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THE ASTORIAN • TuESdAy, MARcH 30, 2021
OPINION
editor@dailyastorian.com
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GUEST COLUMN
An Oregon Republican looks to expand Idaho
ark Simmons, a Republican
former speaker of the Oregon
House, was set to testify last
week at the Idaho Legislature in favor
of letting eastern and southern Oregon
counties become part of Idaho.
But a not-so-funny thing happened
in the Idaho Capitol. Nine new COVID-
19 infections were reported there, and
the Idaho Legislature abruptly decided
to shut down for a few
weeks.
Simmons, of Elgin
in Union County, pre-
sided during the 2001-
2002 legislative cycle.
He was among a string
of Republican House
DICK
speakers. Now we have
HUGHES
the longest-serving pre-
siding officers in Oregon
history, both Democrats, in state Senate
President Peter Courtney, of Salem, and
House Speaker Tina Kotek, of Portland.
Simmons’ testimony at the Idaho
Legislature has been rescheduled for
April 12. Mike McCarter, the presi-
dent of the newly formed Citizens for
Greater Idaho and head of Move Ore-
gon’s Border, said testimony would
show that “moving the Oregon/Idaho
border farther from Boise will protect
Idahoans from the ill effects of Ore-
gon’s new drug law,” an apparent ref-
erence to last fall’s passage of Measure
110.
As for the pandemic, the Oregon
House also partially shut down, can-
celing all floor sessions until this
week because people might have been
exposed to someone with COVID-19
during the March 15 or March 16 floor
sessions. That person, presumably a
House member or one of the few staff
in the House chamber, was not publicly
identified.
Oregon, which has required legisla-
tors to wear protective face masks on
the House and Senate floors, had been
among the few states without any coro-
navirus infections among lawmakers.
Unlike Oregon, Idaho neither closed
its Capitol to the public nor required
face masks. Lawmakers were not
allowed to participate remotely, but
public seating was limited and the pub-
lic was allowed to testify remotely.
Idaho politics are a reverse of Ore-
gon’s, which is why some Oregonians
embrace the notion of shifting the state
border. Idaho Republicans are the ones
who hold supermajorities in their Leg-
islature. They outnumber Democrats 28
to 7 in the Idaho Senate and 58 to 12 in
the House. The split is so wide that the
House and Senate committees that will
M
Some Oregon counties are looking to the east.
hear Simmons’ testimony have a com-
bined 20 Rs and five Ds.
Backers of an expanded Idaho sug-
gest, “Areas that vote like Idaho does,
and are economically healthy enough
to be welcomed by Idaho, are eastern,
southern and most of central Oregon,
southeastern Washington and northeast-
ern California.”
It’s a long shot idea that would
require congressional action, but five
Oregon counties — Baker, Grant, Lake,
Malheur and Sherman — have related
measures on their May ballots. Peti-
tion drives also are under way in Curry,
Josephine, Jackson, Klamath, Har-
ney, Morrow and Umatilla counties.
Among the arguments being presented
for the border charge are that “voters
will appreciate Idaho’s overall lower
taxes and red-state values on hot-button
topics.”
One such topic is gun control,
a defining issue of urban and rural
America.
Gun control in Oregon: “Col-
leagues, this is the urban-rural divide,”
Sen. Tim Knopp, R-Bend, said Thurs-
day as the Oregon Senate debated Sen-
ate Bill 554. It would allow the state
and local governments to ban anyone,
including holders of concealed weapons
permits, from bringing firearms onto
public property.
“You wonder why many counties in
Eastern Oregon want a divorce from
Multnomah County? This is why,”
Knopp said.
The bill passed 16 to 7 on a near
party-line vote, with Sen. Betsy John-
son, of Scappoose, the only Democrat
who voted “no.” Five senators declared
potential conflicts of interest because
they have a concealed handgun license:
Senate Republican Leader Fred Girod,
of Lyons; Sen. Lynn Findley, R-Vale;
Knopp; Johnson; and James Manning
Jr., D-Eugene.
Much of the debate came down to
how comfortable people were in being
around anyone carrying a concealed
firearm.
A statewide survey this month by
DHM Research found that 59% of
respondents either strongly or some-
what support the policy behind SB 554.
Responses were divided along geo-
graphic and partisan lines. Support in
the Portland metro area was 69%; Wil-
lamette Valley, 56%; and the rest of the
state, 49%. Among Democrats, sup-
port was 80%, compared with 38% of
Republicans and 54% of other voters.
State law bans most Oregonians from
possessing firearms in public buildings
unless they have a concealed handgun
license, and Knopp described SB 554 as
“a bill in search of a problem.”
Sen. Ginny Burdick, D-Portland,
has long been trying to get the policy
through the Legislature. She said the
identities of Oregon’s nearly 300,000
concealed handgun license holders are
confidential, so it’s unknown whether
any had committed violent crimes in
public buildings.
More on Idaho and gun control:
Back when states appreciated maver-
icks, Idaho produced the liberal U.S.
Sen. Frank Church, who served during
from 1957 to 1981 before losing reelec-
tion. On national issues, Church fre-
quently was out of step with his conser-
vative constituents. But on gun control,
he staunchly opposed any attempt to
hinder Idahoans’ right to bear arms.
By the way, Church was the last
Democrat from Idaho to serve in the
U.S. Senate, just as Vic Atiyeh was the
last Republican governor of Oregon,
serving from 1979 to 1987.
dick Hughes has been covering the
Oregon political scene since 1976.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Interested
R
eading a Chinook Observer story writ-
ten by Jeff Clemens (The Astorian,
March 23), I was interested in the head-
line “… changes on treacherous portion of
Highway 101.” I was curious to see what
changes could be made. A study found that
a particular curve had been the scene of
repeated life-threatening crashes.
The Washington State Department of
Transportation decided to install supple-
mental signs called chevrons, yellow-col-
ored with 40 mph on them, were posted
with reflectors at 80-foot spacing through-
out the whole curve. Time will tell if this
added advisory will caution drivers to slow
down.
This brought to mind a similar situation
drivers here in Clatsop County are faced
with on the same highway farther south
in Warrenton. It’s the S-turn (chicane)
between the Cullaby Lake entrance and
Reed and Hertig packing. There have been
two fatalities in a short period of time, plus
a fiery rollover a few years ago.
So I would like to see the same proac-
tive additions made in this area, such as
Washington has done.
JOHN MEINERS
Astoria
Accessibility
rails End Art Association is grateful to
the Clatsop County Cultural Coalition
and the Oregon Cultural Trust for help pur-
chasing our two new 72-inch by 30-inch
height adjustable Americans with Disabili-
ties Act work tables.
Our goal for 2020-2021 was to improve
on our accessibility for members and
students in Clatsop County who desire
hands-on art experiences. We are now
able to meet some of the disability mem-
ber needs who presently attend groups, and
look forward to our in-person workshops
and classes in the near future.
You can support projects like this by
T
donations to the Oregon Cultural Trust at
culturaltrust.org. The donations become a
direct tax credit on your Oregon income
tax for the year that you donate.
KITTY PAINO
Astoria
Judgmental
he Terminator, in “Terminator 2: Judg-
ment Day,” must have been refer-
ring to spring breakers — and probably
COVID-19 and vaccine deniers — when
he said of humanity: “… it is in your
nature to destroy yourselves.”
DONNA LEE ROLLINS
Astoria
T
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