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THE ASTORIAN • TuESdAy, dEcEmbER 14, 2021
OPINION
editor@dailyastorian.com
KARI BORGEN
Publisher
DERRICK DePLEDGE
Editor
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SHANNON ARLINT
circulation manager
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Systems manager
GUEST COLUMN
Kotek scores several big wins
T
ina Kotek was on a roll as last
month came to an end. In a mat-
ter of days, the state House
speaker and Democratic gubernatorial
hopeful scored quadruple victories.
• The Portland lawmaker forcefully
pushed for a special legislative ses-
sion to help renters who face eviction,
and Gov. Kate Brown came through.
The session started Monday, which, by
the way, is just ahead
of Kotek’s official cam-
paign kickoff via Zoom
on Thursday.
• Attorney General
Ellen Rosenblum, who
would have been a for-
midable opponent in the
DICK
Democratic primary,
HUGHES
announced she wouldn’t
run for governor.
• Judges upheld the congressio-
nal and legislative redistricting plans
pushed through the Legislature by Dem-
ocrats, aided by Kotek’s finagling.
• House Republican Leader Chris-
tine Drazan, who became Kotek’s polit-
ical nemesis, stepped down from that
role. Drazan, of Canby, will seek the
Republican nomination for governor.
That leaves House Republicans with a
new leader, Rep. Vikki Breese-Iverson,
of Prineville, for the special session and
next year’s short legislative session.
The good news for Kotek kept roll-
ing in. On Tuesday, eight labor and
environmental organizations endorsed
her for election. EMILY’s List, a Wash-
ington, D.C., based group that advo-
cates for progressive women candidates
to run for political office, said Friday
that Kotek was their candidate to suc-
ceed Brown.
At this point, Kotek arguably seems
the front-runner for the Democratic
nomination, in large part because of her
deep support among fellow progressive
Portlanders. However, 10 other Demo-
crats, including State Treasurer Tobias
Read, also have filed to run, and more
plan to. The Republican nomination
also has attracted 11 candidates, with
more coming.
With so many candidates in each par-
ty’s primary election, it will be chal-
lenging for anyone to win a plurality.
But Kotek faces a more immedi-
ate challenge, one of her own creation.
State House Speaker Tina Kotek has picked up several important endorsements in her
Democratic primary campaign for governor.
I’m not talking about Kotek and Brown
being photographed without face masks
on Saturday during the LGBTQ Victory
Fund’s 30th Anniversary Gala in Wash-
ington, D.C., where they were featured
guests.
The challenge is the legislative ses-
sion. Kotek has a lot riding on it.
Republicans argue that a special ses-
sion is unnecessary because the Emer-
gency Board could take whatever action
is needed, and do it faster.
The Legislature’s worrier-in-chief,
Senate President Peter Courtney, put the
situation in perspective: “Special ses-
sions are the most difficult of all ses-
sions. Everything must be carefully
planned. We have a lot of work to do. I
hope we will be ready.”
The Salem Democrat will be work-
ing with a new Republican leader in the
Senate, Tim Knopp, of Bend. Knopp
is a longtime legislator, whereas Bre-
ese-Iverson became a state representa-
tive in August 2019.
In a fundraising appeal last week,
Kotek highlighted her work on housing
and told potential supporters: “Why I’m
running for governor is simple: It’s time
to get past the politics of division and
focus on making real, meaningful prog-
ress for families across our state.
“I’m not running for governor just
because I want to do things. I’m running
for governor because as a leader, I’ve
realized we can only ‘get things done’ if
we work together. …”
The special session will test that
ability.
And there’s more: A different cloud
also hangs over Kotek, Courtney and
other legislative leaders.
Long after heralding the Legisla-
ture’s supposed reforms in workplace
conduct, it has not hired a permanent
equity officer to handle complaints,
oversee investigations and conduct
workplace training. Given these delays
and other problems, one must wonder
how committed the leadership is to gen-
uine, full-fledged workplace reforms
and compliance with a 2019 agreement
signed with the Oregon Bureau of Labor
and Industries.
To get more candidates, the Legisla-
ture has extended the application dead-
line for legislative equity officer until
Dec. 27. The salary range is $104,808 to
$157,212 annually.
Two people have served in an act-
ing capacity since the office opened in
December 2019. The latest one, Nate
Monson, started last April. He abruptly
resigned in mid-June, issuing a scath-
ing letter about problems he allegedly
found. An 11-page tort claim notice
from his lawyers this week contains
more explosive allegations about certain
legislators, legislative employees and
the Legislative Equity Office.
If true, the allegations should lead to
a thorough housecleaning. If false, the
allegations appear defamatory. I won’t
detail the allegations here because I
don’t know whether they are credible.
The final paragraph of an April col-
umn, in which I listed Monson’s work
experience, apparently led to his depar-
ture. The head of the Iowa Coalition for
Collective Change saw the column, con-
tacted legislative staff and said Mon-
son never worked there, despite what
he claimed. That led legislative staff to
dig further into his work experience.
However, it wasn’t until a month after
his resignation that the leaders of the
Legislature’s bipartisan Joint Conduct
Committee released this information in
response to media requests.
All this creates concerns about how
Monson ever got hired. It raises ques-
tions about the veracity of his allega-
tions. Still, whistleblowers often come
with baggage.
Monson’s tort claim notice said he
would be happy to enter confidential
mediation within the next three weeks,
“in hopes of resolving this matter with
as little expense as possible to the
taxpayers.”
dick Hughes has been covering the
Oregon political scene since 1976.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
You can’t forget
must agree with Virginia Shepherd’s
remarks when learning that Michael
Sture would not be paroled this time
around: “I think that’s an excellent deci-
sion” (“Trooper’s killer denied parole,”
Nov. 27).
Perhaps in May 2026, after Sture has
another review, and I’m still around, I
will think long and hard of those feel-
ings I had back in 1980, when my
friend and fellow lawman was mur-
dered. I will be 90 years old then.
People say I should forgive. Maybe I
have, after all these years. But you can’t
forget. Virginia Shepherd will always
be at the top of our list of friends and
honored people. God bless.
MELVIN and BETSY JASMIN
Warrenton
I
Corrupting
ust a couple of quick questions for
the amused person in the Dec 9. edi-
tion of The Astorian who wonders “If
The Astorian folds, where would I air
my opinions?” (“Where’s the beef?”).
Do the other Astorian “influencers”
he mentions have the power to censor
his opinions? Will The Astorian fold
without this tax credit (“A light on our
democracy,” Nov. 13)?
I see his point of accepting corporate
welfare and handouts. It is corrupting.
He notes he happily spent his particu-
lar handouts. Did they influence him?
Maybe he does not care who controls
his news or who “feeds” it to him.
However, I do, and it is not self-
ish of me to care about who controls
our news. I am not biting the hand that
“feeds” me. Because it does not. I am
questioning the control of our local
news.
I accept that the people who run the
newspaper are honorable. I am some-
times contrary, and yet they print my
opinions. Yet if the paper were in dan-
ger of folding, what would they do to
survive? I personally would pay more
for the paper to keep it independent,
and keep the government out of it.
ROBERT LIDDYCOAT
Seaside
J
LETTERS WELCOME
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month. Letters written in response
Applaud
want to applaud Councilwoman Joan
Herman and the Astoria City Council
for requiring that the structures encroach-
ing on the right of way associated with
the 11th Street stairs be removed.
I
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-
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in Astoria or mail to Letters to the
Editor, P.O. Box 210, Astoria, OR.,
97103.
I know some folks bristle at what is
perceived to be hoop-jumping that the
city requires when certain work is done
on a property, but in many cases, those
hoops preserve Astoria’s beauty and
functionality.
When we built our home in 2017,
our structure required both a histori-
cal review and a variance. The histori-
cal review was required because we were
building a new structure next to a home
that had been designated a historical
landmark.
The variance was required because the
original structure on the property was in
the city right of way (a small home built
in the 1940s). If we wanted to use the
existing foundation — (we did) a vari-
ance was required.
We worked with city staff to make
sure that they had everything they
needed for the historical review, and they
provided very helpful information to me
in writing a successful variance.
Good, ongoing communication was
key, and the process worked the way it
was designed to work. Thank you again
to city staff and the Historic Landmarks
Commission for helping us build our
home.
JULIE WILSON
Astoria