A4
THE ASTORIAN • TuESdAy, ApRIl 13, 2021
OPINION
editor@dailyastorian.com
KARI BORGEN
publisher
DERRICK DePLEDGE
Editor
Founded in 1873
SHANNON ARLINT
Circulation Manager
JOHN D. BRUIJN
production Manager
CARL EARL
Systems Manager
GUEST COLUMN
On tech glitches and accessibility
T
he Oregon Capitol remains
closed to the public. But the
supermajority Democrats say
the 2021 legislative session is the most
open, transparent and accessible on
record, thanks to the use of technology.
Reader Jen Hamaker disagrees, and
she’s a layperson who has worked to
embrace that technology.
“This session has
been extremely frustrat-
ing, and I feel further
silences and marginal-
ized rural Oregonians,”
Hamaker told me.
Her views may be
partisan, but she’s right.
DICK
The technology can be
HUGHES
glitchy and confusing.
The Oregon Legis-
lature does most of its work in com-
mittees. In many ways, the Legisla-
ture has made an astounding transition
from in-person committee meetings to
videoconferences. Regardless of where
Oregonians live, they can testify on
bills by phone or video without having
to drive to Salem.
Yet it seems a stretch to cast the
81st Legislative Assembly as the par-
agon of accessibility and public
participation.
Legislators can’t always see each
other during committee meetings,
which are conducted via Microsoft
Teams. Balky connections frequently
cause people to miss their turn to tes-
tify. Committee documents some-
times have been inaccessible. In rare
instances, the House and Senate floor
sessions had to halt because the live
video for public viewing had crashed.
Hamaker brought another issue to
my attention. If a bill is rescheduled
for a hearing on a different day, the
previously submitted written testimony
seems to disappear. When Hamaker
asked legislators and staff about that,
they said testimony doesn’t carry over
to a new meeting date, so people must
resubmit it.
But Misty Mason Freeman, director
of the Legislative Policy and Research
Office, told me that’s always been the
case. The original testimony is still
there, if people know to click on a dif-
ferent tab.
At the least, it’s confusing.
Lessons learned: I took advantage
of my interactions with Freeman to ask
about any technology lessons that have
emerged from this virtual legislative
session.
Amanda Loman/Salem Reporter
The Oregon Capitol is closed to the public because of the coronavirus pandemic.
BAlKy CONNECTIONS FREQuENTly
CAuSE pEOplE TO MISS THEIR TuRN TO
TESTIFy. COMMITTEE dOCuMENTS
SOMETIMES HAVE BEEN INACCESSIBlE. IN RARE
INSTANCES, THE HOuSE ANd SENATE FlOOR
SESSIONS HAd TO HAlT BECAuSE THE lIVE
VIdEO FOR puBlIC VIEWING HAd CRASHEd.
“I do think that folks who down-
load the full Microsoft Teams app
are having an easier time participat-
ing in meetings than those who use the
browser version,” she said.
“There are also many ways we are
continuing to refine our systems. For
example, we continue to update our
testimony sign-ups to be easier to read
and the follow-up email more straight-
forward. Our Information Systems
partners have made improvements like
making clickable links to the online
portal for submitting written testimony
and the testimony sign-up page. We
are also getting better at ‘pinning’ ASL
interpreters and working with Spanish
language interpreters during meetings.
We still have a lot to learn though!”
And the view from the top: Danny
Moran, the communications director
for state House Speaker Tina Kotek,
D-Portland, gave this response to my
questions about technology:
“The speaker’s focus for this ses-
sion continues to be keeping people
safe while doing the people’s work.
More Oregonians are participating in
the legislative process due to the use
of technology, while preventing the
spread of COVID-19. Legislators and
nonpartisan staff has worked incred-
ibly hard to manage this technology
during an unprecedented session and
there have been many improvements
each week since the start of the ses-
sion to improve the user and member
experience. Speaker Kotek has col-
laborated with Republican vice chairs
to get their input on how to make
improvements.”
Don’t write in ink on your calen-
dar: Committee chairs reschedule bills
for many reasons. One is for the con-
venience of the sponsoring legislators
or supporting organizations. Another
is because proposed amendments have
not been worked out. And often it’s for
lack of time on a crowded agenda.
As of Thursday, the Legislature was
halfway through this year’s 60-day
session. This is a point when it is dif-
ficult to look at a committee’s agenda
and tell what actually is happening.
Tuesday is a critical deadline for
many committees to act on bills; other-
wise, they die.
“A number of those bills at the end
of the day won’t be ready by dead-
line,” Kotek said during her media
briefing last week. “Things are pretty
fluid. Getting the paperwork back. Try-
ing to get the amendments done.”
Time is everything: An additional
issue that Hamaker raised is that some
people get several minutes to testify on
a bill; others get less than one.
Because of those crowded agendas,
individuals often are limited to two
or three minutes of testimony. Some-
times, the limit is as little as 30 sec-
onds, as happened last month when
the House Agriculture and Natural
Resources Committee took testimony
on House Bill 2844 regarding beavers.
The committee chair, Rep. Brad
Witt, D-Clatskanie, allowed the propo-
nents’ panel to speak for 10 minutes.
The opponents’ panel was stopped at
six minutes. A few members of the
public then were given one minute
each to talk.
When Rep. Jami Cate, R-Lebanon
asked whether there would be another
opportunity to hear public testimony,
Witt responded, “Unfortunately, no.
Our agenda’s just too full. I’m sorry.”
The bill apparently is dead —
unless it’s resuscitated before the Leg-
islature adjourns for the year.
On the other hand, committees
sometimes are wrongly accused of
shortchanging public testimony. Sen.
Bill Kennemer, R-Canby, said during
the debate on a contentious firearms
measure, Senate Bill 554, that testi-
mony had been limited to only one
minute per person in the Senate Judi-
ciary Committee. That Republican
talking point was making the rounds,
but it was wrong. Kennemer apolo-
gized when the Senate next met.
Committee chair Sen. Floyd
Prozanski, D-Eugene, had allowed
three minutes per person, although the
nearly four-hour hearing ended before
many people got a chance to speak.
dick Hughes has been covering the
Oregon political scene since 1976.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Many thanks
O
ver the past 14 months, I have found
it necessary to visit the Astoria
Department of Motor Vehicles office on
three different occasions, and on each of
those occasions I found the representatives
there to be professional, knowledgeable,
helpful and friendly.
Each time, I received guidance from
one of them, I found their body of knowl-
edge impressive, not to mention accu-
rate, and appropriate to my situation. I was
also taken by how organized they were,
and the manner in which they kept the line
moving.
Many thanks to those who helped me
navigate my way through the paperwork I
needed to complete.
MARTI WAJC
Seaside
Valid point
R
egarding the April 6 letter, “What
chance do we have?”: I thought the
letter’s concluding paragraph makes a
valid point:
“Where an old man in charge who has
his wits about him is an asset, especially if
he is a good negotiator, a stumbling, bum-
bling, incoherent old man in the White
House is incapable of dealing with these
ruthless thugs.”
The writer seems not to realize that
Donald Trump is no longer in office.
ALLEN GOODMAN
Astoria
Clean slate
W
e are getting close to the May elec-
tions. Many of us do not give this
election and ballot items the consideration
and attention they need. The majority of
Seaside and some outlying areas will vote
on board members for the Sunset Empire
Park and Recreation District.
A district is formed by local citizens to
meet an important need. Examples might
LETTERS WELCOME
Letters should be exclusive to The
Astorian. Letters should be fewer
than 250 words and must include the
writer’s name, address and phone
number. You will be contacted to
confirm authorship. All letters are
subject to editing for space, gram-
mar and factual accuracy. Only two
letters per writer are allowed each
month. Letters written in response
be a fire district, a water district, or in this
case, a park and recreation district; they all
have their own boards.
to other letter writers should address
the issue at hand and should refer to
the headline and date the letter was
published. Discourse should be civil.
Send via email to editor@dailyasto-
rian.com, online at bit.ly/astorianlet-
ters, in person at 949 Exchange St.
in Astoria or mail to Letters to the
Editor, P.O. Box 210, Astoria, OR.,
97103.
Members of district boards should be
selected on their dedication to service,
their willingness to meet as concerns come
up and they should have a strong under-
standing of business practices and how a
well-managed district should work.
The Seaside area is in need of new
approaches and direction for our park and
recreational services. As a member of the
community, I hope you will take the time
to understand the concerns, challenges and
management style that is in place, and vote
for a clean slate of board members.
Their platforms of transparency, fis-
cal responsibility, ability to listen, lead and
supervise show a bright future for our park
and recreation district. Al Hernandez, Pat-
rick Duhachek, John Huismann, Jackie
Evans and Stephen Morrison are ready for
positive leadership.
KATHY SAMSEL
Seaside