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THE ASTORIAN • THuRSdAy, dEcEmbER 23, 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
OUR VIEW
A working waterfront and living wage jobs
he Port of Astoria and the
city are partnering on a
waterfront master plan
to shape redevelopment between
Pier 1 and the Astoria Bridge in
Uniontown.
Of the five overarching goals,
two stand out:
• Strengthen Astoria’s working
waterfront with a mix of uses and
ongoing private investment.
• Support living wage jobs.
While the coronavirus pandemic
interrupted many public policy dis-
cussions on the North Coast, we
hope economic development moves
toward the top of the list during the
recovery.
Our region’s allure as a tour-
ist destination creates opportunity,
but we risk becoming overly reliant
on visitors to sustain our economy.
Many jobs in the leisure and hospi-
tality sector do not pay enough to
adequately cover the cost of living.
The Port’s property has the best
potential to help drive the region’s
economy. Along with the waterfront
in Uniontown and the East Moor-
ing Basin in Uppertown, the Astoria
Regional Airport, the Airport Indus-
trial Park and the Skipanon Penin-
sula in Warrenton offer canvases for
new ventures.
The final outline of the waterfront
master plan, released by the Port
and the city at a virtual public meet-
ing in December, is balanced and
achievable. Walker Macy, the con-
sulting firm working on the concept,
organized the hodgepodge between
Marine Drive and the Columbia
River into an inviting layout.
We urge policymakers to prior-
T
Lydia Ely/The Astorian
The Port of Astoria and the city hope to redevelop the waterfront in Uniontown.
itize the maritime industrial por-
tion of the master plan, building
on the seafood processing opera-
tions of Bornstein Seafoods and Da
Yang Seafood. The outline identi-
fies manufacturing and assembly, an
industrial incubator and shipping as
options for the west edge.
To the east, the master plan men-
tions supportive mixed-use build-
ings that could attract light manu-
facturing and a business incubator.
We recognize the economic chal-
lenges of standing up new maritime
industrial projects. The Port and the
city could collaborate with private
developers, using infrastructure and
urban renewal money as leverage.
Our concern is the working
waterfront elements of the mas-
ter plan will get brushed aside and
the public focus will concentrate on
new hotels and preserving views.
Too much of the conversation
around the city’s Riverfront Vision
Plan was consumed with restricting
development.
Two years ago, the City Coun-
cil amended the Bridge Vista sec-
tion of the Riverfront Vision Plan to
toughen building height and scale
limits and make it harder for proj-
ects like the proposed four-story
Fairfield Inn & Suites at Second
Street to advance.
But city councilors wisely added
plan districts for the Port’s West
Mooring Basin and the Astoria
Warehousing property being rede-
veloped by Fort George Brewery.
The idea was the Port and the
brewery could create master plans
to bypass development restrictions
in Bridge Vista and have more free-
dom to pursue industrial and mixed-
use projects.
The waterfront master plan is sort
of a hybrid, since the city agreed to
partner with the Port.
Most of the public feedback so
far has been positive. We expect
sharper knives will come out of the
drawer when developers step for-
ward with blueprints for a 60-to-90-
room hotel to replace the Astoria
Riverwalk Inn or building footprints
that would obstruct view corridors.
Will Isom, the Port’s executive
director, and City Manager Brett
Estes should be commended for set-
ting this stage after years of iner-
tia. Financial disarray, poor man-
agement, infighting and cronyism
at the Port made such a partner-
ship with the city unthinkable a few
years ago.
Progress at the Port could also
complement Uniontown Reborn,
the city’s ambition to remake the
historic western gateway.
Some elements of the water-
front master plan could take years to
complete or may never happen. But
we believe the exercise can serve
as an example for other redevelop-
ment projects if the emphasis is on a
working waterfront and living wage
jobs.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Fair shake
I
guess I consider myself a conservative
now. I thought I was a liberal when John
F. Kennedy was in office, but the new defi-
nition of liberal does not seem to fit the
things that Kennedy and others, like Mar-
tin Luther King Jr., stood for, and I there-
fore no longer feel that the political left is
doing the country any good.
I liked President Donald Trump and
what he attempted to do for America, and
the American worker and the economy.
All that being said, I am writing this let-
ter to urge all Oregonians to vote for Betsy
Johnson for Oregon governor. Whatever
your political affiliation may be, you can
count on Johnson to support you, as an
Oregon citizen.
Many in the political arena simply
ignore anyone who is not of their party or
mindset. Johnson is an Oregonian through
and through, and will always champion
fairness, regardless of what your personal
political views are.
She knows the problems and virtues
of Oregon and Oregonians, and will work
tirelessly to see that all Oregonians get a
fair shake. I believe that Johnson is just
what Oregon needs in their next governor.
I am so glad she has decided to enter
this political race, and I hope you will join
me in voting for Johnson for governor.
DAVID GRAVES
Astoria
Beep beep
E
x-senator Betsy Johnson was never
a Democrat, any more than Wile E.
Coyote was ever a roadrunner.
On every issue, she has represented the
interests of the rich against the poor; the
corporations against the environment, and
against the class-action lawsuits which
won settlements from corporations in
court; and most of all, in favor of timber
interests against the taxpayers, who own
most of the timber.
The reason why is simple: She her-
self is a timber heiress. Masquerading
as a Democrat all those years was nec-
essary, because her constituents were an
ever-increasing Democratic majority. She
appeared at all the local to-dos, waved the
flag and kissed the babies.
And the disguise enabled her to help
kill, at the last moment, very good Dem-
ocratic bills in favor of cap and trade and
legal aid, to mention just a couple. Now
she wants to be our governor. Folks, we’d
LETTERS WELCOME
Letters should be exclusive to The
Astorian. Letters should be fewer
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letters per writer are allowed each
month. Letters written in response
be better served by the coyote.
JOSEPH WEBB
Astoria
Choose
A
s Congress performs their political
theater regarding Build Back Bet-
ter, Americans need to keep these facts in
mind:
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.
According to multiple credible sources,
if we cut this nation’s $768 billion defense
budget in half we will still be spending bil-
lions more than all of our perceived global
enemies combined.
Depending on which study you choose
to believe, we literally spend more on
“defense” than the next seven to 11
top-spending nations combined. Many of
those countries are our allies who share
our defense goals!
By making that one cut, the United
States would have funds to address things
most on the right are arguing we can’t
afford, like feeding hungry children and
seniors, housing the homeless and helping
seniors afford their medicines!
The U.S. Department of Veterans
Affairs estimates 131,000 veterans are
homeless on any given night. Imagine a
portion of that $384 billion being used to
solve that problem! There are also mul-
tiple studies suggesting potential return
on investments for providing these sup-
ports for the “least among us” will serve to
reduce those costs in the long run.
As we celebrate the birth of Jesus, who
preached a gospel of love, of feeding the
hungry, clothing the naked, welcoming the
stranger and other radical leftist ideals like
these, I ask everyone to think about how
you want your tax dollars spent.
Choose between spending this nation’s
vast wealth to help our own people, or spend-
ing it to kill children in far off countries.
It’s truly that simple!
BILL GRAFFIUS
Gearhart