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THE ASTORIAN • TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 16, 2021
OPINION
editor@dailyastorian.com
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GUEST COLUMN
Oregon is too divided
regon is above average. Many
Oregonians are not. It all
depends on where they live.
“The economic fortunes of our citizens
vary widely depending on geography,”
former Secretary of State Phil Keisling
told the Salem City Club this month .
In 2020, Oregon ranked slightly above
the middle of the pack nationally in terms
of per capita personal income. But the
economic prosperity is ill-distributed
around the state. “At no time in Oregon
history have the gaps between the richest
and the poorest counties been as large as
they are today,” Keisling said.
In his City Club talk via Zoom, Keis-
ling discussed Oregon’s changing demo-
graphics and their eff ects on the state
politics. The same economic, political,
educational and geographic divides that
affl ict Oregon are present nationally. As
journalist Elliott Morris recently said,
“the life experiences of people in rural
and urban areas are worlds apart, and pol-
iticians have exploited this divergence.”
Yet Keisling said the biggest divide
may be generational: the inability to buy
a house or to obtain an aff ordable higher
education, regardless of whether a per-
son lives in n ortheast Portland or in Grant
County.
Across Oregon, there is a sense of
O
pessimism, estrangement and polariza-
everything they can to get their parti-
tion. Keisling off ered antidotes, the most
san advantage that they’re not only repel-
intriguing one involving forests. Before
ling most voters – who don’t even want
I get to those ideas, let me tell you a bit
to belong to these organizations – but
about Keisling.
we’ve gotten into an ever-escalating war
He remains a staunch Democrat yet
not unlike the Soviet-U.S. arms race …
not a lockstep one. He favors
where it’s just going to get more
doing away with the traditional
and more brutal, diffi cult and
party primary elections, whose
senseless.”
outcomes are determined by the
OK, so much for his depress-
older, most partisan voters in each
ing, albeit accurate, indictment of
party. These days, more voters
current politics. Let’s get to his
are shunning the two major par-
prescriptions.
ties than are joining them. Keis-
Public policy involves focusing
DICK
ling favors ranked-choice voting
on two or three important things
HUGHES
in elections.
and doing them well. Keisling
As secretary of state in 1991,
said that should start with improv-
Keisling handled redistricting in an even-
ing reading profi ciency for Oregon third
handed way, angering fellow Democrats
graders, whose scores are deplorably low
who wanted him to take partisan advan-
yet are key indicators for educational suc-
tage. This year, he said, he was “gob-
cess. Overall, Oregon ranks 40th nation-
smacked” that legislative Democrats
ally for education, according to the Annie
redrew the 5th Congressional District so
E. Casey Foundation.
it extended from Portland to Bend.
The most important question that
“It is long past time to take redistrict-
Keisling wants Oregonians to ask candi-
ing out of the hands of partisan legisla-
dates for public offi ce next year is, how
tors, whether it’s Republican or Dem-
would you improve third graders’ reading
ocrat, and put it in the hands of an
profi ciency? He said success or failure on
independent commission,” he told the
that front should be the only criterion for
City Club.
deciding whether the governor deserves
“We’re at a point in our politics today
re election four years later.
that both sides are so locked into doing
Students who read better do better
in school, which leads to greater career
opportunities, which leads to higher
incomes, and which helps overcome gen-
erational, geographic and social divides.
Toward that end, Keisling advocates hav-
ing the state provide free preschool for
4-year-olds. Oregon trails even West
Virginia and Oklahoma in that regard,
despite abundant evidence showing the
critical importance of early childhood
education.
Keisling’s most intriguing proposal is
“Trees, trees and more trees.”
Oregonians across the state are unfa-
miliar with one another, yet they share
a common love for the outdoors. Mean-
while, millions of forest acres have never
been properly replanted. Keisling pro-
poses putting thousands of young adults
to work restoring and rehabilitating the
forests. That investment in a working
landscape would reduce the odds of cat-
astrophic fi res and benefi t the natural
resources economy.
There would be another payoff , one
equally valuable. By working side by
side, a younger generation of Oregonians
would get to know, understand and appre-
ciate each other — before their views
hardened into partisanship.
Dick Hughes has been covering the
Oregon political scene since 1976.
Former Secretary of State Phil Keisling proposes putting thousands
of young adults to work restoring and rehabilitating the forests.
Hailey Hoff man/The Astorian
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Special thanks
would like to thank all volunteers in
Clatsop County who work hard to take
care of us. The COVID-19 booster shot
people were wonderful. We are lucky to
have the volunteers to put this together at
the fairgrounds. And, a special thanks to
the young man who pushed my friend in a
wheelchair all over.
ARDATH FINUCANE
Warrenton
I
We wish her the best
e, the board members of Consejo
Hispano, thank Jenny Pool Radway
for her service as executive director for
the past two years.
During that time she expanded fund-
ing and created partnerships, dramatically
increasing services to Latinx communi-
ties in Clatsop, Columbia, Tillamook and
Pacifi c Counties. Most notably, Consejo
Hispano was named the fi scal agent for
the $10 million Small Enterprise Fund,
part of the Oregon Worker Relief Fund,
established by the Oregon State Legisla-
ture for families and businesses statewide
who didn’t qualify for federal CARES Act
funds.
Her tenure began just prior to the pan-
demic, and she and the entire staff have
responded creatively and exhaustively to
address issues during this stressful time.
As Jenny transitions to her new position
as the executive director of Causa Ore-
gon, we wish her the best.
Board member Alex Carney will serve
as the interim executive director while we
conduct a local and national search to fi ll
W
the position.
Finally, we sincerely thank the rest of
the incredible staff members who have
worked hard during this pandemic to pro-
vide needed services for the Latinx com-
munity in the four counties Consejo His-
pano serves. Aitor Porro, Diana Niño,
Minerva Moulin, Erin Buchta-Porro,
Adriana Caron, Sam Seulean, Nayeli
Cruz, Guadalupe Beltran, Kayla Slovak,
Lisette Santiago, Rosa Arreola and Mon-
ica Moulin have truly extended them-
selves during these trying times to serve
our community.
ROSA GILBERT,
LYNETTE VILLAGOMEZ, SANDE
BROWN, JOYCE SENIOR, KARINA
REARDON, MARSHA PACK
Board of Directors, Consejo Hispano
Astoria
Gracias
os miembros de la junta del Con-
sejo Hispano, agradecemos a Jenny
Pool Radway por su servicio como direc-
tora ejecutiva durante los últimos dos
años. Durante ese tiempo, amplió los fon-
dos y aumentó drásticamente los servi-
cios en las comunidades latinas de Clat-
sop, Columbia, Tillamook y Pacifi c. En
particular, Consejo Hispano fue nombrado
agente fi scal de $10 millones del Fondo
de Pequeñas Empresas, establecido en
Oregón para familias y negocios que no
califi can para fondos federales de la ley
CARES.
Su mandato comenzó justo antes de
la pandemia, y ella y todo el personal
de Consejo Hispano han respondido de
manera creativa y exhaustiva para abordar
L
los problemas durante este momento
estresante. Le deseamos a Jenny lo mejor
en su nuevo puesto como directora ejecu-
tiva de Causa Oregon.
Alex Carney, miembro de la junta, se
desempeñará como director ejecutivo
interino mientras se realiza una búsqueda
local/nacional para llenar el puesto.
Finalmente, agradecemos sinceramente
a los increíbles miembros del personal
que han trabajado arduamente durante
esta pandemia para brindar los servicios
necesarios para la comunidad latina en los
cuatro condados a los que sirve el Con-
sejo Hispano. Aitor Porro, Diana Niño,
Minerva Moulin, Erin Buchta-Porro,
Adriana Caron, Sam Seulean, Nayeli
Cruz, Guadalupe Beltran, Kayla Slovak,
Lisette Santiago, Rosa Arreola y Mon-
ica Moulin realmente se han extendido
durante estos tiempos difíciles para servir
a nuestra comunidad.
ROSA GILBERT,
LYNETTE VILLAGOMEZ, SANDE
BROWN, JOYCE SENIOR, KARINA
REARDON, MARSHA PACK
Board of Directors, Consejo Hispano
Astoria