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THE ASTORIAN • TuESdAy, ApRIl 27, 2021
OPINION
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GUEST COLUMN
Appointment comes with big paycheck
O
h, what to do if you’re ready to
exit the Oregon Legislature? How
about one of the cushiest jobs in
state government.
Actually, it’s more of a federal job, but
why quibble about the details when the
work comes with a $142,848 annual pay-
check and a potentially hefty increase in
state pension benefits.
This month, Gov. Kate Brown
appointed a longtime col-
league, state Sen. Ginny
Burdick, D-Portland, as
one of Oregon’s two rep-
resentatives on the North-
west Power and Conser-
vation Council. Congress
created the four-state
DICK
commission in 1980
HUGHES
to establish and main-
tain long-range plans for
power generation coupled with protec-
tion for fish and wildlife. As described in
the council history, it was born from “our
region’s disastrous experiment with build-
ing nuclear power plants in the 1970s and
early 1980s.”
If you don’t remember ill-fated
WPPSS — derisively pronounced
“whoops” as the acronym for the Wash-
ington Public Power Supply System —
you’re fortunate. It became the largest
municipal bond default in U.S. history.
You’re still paying for that poor plan-
ning and inept execution. The region owes
nearly $5 billion on the one nuclear plant
that is operating and two that never were
finished. Those costs, which gradually are
being paid off, constitute one-third of the
wholesale power rate that the Bonneville
Power Administration charges its whole-
sale customers.
So there’s a role for the Northwest
Power and Conservation Council.
“It’s very important work. It’s very
complicated work,” said Burdick, who
admits to a wonky side.
A spate of ex-legislators
Burdick will take office Nov. 1, allow-
ing former Oregon state Sen. Richard
Devlin, who chairs the council, to fin-
ish working on the latest revision of the
20-year power plan.
Brown had appointed Devlin, D-Tu-
alatin, and Senate Republican Leader Ted
Ferrioli, of John Day, to three-year terms
that ended this year. On April 1, Ferr-
ioli was succeeded by Chuck Sams of
the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla
Indian Reservation. Like Sams, Burdick
must be confirmed by the Oregon Senate,
which should be a given.
Whether Democrats or Republicans,
half of Oregon’s appointees since the
council’s inception have been former leg-
islators and other elected officials. They
include congressman Bob Duncan; sec-
Dave Killen/The Oregonian
The Northwest Power and Conservation Council looks at energy and environmental needs.
retaries of state Norma Paulus and Bill
Bradbury; and state senators Ted Hal-
lock, Joyce Cohen, Gene Derfler and Joan
Dukes.
Oregon generosity
The four member states set their own
salaries for the job. Oregon’s $142,848
pay is well above the others: Washington,
$115,000; Idaho, $119,995; and Montana,
$122,464.
Oregon also finagles the finances so its
members can get the Public Employees
Retirement System, which usually means
a huge pension increase if they already
were in PERS. The other states’ members
have a different retirement setup.
Bonneville, the federal power-market-
ing organization, pays the council, which
in turn pays the council members from
Washington, Idaho and Montana. But
Oregon’s members are paid by the Ore-
gon Department of Energy, which then is
reimbursed by the council.
What does it take to be an expert? The
council has a professional staff at its Port-
land headquarters and four small regional
offices in Portland; Vancouver, Washing-
ton; Eagle, Idaho; and Helena, Montana.
Devlin told me that he spends his days
doing reading, more reading, and in all
sorts of meetings. “We commonly work
hard to reach agreement on issues,” he
said. “We commonly look for compro-
mises that people can live with that meet
their needs.”
To illustrate how quickly the plan-
ning scene changes, he cited batteries and
fish runs. In just the time he’s been on the
council, large-scale batteries for power
storage have gone from being experimen-
tal to becoming part of a utility’s mix. On
the other hand, he said, some fish runs
now look dismal compared with only a
few years ago.
In approaching Burdick about the job,
Brown wanted someone with collabora-
tive skills, which Burdick honed during
24 years in the Senate. Though the pub-
lic best knows Burdick for her gun con-
trol advocacy, she’s relishes digging into
tough issues, whether the ignominious
Business Energy Tax Credit or cannabis
regulation.
And long before entering the Legisla-
ture, Burdick worked for Atlantic Rich-
field Co.; directed environmental analysis
for corporate clients; and reported on the
environment and energy as a journalist.
Brown makes diversity a key criterion
for appointments, and Burdick will be the
only woman currently on the eight-mem-
ber council.
The cascading effect
A gubernatorial appointment, whether
to the power council or another job, can
be a way to reward an ally, sideline a
political foe, gracefully retire a legislator
or open the path for a new legislator.
In this case, as with Devlin’s appoint-
ment, the changes likely will shift the
Senate Democratic caucus further to the
left and away from centrist Senate Pres-
ident Peter Courtney, D-Salem, with
whom Burdick had a close working rela-
tionship. Through a spokesman, Court-
ney declined to comment on Burdick’s
appointment.
Sen. Rob Wagner, D-Lake Oswego,
took Devlin’s Senate seat in 2018 and
quickly established himself as a rising star
of the progressive wing. Last year, he suc-
ceeded Burdick as Senate majority leader.
Burdick will stay in the Legislature
through the 2021 session and a potential
special session on redistricting. She said
the timing is good. “I have been here for
24 years,” she said. “I think it’s time for a
new challenge.”
As has been noted by Gary Warner,
my colleague with the Oregon Capital
Bureau, there undoubtedly will be a fierce
fight to gain the appointment to fill Bur-
dick’s vacancy from Senate District 18.
By law, the Multnomah and Washing-
ton county commissioners must choose
someone from her party, thus a Demo-
crat. Unlike the days of yore, it’s become
quite difficult for a centrist Democrat to
win appointment or election in the Port-
land area.
Potential candidates include the first-
time state representatives from the two
House districts that make up the Sen-
ate district — Dacia Grayber, D-Tigard,
and Lisa Reynolds, D-Portland. Choosing
either one would set off a similar process
to fill the then-vacant House seat.
dick Hughes has been covering the
Oregon political scene since 1976.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
No one to blame
n 1956, I was in the eighth grade.
During this year, my school taught a
class on the Constitutional Convention
that created the Constitution we live with
today.
This subject was taught for two full
weeks, and required all students of this
grade level to hear all the major arguments
of both sides showing the major debates
of how the most contentious issues were
argued, and ultimately resolved, so that the
states agreed to merge together as a single
country.
Hearing both sides of the argument and
watching the political process happen was
very interesting to me, as I had no under-
standing of government up to that time.
During the 1950s there was a TV pro-
gram called “Omnibus,” that was shown
on CBS, ABC and NBC in different years,
that was devoted to running public educa-
tion programs on many subjects, including
the Constitution — no PBS in those days.
It was a public service by the major net-
works, and paid for by sponsors as a pub-
lic service. Those days are long gone, and
it appears to me that the general public has
little to no interest in how all levels of gov-
ernment work today, and how it ultimately
affects their lives.
Apathy, or just a feeling that govern-
ment is beyond the average person’s con-
trol, has led to politics run by activists
determined to cram their personal desires
onto everyone else.
Voters have no one to blame but them-
selves if they do not participate.
SCOTT WIDDICOMBE
Warrenton
ber industry by approving indiscriminate
cutting of trees damaged by fire that are on
public land adjacent to highways.
According to Oregon Public Broadcast-
ing, environmental groups have co-signed
a letter to Deb Haaland, U.S. secretary of
the interior, asking her to stop ODOT’s
“reckless” and “mismanaged” tree-cutting
operations.
The situation echoes the malfeasance
and ignorance displayed in 2018, when
OPB reported that ODOT hired a contrac-
tor to spray a weed killer near Sisters that
was toxic to ponderosa pines.
The spraying, on U.S. Forest Service
land along Highway 20, eventually killed
many old growth ponderosas, which were
then needlessly fast-tracked for removal in
the name of public safety; an outcome that
pleased only the timber companies.
In the current situation, ODOT’s mis-
management involves the cutting of many
trees that could be saved, according to
several professional arborists, including
Tom Ford, the lead arborist for the com-
pany ODOT hired to plan a post–fire strat-
egy, who was later terminated without
explanation.
The excessive post-fire tree cutting tak-
ing place is another example of ODOT and
the Forest Service playing footsie with the
timber industry.
Culpability for mismanagement, and
the likeliness of corruption, are obfuscated,
but the motivation is the same as those
who occupied the Malheur National Wild-
life Refuge; a narrow definition of pub-
lic land that favors vested interests, while
ignoring science and the will of the people.
ROGER DORBAND
Astoria
Tree removal fiasco
Dig safely
n the name of public safety, the Oregon
Department of Transportation and the
U.S. Forest Service are benefiting the tim-
S
I
I
pring is here. With the ground ready for
planting, you might be gearing up to
start an outdoor project that involves dig-
ging. Before you reach for that shovel,
remember to call 811 before you dig.
April is National Safe Digging Month,
a designation to remind us that our land
has a complex underground infrastructure
of pipelines, wires and cables. Striking an
underground utility line while digging can
cause harm to you or those around you,
disrupt service to an entire neighborhood
and potentially result in fines and repair
costs.
That’s why it’s important to call 811
or submit a request via our NW Natu-
ral Safety App at least two business days
before digging, regardless of depth or
familiarity with the property. It’s free and
it’s the law.
Most importantly, no damage is too
minor to report — even a small dent or
scratch could weaken a pipeline. If, while
digging, you accidentally hit a gas line,
report it immediately by calling 911 or
NW Natural’s 24-hour emergency line at
800-882-3377.
Also, always remember: Smell. Go. Let
us know. If you smell natural gas, leave
the area immediately, then call us at 800-
882-3377, and we will come over to check
things out.
We hope you have a beautiful and safe
spring. For more tips, visit nwnatural.com
TERESA BROWNLIE
NW Natural Community Affairs
Astoria
Infrastructure
he county I reside in has infrastructure
that was better 50 years ago than it is
today. As concerns the rail line, the span is
closer to 100 years.
Too expensive? Waiting longer won’t
make it any cheaper.
CHRIS CONNAWAY
Astoria
T