and Municipal Employees will
disqualify lawmakers who voted for pen-
sion reform from the endorsement pro-
cess in next year’s elections. The Oregon
AFL-CIO will restrict contributions and
support.
Mitchell will learn in December
whether #TimberUnity gathers enough
signatures to force a recall election. If not,
she would still be up for reelection next
year in House District 32.
In an interview, Mitchell talked about
her pension vote, cap and trade, the recall
and the lessons of her first session.
Q: The state House approved pen-
sion reform 31-29 in May only after
two Democrats switched their votes.
Many of your supporters in the labor
movement saw your vote as a betrayal.
How much pressure was there from
House leadership?
A: I like to say that I do my research
on big bills and complex topics. So in the
terms of personal pressure, there really
wasn’t pressure.
S
Hailey Hoffman/The Astorian
State Rep. Tiffiny Mitchell described pension reform as her hardest vote.
There was obviously internal strug-
gle because I had my values that I went
in with, that I really wanted to represent,
and found myself in a position of realiz-
ing that this issue was much larger than I
thought it was before I had been elected.
And having to wrestle with those values,
essentially.
So, at the end of the day, I did the only
thing that I could do, which was think
about what was most important to me and
that was protecting the pension and the
people who I worked with. Because I was
a state employee and an SEIU member,
my own retirement is going to be through
PERS.
As someone who believes that pen-
sions are an incredibly important part of
retirement security for people, I did what
I had to to be able to protect that pension
long term for the employees that desper-
ately deserve them.
Q: In hindsight, do you still feel it
was the right choice?
A: If there were a better alternative, I
would take the better alternative.
But we didn’t have any better alterna-
tives at the time, and I don’t see the poten-
tial for better alternatives in the future.
Q: You campaigned on the need for
Oregon to take steps to combat climate
change. But do you think the House
should have moved forward on House
Bill 2020 — and place lawmakers like
you at political risk — when Demo-
crats weren’t sure they had the votes in
the Senate?
A: At the time that that bill moved for-
ward, they were pretty sure they had the
votes in the Senate to get it to pass. So
there was confidence on that end of it.
It only changed, really, after the House
had made that vote.
And, again, as someone who prides
themselves on trying to do an awful lot of
research on those big topics before mak-
ing those big decisions, I did my due dili-
gence in trying to understand every single
component of that particular issue, spent a
lot of time listening to people.
There was incredibly strong support
from the district for that bill, so I moved
forward and voted confidently on some-
thing that I knew would actually be ben-
eficial to Oregon and the Oregonians
that live here in our communities that
are already being impacted by climate
change.
Q: What should happen now?
A: For me, it means continuing to lis-
ten to the constituency here in what they
would like to see moving forward in a cli-
mate bill.
I don’t think it’s a matter of if, but
when, another bill is going to be intro-
duced. I’ve heard rumblings that that will
be in the short session.
So all I can do is say climate change is
an actual real threat to our communities.
We should move forward in doing some-
thing to help mitigate and adapt to the
changes that we will see here, because we
are in a very, I think, precarious position
where we are geographically to be really
impacted by climate change.
Q: You were one of 36 House Demo-
crats to vote for HB 2020. Why do you
think #Timber Unity has targeted you
for recall?
A: I wish I could answer that question
because I honestly don’t know.
Again, as you pointed out, I was not
the deciding vote on that particular bill ...
There were a lot of people that voted for
that bill because it was the right thing to
do.
I can’t control what other people do.
All I can do is control what I do. And,
as of right now, the way that I have cho-
sen to deal with the situation and react to
it is to still focus on what my responsi-
bilities are as a state representative to the
area, and to focus on my constituents and
my work.
Q: This was your first legislative ses-
sion in Salem. What did you learn that
you didn’t know when you got elected?
A: You always know that there’s more
nuance to an issue than probably you nor-
mally hear and see.
Typically, people only have exposure
to issues at a very surface level, just based
off of what they’re able to read and digest.
As a legislator, you really have to be will-
ing to do that deep dive and to understand
just how complex all of these issues are.
I think that was the biggest thing that I
learned, is that topics are a lot more com-
plex and more nuanced when you get to
those state-level problems.
Q: #TimberUnity mailers urging
your recall have started to arrive at
people’s homes. When you talk with
voters individually, what do you most
want them to know about you as a
legislator?
A: The values that I presented to peo-
ple about who I am are still true.
And that I am doing everything that
I can to best represent the community in
solving issues that people on their door-
steps told me they had concerns about.
Things like wanting to make sure that
their kids get a high-quality education,
making sure that they can afford their
health care.
Climate change is also one of those
issues that people in their doors said that
they were concerned about.
I feel like through a lot of the bills
that we were able to pass this session
... I think we really delivered on those
promises. And I am really proud of those
accomplishments, and happy to defend
myself whenever I’m up for election,
because I think that we did a lot of really
great things.
derrick dePledge is the editor of The
Astorian.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Reject recall
believe we all should reject the attempt to
recall Rep. Tiffiny Mitchell.
Foremost, she is a hardworking Orego-
nian, doing yeoman duty to find a balance on
complex problems such as climate change,
school funding, health care, the state bud-
get and the Public Employees Retirement
System.
Go to her website and read the newslet-
ters to see the depth of thought and consider-
ation she gives to the positions she takes on
these complicated and contentious issues.
She is doing her level best to find solu-
tions and common ground among her many
constituencies: industry, workers, manage-
ment, unions, environmental advocates, ordi-
nary citizens and so on. She is transparent in
her work, accessible to her community, and
has held numerous town halls.
Secondly, this is an abuse of the recall
process. Recall should be reserved for offi-
cials who are derelict in their duty, who are
guilty of either unethical, immoral, or illegal
behavior, or are not fulfilling the basic duties
of the job. Recall should not be used as a
remedy for disagreement over policy; to do
so assaults our democratic structure.
Rep. Mitchell is working daily to improve
the lives of hardworking Oregonians by try-
ing to provide affordable access to health
care, protect the environment, fund educa-
tion and provide affordable housing. And
lastly, Mitchell is so selfless, she is currently
in the process of donating a kidney, without
even knowing the recipient.
This is not a person to remove from
office. Quite the opposite. This is a per-
son to sincerely thank for her devoted pub-
lic service.
ERIC HALPERIN
Gearhart
I
Save Norriston Heights
he Oregon Department of Forestry has
delayed for now a plan to clearcut a
77-acre forest next to Hug Point and Arcadia
Beach State Recreation Site. Recently, citi-
T
zens filled the Clatsop County commission-
ers’ chambers to discuss with ODF why the
forest should be preserved.
ODF did not dispute a clearcut could
jeopardize the quality and supply of drink-
ing water. Just like clearcutting contributed
to contamination of drinking water in Rock-
away Beach. That is because clearcutting too
close to drinking water sources often results
in clearcut debris eroding into streams, con-
taminating drinking water and endangering
wildlife.
ODF also did not dispute that tourism is
important to our North Coast economy. Peo-
ple visit the North Coast for its beauty, rec-
reation and wildlife. Yet this clearcut will be
visible from these recreation areas and U.S.
Highway 101, our scenic highway. A clear-
cut will contribute to the extinction of the
marbled murrelet seabird and destroy wild-
life habitat.
ODF pointed out local governments ben-
efit financially from clearcuts. How does this
benefit compare to the long-term costs of
contaminated or inadequate drinking water,
lost property values and lost tourism dollars?
One point was clear: ODF is funded from
timber sales. ODF might not be as inclined
to support clearcutting our forests, especially
those near drinking water sources and rec-
reation areas, if it was funded instead by the
general treasury.
Urge ODF to preserve our Norriston
Heights forest. Urge your legislators to over-
haul forestry practices to protect drinking
water and wildlife.
LAURA ALLEN
Seaside
Working hard
very day I see my neighbors working
hard to support their families and con-
tribute to our community here in Cannon
Beach.
I’m glad that we have state Rep. Tiffiny
Mitchell, who stands with working fami-
lies. She voted for a law guaranteeing paid
family medical leave for all Oregonians, and
secured funding for health care for thousands
E
of our neighbors.
Between these, and passing an income tax
credit that will benefit seniors and everyone
here on the coast, I am sure she’s the kind of
leader we need.
MARY BETH COTTLE
Cannon Beach
Courage
felt something akin to awe reading
“Rep. Mitchell prepares to donate a kid-
ney” (The Astorian, Sept. 17). What cour-
age. It reminds me of her courage in voting
for measures that some in this community
oppose, such as the ironically named #Tim-
berUnity group.
Rep. Mitchell endeavors to explain her
votes, both in her monthly letters and in her
town hall meetings. She is straight-forward,
fact-driven and concerned for her hardwork-
ing constituents, voting for laws that help
those communities, not harm them, laws that
support the environment and schools, laws
that prevent pharmaceutical companies from
raising drug prices without notice and laws
that provide for greater transparency in cam-
paign finance.
Of course, #TimberUnity members have
every right to their opinion. However, a
recall effort should be focused on malfea-
sance in office, not simply a disagreement
with a particular vote or votes. You don’t like
the way Rep. Mitchell has voted? Then vote
I
her out of office at the next general election.
That is the way an orderly democracy works.
MERIDEE FABER
Warrenton
Unity
like the word “unity” in this #TimberUnity
movement idea. Because unity is what we
are going to need if we are to ever survive
this climate crisis.
I am a 76-year-old still-working Ore-
gonian. I have made my living as a logger,
commercial fisherman, truck driver and in
construction.
I am standing up for my grandchildren
and their future world. A world I hope will
be healthy, with clean air and clean water. I
don’t want anyone to lose their job, but we
all need to change how we do our jobs if we
are going to leave a livable world for our
children and grandchildren.
We can all win if we begin to make our
changes now. And if you think these first
small steps are expensive, wait until you see
what it will cost if we do nothing.
What will you tell your grandchildren
when they ask: Why didn’t you do some-
thing, if you knew what was happening?
Let’s stop calling names, dividing into for
and against — let’s work together in unity
for healthy lives for our young ones.
TED MESSING
Astoria
I