A2
Labor Day kicks off
2022 election season
THE ASTORIAN • TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 2021
IN BRIEF
Man hospitalized after hatchet attack
An alleged hatchet attack on Aug. 28 in Warrenton
put a 50-year-old man in the hospital.
The victim, a transient, said the incident took place
behind Goodwill in the vicinity of a homeless camp.
He was taken to Columbia Memorial Hospital in Asto-
ria, then to a hospital in the Portland area, and will
likely survive, Warrenton police said in a press release.
The Clatsop County Major Crime team is still investi-
gating. “Currently, investigators have no reason to believe
there is a threat to the general public,” the release stated.
Contact Detective Tyler Johnston at 503-861-2235
or tjohnston@ci.warrenton.or.us to off er information.
— The Astorian
Seaside man killed in crash
A person was killed and another fl own to St. Charles
Bend with life-threatening injuries early Thursday
after a driver reportedly ran a stop sign on U.S. High-
way 97 between Sunriver and La Pine, Oregon State
Police said in a news release.
Seaside resident Robert Owens, 56, was pronounced
dead around 1:05 a.m. at the scene of the wreck.
According to the preliminary investigation by police,
Owens was the passenger in a Dodge Caravan driven by
Sherri Wood, of Lyons, who police say entered the high-
way at Vandervert Road without stopping.
Wood, 46, struck the driver’s side of a commercial
vehicle heading north. The commercial vehicle caught
fi re and burned “beyond recognition,” police said.
Wood was taken to the hospital, while the driver of
the commercial vehicle escaped uninjured.
— The Bulletin
Gearhart considers parks master plan
GEARHART — In a parks survey conducted by the
Gearhart Parks Master Plan Advisory Committee, res-
idents found many ways to say the same thing when it
comes to their love of beaches, local parks, walking and
bike trails.
The plan, delivered in draft form last week,
describes a potential for improving facilities for east‐
west travel across U.S. Highway 101 and new parks
throughout the city. It emphasizes support for exist-
ing parks and trails like the Ridge Path, Lesley Miller
Dunes Meadow Park and the 10th Street beach access.
“It was interesting to note how much of the com-
munity agrees,” George Van Hoomissen, the chairman
of the committee, said. “There are some areas of some
disagreement. But there is far more consensus in our
communities.”
Job fair planned in Astoria
For Oregon’s Back to Work Day, WorkSource Oregon
Astoria is hosting a drive-thru job fair with local busi-
nesses in the Burger King parking lot on Marine Drive.
The event will be held from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on
Sept. 15.
Since many businesses are short-handed, they will
also provide the option of having job seekers applying
in-person at their work site. Employers are responsible
for selecting what hours between 11 a.m. and 6 p.m.
that they want people to arrive, and providing some-
one who will greet them and provide information.
Interested businesses need to register in
advance with Debbie Newton, who can be reached at
debbie.m.newton@oregon.gov
— The Astorian
PUBLIC MEETINGS
ON THE RECORD
Robbery
On
Record
• Keith the
Alan Byman,
33, of Longview, Washington,
was arrested on Thursday afternoon behind Kentucky
Fried Chicken on Marine Drive in Astoria for robbery
in the second degree, theft in the second degree and
giving false information to a police offi cer. Byman
allegedly stole merchandise from M & N Workwear.
TUESDAY
Seaside Community Center Commission, 10 a.m., 1225
Avenue A.
Port of Astoria Commission, 4 p.m., 10 Pier 1, Suite 209.
Seaside Library Board of Directors, 4:30 p.m., 1131 Broadway.
Seaside Planning Commission, 6 p.m., City Hall, 989 Broadway.
Cannon Beach City Council, 6 p.m., (electronic meeting).
Astoria City Council, 7 p.m., City Hall, 1095 Duane St.
WEDNESDAY
Warrenton Community Library Board, 5:30 p.m., City
Hall, 225 S. Main Ave.
Clatsop County Board of Commissioners, 6 p.m., (elec-
tronic meeting).
Cannon Beach City Council, Planning Commission,
Design Review Board, 6 p.m., joint meeting, (electronic
meeting).
Astoria School District Board, 7 p.m., (electronic meeting).
THURSDAY
Seaside Civic and Convention Center Commission,
5 p.m., 415 First Ave.
Gearhart Planning Commission, 6 p.m., (electronic meeting).
Seaside Parks Advisory Committee, 6 p.m., City Hall, 989
Broadway.
Warrenton Planning Commission, 6 p.m., City Hall, 225 S.
Main Ave.
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DailyAstorian.com
Ready or not, Oregon, the 2022 elec-
tion season is here.
Labor Day weekend of odd-num-
bered years is the traditional kick off of
serious campaign activity aimed at the
ballot voters will mark in 14 months.
If anything, 2021 has a running start.
The busy summer needs a primer to
catch up on what’s happened and what’s
coming up that will have an impact on
the ballot voters will see for the general
election on Nov. 8, 2022.
• A wide-open governor’s race that
for the fi rst time in 20 years won’t fea-
ture an incumbent or former governor
on the ballot. Gov. Kate Brown is barred
from seeking a third consecutive term.
• A new open congressional seat —
Oregon’s fi rst in 40 years. With all fi ve
U.S. House members from Oregon seek-
ing re election, the new district is a chance
to join a club that rarely has vacancies.
• U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden is marking 40
years since he fi rst came to Washington,
D.C., as a 31-year-old U.S. House mem-
ber from Portland. The Oregon Dem-
ocrat is running for another term and
already has $6.3 million in the bank for
the race.
• New political topography in Oregon
created by a legally required redrawing
of lines for 96 state House, Senate and
congressional seats might not be fi nal-
ized until as late as January .
• A slew of proposed initiatives, con-
stitutional amendments, referendums
and referrals working their way through
the long process of qualifying for the
November 2022 ballot.
Kotek’s domino eff ect
Brown’s departure and redistricting
have unleashed pent-up ambition among
politicians whose rise has been blocked
by incumbents holding on to the top
offi ces.
State House Speaker Tina Kotek,
D-Portland, announced last week that
she is ready to drop her gavel and run for
governor next year. Kotek has brought
on veteran campaign advise r Thomas
Wheatley, who performed the same role
for Brown in her 2018 campaign.
Kotek is the state’s longest-serving
House s peaker, having been chosen by
colleagues in votes every two years since
2013.
Candidates cannot run simultane-
ously for two offi ces on the ballot. That’s
a trouble spot for Kotek and an advan-
tage for possible primary opponents like
Treasurer Tobias Read and Attorney
General Ellen Rosenblum.
If either of them run and lose, they
go back to their old job. But a Kotek
loss would leave her out of Oregon pol-
itics for the fi rst time since she was fi rst
elected to the House in 2006.
No votes will have been cast by
March 8, the fi nal day to declare candi-
Associated Press
House Speaker Tina Kotek is running for
governor.
dacy for offi ce. Kotek will have to make
a judgment call on how she is doing in
the run-up to the primary more than two
months later on May 20 .
The deadline for her decision would
come the latest day the Legislature can
adjourn its 35-day session that begins in
February.
Kotek’s departure from the House
would set off a scramble for her job.
Rep. Janelle Bynum, D-Clackamas,
mounted an unsuccessful coup in the
caucus at the beginning of the last ses-
sion in a bid to replace Kotek.
Bynum would likely try again —
unless she decides to run for congress.
House Majority Leader Barbara
Smith Warner, D-Portland, and Rep.
Paul Holvey, D-Eugene, a top Kotek
lieutenant, could look to step up.
Bureau of Labor & Industries Com-
missioner Val Hoyle has denied rumors
she is mulling a run for governor, saying
she will run for re election in 2022.
Rebound or relapse for
Republicans
Republicans are fi ghting to remain
viable as a statewide political force.
A Republican hasn’t been elected
governor since Vic Atiyeh won a second
term in 1982.
Wyden and Oregon’s other senator,
Jeff Merkley, are both Democrats, as are
four of the fi ve U.S. House members.
The GOP holds no state executive
offi ces. Democrats have a 37-23 super-
majority in the House and an 18-12
supermajority in the Senate.
Republican candidates making bids
for offi ce often face better-known, bet-
ter-fi nanced incumbent Democrats.
The small number of top Republi-
can offi ceholders and former lawmakers
hasn’t shown a desire to make a run for
governor.
U.S. Rep. Cliff Bentz, an Ontario
Republican , is in his fi rst term in Con-
gress and isn’t likely to risk a run for
governor.
Former U.S. Rep. Greg Walden, a
Hood River Republican who retired
from Congress after two decades, is also
out. Walden has consistently declined
invitations from party leaders to help
the GOP fi eld a strong candidate for
governor or senator.
Former U.S. Sen. Gordon Smith pre-
fers the role of mentor and supporter of
a select number of candidates to getting
back into the political ring himself.
Along with a long shot bid for gov-
ernor and a possible win in the recon-
fi gured congressional map, GOP lead-
ers hope legislative redistricting for the
next decade that will go into eff ect with
the 2022 election will open new oppor-
tunities to shift the balance of power in
Salem.
Short of the long-term hope of return-
ing to the majority, House Minority
Leader Christine Drazan and others
want to win enough seats so Demo-
crats don’t have the three-fi fths mar-
gin in each chamber that allows them to
pass taxes and other fi nancial legislation
without any Republican votes.
Though it seems like candidates
have been running since the 2020 elec-
tion ended 10 months ago, in reality,
no one can offi cially run for state offi ce
until Thursday, the fi rst day the s ecre-
tary of s tate accepts candidate fi lings.
The in-basket includes candidates
for city councils, county commissions,
district attorneys, the L egislature, U.S.
Senate and the governor.
While no one is offi cially a candidate
until later this week, the chance to start
raising money started long ago.
There are 38 prospective ballot mea-
sures that have been submitted to the
s ecretary of s tate to attempt to qualify
for the 2022 general election .
Voters could vote on allowing liquor
to be sold in markets, criminal justice
reform, penalties for lawmakers who
refuse to attend legislative sessions and
the creation of a commission to handle
redistricting, beginning with the 2032
election.
And there are likely more in the pipe-
line for future elections.
Initiative 1, would ask voters to
amend the state constitution to require
more bills passed by the L egislature and
signed by the governor to wait longer to
become law.
The initiative was submitted in
March 2019 — just four months
after the 2018 general election. It was
approved to begin circulating petitions
in July 2020.
Whether or not supporters can gather
149,360 signatures in time to make the
2022 ballot won’t be known until later
next year.
The Oregon Capital Bureau is a col-
laboration between EO Media Group
and Pamplin Media Group.
Kitmacher: A six-point strategy to resolve confl ict
PUBLIC MEETINGS
Established July 1, 1873
By GARY WARNER
Oregon Capital Bureau
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Continued from Page A1
The book took more
than 18 months of research,
refl ected in fi ve pages of
source notes. He eschewed
Northwest writers who had
trod that path. “I purposely
didn’t read local authors — I
didn’t want to be infl uenced
by them, ” he said.
Now that’s available, he
is working to revise “Solo-
mon’s Steps: Unlock Ancient,
Biblical Wisdom — Resolve
Life’s Confl icts.”
That book is an exam-
ination of how insights con-
tained in Bible passages can be
applied to mediation in marital,
neighbor or other disputes.
It highlights Solomon,
son of David, who the Book
of Kings claims wrote 3,000
proverbs. He was memorable
for forcing a conclusion to a
dispute between two mothers
over the ownership of a baby
by suggesting the child be cut
in half.
Kitmacher began research
in 2004 and eventually
self-published in 2010.
“It relied heavily on
King Solomon, but I tried to
broaden it by quoting Jew-
ish heroes, Jesus, Moham-
mad, Gandhi,” he said . “My
target audience was every-
one who might have an inter-
est in A, resolving confl icts
and B, an underlying belief in
the g olden r ule, ‘Do unto oth-
ers as you would they do unto
you.’ It was not seeking a reli-
gious audience necessarily.”
Six-point plan
When highlighting ways
to solve confl ict, he notes
that barriers include anger
or being too invested in one
position. He outlines a six-
point strategy which he
developed as a mediator:
• Bridge: build an atmo-
sphere of mutually respectful
behavior;
• Defuse: engage in confl ict
reducing communication;
• Make peace: apply diplo-
macy and wisdom;
• Negotiate: seek a mutu-
ally benefi cial solution;
• Collaborate: achieve
lasting and benefi cial agree-
ment and trust;
• Know: when and from
whom to seek help.
Chapters suggest ways
to follow this strategy using
examples from the work-
place, marital disputes and
even neighbors arguing over
the size and style of a fence.
Kitmacher said he was
surprised and delighted that
later research led him to dis-
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cover that there had been six
steps up to Solomon’s Tem-
ple in Jerusalem.
His impetus for tak-
ing a fresh look at the book
is today’s fractured world,
where confl icts are exacer-
bated by wider access to pub-
lishing platforms.
“In the last 10 years, our
culture across the world has
been devolving,” he said .
“We have confl ict. The per-
fect example is this country.”
At the core of his pas-
sion for resolving confl ict is
a reverence for the memory
of his Polish father, Albert,
who was the only member of
his Jewish family to survive
the World War II Nazi death
camps.
As a historian, Kitmacher
worries that studies of the
conditions that led to Adolf
Hitler’s “Final Solution” off er
ominous warnings for today’s
troubled society. “History has
a habit of repeating itself,” he
says.
Albert Kitmacher, a tailor
who spoke no English, emi-
grated to the United States
in 1947, worked multiple
jobs and married Pearl, who
had learned of the atrocities
against her fellow Jews and
enlisted in the U.S. Navy as a
WAVE (Women Accepted for
Volunteer Emergency Ser-
vice). They lived in Massa-
chusetts and raised four chil-
dren, encouraging all toward
advanced education.
Confl ict management
In his confl ict-resolution
book, Kitmacher is blunt
when describing his motives
for writing it.
“There has always been a
sense in my family of, ‘W hy
did the Holocaust happen?’
and, ‘How can we keep it
from happening again?’” he
writes.
“All wars and interper-
sonal diffi culties have one
thing in common: confl ict.
Some confl icts are fought
with words, some with guns.
“It is very diffi cult to
resolve age-old hatreds
between peoples. It is some-
what easier to resolve the
everyday confl icts we each
have in our lives. By resolv-
ing everyday confl icts, we
have a better chance of
improving our individual
lives and positively impact-
ing the larger confl icts in
which they exist.”
In an interview, he said,
“It would be wonderful if we
could resolve our disputes. ”
Respect and tone are import-
ant, he notes. As an example,
his “Solomon” book contains
two examples of an email.
A polite request for a quick
reply, addressed to a named
person and signed with the
sender’s name, contrasts
with exactly the same words
printed in bold capitals with-
out using any names.
“In capital letters, we’re
screaming at each other,” Kit-
macher said .
“I think tone is critical,” he
adds. “Where people respect
each other, they can diff use
the confl ict.”