A5
THE ASTORIAN • THuRSdAy, NOvEmbER 5, 2020
ELECTION 2020
Weber outduels Boothe-Schmidt for state House
By EDWARD STRATTON
and NICOLE BALES
The Astorian
Tillamook Mayor Suzanne Weber out-
dueled Debbie Boothe-Schmidt, a former
trial assistant, in state House District 32,
the first Republican to win the district in
nearly two decades.
With most of the votes counted, Weber
had 54% to Boothe-Schmidt’s 46%.
“I had no idea the amount of support
that I really had,” Weber said. “I worried
throughout the whole thing that reason
wasn’t going to prevail, because of all the
things that are happening in the world right
now.”
Weber has described herself as trying
to bring the North Coast’s brand of rural
common sense to Salem. Boothe-Schmidt,
who owns Phog Bounders Antique Mall in
Astoria, saw herself as a fair-minded for-
mer union bargainer who would represent
working families and small businesses.
Boothe-Schmidt conceded in a post
on Facebook. “I want to thank the work-
ing people of this district who supported
me, from teachers, to nurses, to businesses
owners and the dozens of volunteers,” she
said. “The fight to ensure we all recover
better and more people in our community
have living wage jobs, affordable housing,
‘I HAd NO IdEA THE AmOuNT OF SuPPORT THAT I
REALLy HAd. I WORRIEd THROuGHOuT THE WHOLE
THING THAT REASON WASN’T GOING TO PREvAIL,
bECAuSE OF ALL THE THINGS THAT ARE HAPPENING
IN THE WORLd RIGHT NOW.’
Suzanne Weber
quality education and health care
and clean air and drinking water
is not over.”
Weber said she wants to sit
down with Boothe-Schmidt to
discuss how the district can be
represented in Salem on a bipar-
tisan basis.
The House district cov-
ers Clatsop and parts of Tilla-
mook and Washington counties.
Boothe-Schmidt held a narrow advantage
in Clatsop County, election returns show,
but Weber swept Tillamook and Washing-
ton counties.
State Rep. Tiffiny Mitchell, D-Asto-
ria, did not run for reelection because of a
move to Washington state, leaving the seat
open. Republicans saw the campaign as one
of their best chances to flip a district Demo-
crats have controlled since 2002.
Campaign donors pumped
more than $2 million into the
race, with most of the money
from interests based in Salem and
Portland, making it among the
most expensive in Oregon this
year.
Weber was largely backed by
industry and regional businesses.
Boothe-Schmidt was mainly sup-
ported by labor unions.
Weber has ridden the momentum of
rural advocacy group #TimberUnity and a
backlash against cap-and-trade legislation
that would have taxed industrial polluters,
such as the Georgia-Pacific Wauna Mill, for
going over a carbon emissions cap.
Mitchell faced a recall petition from
#TimberUnity over her support for the
climate change legislation. Republicans
staged walkouts in 2019 and 2020 to avoid
voting on the issue.
Boothe-Schmidt, a board member on
the Sunset Empire Transportation District,
was hand-picked by Democrats to run for
Mitchell’s seat. She was noncommittal on
whether she would have supported cap and
trade, while Weber would not say whether
she would have joined the walkouts.
The House race took a more combat-
ive tone in the shadow of one of the most
divisive presidential elections in U.S. his-
tory. Weber’s campaign called Boothe-
Schmidt a pawn of urban liberals who want
to defund the police. Boothe-Schmidt’s
campaign said Weber is no different than
far-right conservatives wanting to restrict a
woman’s independence in health care deci-
sions like abortion.
The candidates split on the corporate
activity tax enacted by the state Legislature
to finance the Student Success Act. The
legislation is intended to add an estimated
$1 billion a year in funding to help improve
the state’s chronically poor graduation and
dropout rates.
Boothe-Schmidt, who supports the tax,
claimed Weber wants to take education
funding away. Weber, a retired teacher,
called education funding her top priority
but said the tax needs to be overhauled.
Clatsop County voters reject Second Amendment sanctuary
‘THE FAILuRE OF THIS mEASuRE IS A vOTE OF
SuPPORT FOR SHERIFF dEPuTIES, THE OFFICE
OF SHERIFF ANd A SIGN OF TRuST IN THE
dISCRETION WE ARE ALLOWEd TO EXERCISE
IN CONSERvING THE PEACE.’
By NICOLE BALES
The Astorian
Voters overwhelmingly rejected a ballot
measure Tuesday to make Clatsop County a
Second Amendment sanctuary.
Measure 4-205, designed by gun rights
activists, would have prohibited county
resources from being used to enforce any
local, state and federal law or regulation that
restricts the right to keep and bear firearms,
accessories or ammunition.
The measure failed by a 61% to 39%
margin.
Leading up to the election, Sheriff Matt
Phillips and the mayors of Astoria, Gear-
hart, Seaside and Cannon Beach came out in
opposition to the idea. Phillips also warned
that the county could take legal action if the
measure passed.
“I appreciate that the voters of Clat-
sop County educated themselves on this
Sheriff Matt Phillips
measure and recognized it was not what it
appeared at first blush,” Phillips, who was
officially elected sheriff on Tuesday, said in
a text message.
“The failure of this measure is a vote of
support for sheriff deputies, the office of
sheriff and a sign of trust in the discretion
we are allowed to exercise in conserving the
peace.”
District Attorney Ron Brown had said he
believes the measure was unconstitutional.
Jim Hoffman, a leader in the Clatsop
County Republican Party, collected the sig-
natures to qualify the measure for the ballot.
Rob Taylor, a gun rights activist from
Coos County and chairman of the Com-
mittee for the Preservation of the Second
Amendment, helped craft the measure. Tay-
lor also worked with the Oregon Firearms
Federation and the Tenth Amendment Cen-
ter to customize the measure for ballots in
counties throughout the state.
The measure was modeled after sanctu-
ary laws that limit police cooperation with
federal immigration agents.
Hoffman said he thinks the opposition
from elected leaders turned voters against
the measure.
“I think, unfortunately, that people just
didn’t understand,” he said. “It wouldn’t
stop law enforcement from doing their job. It
wouldn’t stop, if say, somebody had an ille-
gal gun — it wouldn’t stop them from tak-
ing that gun.”
Voters in Columbia, Coos and Uma-
tilla counties also considered the measure
Tuesday.
The measure was narrowly passing in
Columbia County. It was rejected in Coos
County. The measure was approved in Uma-
tilla County, although the East Oregonian
reported it could face legal challenges.
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