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THE ASTORIAN • TuESdAy, MAy 10, 2022
OPINION
editor@dailyastorian.com
KARI BORGEN
Publisher
Founded in 1873
DERRICK DePLEDGE
Editor
SHANNON ARLINT
Circulation Manager
JOHN D. BRUIJN
Production Manager
GUEST COLUMN
Primary races for Congress get interesting
Y
ou can run for Congress with-
out living in the Oregon district
you want to represent.
You can run for practically any
office despite having rarely voted.
You can run for office without men-
tioning the above in your voters’ guide
statements. Or that your past conduct
caused you to be bounced from office
… or suspended from the bench … or
… .
It’s up to voters to
research candidates in
the May 17 election.
There was an era when
the Oregon voters’ pam-
phlet was a primary
source of solid infor-
DICK
mation. These days it
HUGHES
reads – if your eyes are
good enough to read the
small type – like an extension of the
candidates’ ads.
Political scientist James Moore sug-
gests endorsements are the most use-
ful part of candidate statements. Voters
might know little about some candidate
but have strong feelings about individ-
uals or organizations endorsing them.
As for running for Congress while
living outside the district boundaries,
such a candidacy is legal under the U.S.
Constitution. In contrast, Oregon law
requires legislative candidates to reside
where they run. As result, some legisla-
tors and candidates had to relocate due
to redistricting.
In April, Moore and I discussed the
lukewarm race for governor, which
finally is heating up. There is nothing
tepid about several congressional races
this year, thanks to redistricting, U.S.
Rep. Peter DeFazio’s upcoming retire-
ment in the 4th District and Oregon
gaining its sixth seat.
Oregon last gained a district 40
years ago. In that 1982 general elec-
tion, Republican Denny Smith won
the new 5th District, with 51.2% of
the vote to Democrat Ruth McFar-
land’s 48.8%. The 5th District included
much of the old 2nd District, which
had stretched from Salem to the Idaho
KGW
Carrick Flynn, a Democrat running in the primary for the 6th Congressional District, has benefited from outside money.
border. Two years previously, upstart
Smith had snatched the 2nd District
from Democratic U.S. Rep. Al Ullman,
the powerful chairman of the House
Ways and Means Committee.
The 5th District has three distinc-
tions. First, it was considered some-
what of a swing district. Second, redis-
tricting shifted its boundaries east,
dropping the coastline but adding Bend
to the larger Willamette Valley por-
tion. Third, every representative elected
in the 5th District has gotten divorced
while in office.
In this year’s Democratic primary,
centrist U.S. Rep. Kurt Schrader faces
an intense challenge from progressive
Jamie McLeod-Skinner. She ran for the
2nd District two years ago. Schrader
has the incumbent’s advantage of
money. Five Republicans are on the
ballot, with Lori Chavez-DeRemer and
Jimmy Crumpacker raising the most
money.
Speaking of money …
The strangest race is in the new 6th
District. The 16 major-party candidates
include high rollers, state legislators,
local elected officials and former office-
holders. Democrat Carrick Flynn stands
out for his unique campaign.
An obscure candidate when he filed
in February, Flynn has benefited from
more outside spending on his behalf
than any other congressional candidate
in the U.S.
Those supposedly independent out-
side ads look harrowingly similar to
candidate ads. More than $7 million
came from a super PAC affiliated with
a cryptocurrency billionaire. And the
House Majority PAC, affiliated with
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other
top Democrats, took the rare step of
interceding in the Democratic primary
by running roughly $1 million in ads
touting Flynn. That drew a rebuke from
other Democratic candidates and U.S.
Sen. Jeff Merkley.
Political scientist Moore noted that
the Congressional Hispanic Caucus’
PAC has now made its own $1 million
ad buy on behalf of state Rep. Andrea
Salinas, which puts it at odds with the
House Democratic Caucus. “Seems like
an interesting twist from a party seek-
ing to keep seats across the country,”
Moore said.
On the Republican side, the best
known among the seven candidates
might be state Rep. Ron Noble.
dick Hughes has been covering the
Oregon political scene since 1976.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Knowledge and experience
ianne Thompson should return as the
Clatsop County commissioner for Dis-
trict 5. She has the knowledge and expe-
rience to contribute to the future of the
county. Please vote for Lianne.
MIKE MORGAN
Cannon Beach
L
One community
ecently, Lisa and I had a fire at our
home in Gearhart. We have strug-
gled with the loss of a secure home, and
feelings of displacement. The bright side
has been getting to know our wonderful
neighbors. It does not matter if you have
a red or a blue sign. We are one commu-
nity, and we are all fortunate to live in
Gearhart.
Our fire station is in need of replace-
ment. If you doubt this, visit the fire sta-
tion and make your assessment. Please
inform yourself of tax implications. Gear-
hart pays some of the lowest property
taxes on the North Coast. Ask your Astoria
and Seaside neighbors about their taxes.
You will discover you pay less, and you
will continue to pay less after this bond is
approved.
In today’s world, it is easy to be a pes-
simist. But pessimists don’t accomplish
anything. I have lived in this community
for over 20 years, and operate a success-
ful local business. Success and growth
take investment. Each year we defer this
critical project its costs increase. If we do
not pass this bond, we will be voting on a
significantly more expensive bond in the
future.
Our volunteer fire department is an
incredible asset. We can’t build a school
or a city hall and staff it with volunteers.
But we can build a fire station and depend
on volunteers to come to our rescue. As a
community, let’s pass this bond, build the
fire station and once again enjoy each oth-
er’s company.
DAVE KOLLER
Gearhart
R
Extremely impressed
am writing to endorse Nate Pinkstaff to
be your county commissioner for Dis-
trict 3 in this election.
In addition to living in this district
for almost 30 years, I was also the only
countywide elected official, other than the
sheriff, for 25 of those years, starting in
I
1994.
I was honored to serve as your district
attorney, although many times the Clat-
sop County commission made that job
extremely difficult.
I was introduced to Pinkstaff by peo-
ple who work with him in the community,
and I’ve been extremely impressed with
the breadth of his knowledge and his open
mind.
Electing the same old, same old, has
done little. The county commission hasn’t
even addressed homelessness and ram-
pant drug use. Join me in voting for Pink-
staff. He is running against incumbent
Pam Wev.
JOSHUA MARQUIS
Astoria
A safer future
earhart is changing. The North Coast
is changing. What used to be a quiet
coastal corridor has seen such growth, it
still takes my breath away.
Our population has grown, traffic on
the U.S. Highway 101 corridor has grown
and tourism has grown. These changes
bring increasing demands to our first
responders. We must build a facility to
respond effectively to these times.
The Gearhart Volunteer Fire Depart-
ment has been working out of a decaying
cinder-block structure built 64 years ago.
The current station has served them well
— well beyond what should have been its
expiration date.
Now is the time to build for both the
present and all of our futures. Our Gear-
hart volunteer firefighters need a new
station.
We must stop procrastinating. Costs
continue escalating. In 2006, a bond
measure for a new station and City Hall
failed. Its cost? $3.75 million. Labor and
G
supply costs continue rising every year.
What will the cost be if Measure 4-213
fails?
In the last 60-plus years we have
become aware of greater earthquake and
tsunami threats. Higher ground and a new
station will help mitigate and manage
these realities. The proposed Highlands
Lane location is at 65 feet in elevation.
This is above even a worst-case
scenario.
Our current station, at 27 feet, might
just be underwater with even a medium
event. For a safer future, we must build
a new fire station. Let’s quit kicking the
can down the road. Vote “yes” for a safer
tomorrow.
DAVID RUSSELL
Gearhart
Some complain we are not being told
the whole story. The whole story is out
there, and I urge anyone to seek out the
facts.
Being fiscally conservative, I feel
it’s important how we spend tax dollars.
They’re not asking for a new golf course.
They are asking for a place to train and
learn, and to serve their community.
I urge you to be open-minded and get
the facts from reliable sources. Attend a
Gearhart Volunteer Fire Department open
house and get to know the situation first-
hand. I urge you to vote “yes” on Mea-
sure 4-213.
TRUDY DUISEN
Gearhart
Long overdue
O
have been a full-time resident of Gear-
hart since 2015. One drive through
this hidden coastal gem told me this was
where I wanted to live. When it comes to
“improving” Gearhart, there is not much
to improve, in my opinion. Walk into the
Gearhart fire station — it becomes obvi-
ous improvement is long overdue.
A position with Life Flight Network
as a flight nurse brought me to Gear-
hart. I have worked alongside these first
responders and fire personnel. They do
a magnificent job. They save lives. They
are our local heroes. They need and
deserve support from the community they
selflessly serve.
Upon first hearing the $14.5 million
bond cost I, too, was shell-shocked. I ini-
tially bought into the plethora of negative
misinformation out there. I stopped by the
fire station one day, and took a tour. I then
realized I needed to educate myself with
facts beyond the social media wars.
I
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Editor, P.O. Box 210, Astoria, OR.,
97103.
Confidence or no confidence?
ver the past years, Gearhart’s city
leadership has dragged our city
through a tumultuous and prolonged
debate by presenting and insisting that our
city taxpayers must pay a fire station bond
of $14.5 million determined by estimated
costs only with no location stipulated for
the new station.
To the embarrassment of Gearhart,
our residents have voiced numerous and
well-documented objections that have
gone unanswered. Sadly, objections and
arguments stipulated in the recent vot-
ers’ pamphlet were left unchallenged by
the city.
Unlike past fire station town hall meet-
ings, our city’s most vocal proponents
have instead chosen small controlla-
ble group meetings over open town hall
meetings to defend critically unanswered
questions in an open forum.
Our new fire chief, who should be
actively involved in the bond debate,
has essentially been replaced by our city
administrator, who has acted over the
years as the primary fire station spokes-
person, lead cost estimator, lead feasibil-
ity manager and apparently, our lead real
estate and land exchange negotiator.
Our opposition group has repeatedly
shown absolute support for our fire vol-
unteers and offered a supporting compro-
mise for a new city-centered fire station.
Sadly, our City Council refused to listen.
This fire vote will be a clear expression
either affirming or denying confidence
in our city leaders’ overall judgment in
demanding a $14.5 million bond and their
unwillingness to compromise.
Please vote “no.”
JACK ZIMMERMAN
Gearhart