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THE ASTORIAN • TuESdAy, SEpTEmbER 6, 2022
Governor: Winner will help set the state’s direction
Continued from page A1
or wood chips, or potato chips out in
Boardman, or fish and chips in Astoria,
that we have throughout Oregon different
microeconomies, and the governor needs
to understand that.
Drazan: The opportunity to bring
Oregonians together is a big part of
why I’m running. When we have a
Portland focus and hard, progressive
Democrat agenda, you end up taking
that agenda and you impose it on the
rural parts of the state.
Too often in the public policymak-
ing process, you have folks drive six
or eight hours to Salem and testify
for two or three minutes. No one asks
them questions and their proposals do
not change outcomes because this sin-
gle party control machine — they’ve
got the votes.
Having a Republican governor
ensures (lawmakers) have to compro-
mise. They have to listen to the stake-
holders, because if they don’t, they’ll
get a veto in my administration.
Kotek: For me, it is about how you
listen to people, making sure you’re
out in local communities, engaging
with local leaders.
As speaker of the House, it was
really important for me to represent the
entire state. I made a point to encourage
my colleagues, Democrats and Repub-
licans, to visit each other’s districts.
As governor, getting out of Salem
more often — it’s important. You
bring people together by listening. And
focusing on issues that I don’t think
are very partisan. Every part of this
state has a housing problem. That’s
not a partisan issue. I honestly think
water’s not a partisan issue. We all
need water. So, focusing on issues that
aren’t highly politicized is a good place
to start.
Q: What marching orders will
you give the Oregon Department of
Environmental Quality?
Johnson: Big ones. I want that
agency to stop torturing Oregonians and
to help Oregonians. Frequently, DEQ’s
answer has been ‘no’ — to everything.
I want can-do, want-to, will-do people
running state agencies. I want them to
start at ‘yes.’ I want agencies with reg-
ulatory authority to work with farmers
and not constantly be looking for fault
or wanting to over-regulate.
Drazan: My favorite thing that’s
going to happen on my first day is ask-
ing all the agency heads to turn in their
resignations — all of them. And we’re
going to sit down and have a conver-
sation. My commitment to Oregonians
is to lead in a new direction. We’re not
going to get that done if you keep the
entire bureaucratic machine crankin’
along like nothing’s changed. I have an
expectation that my agency heads are
expert in the subject matter, commit-
ted to customer service, to being prob-
lem-solvers, to getting to ‘yes’ first
and ‘no’ second and to partnering with
Oregonians rather than standing as a
barrier.
Kotek: I think one of the biggest
issues right now is to make sure (DEQ
has) the resources and staff power to
meet current regulations.
Nothing is more frustrating for me
than to hear someone say, ‘I want to
expand my business, but it’s taking 18
months to get my new water permit or
In terms of overall forest practices,
my air permit renewed.’
the Private Forest Accord is a template
The other issue is making sure our
of how we can improve forest prac-
tices. (The accord was a deal that tim-
rule-making processes and rules are
ber and conservation groups reached
inclusive. Oregonians support regu-
lations that have goals. We believe in
last fall.)
clean water, clean air — we all agree
Where does Kotek stand on logging
on that. And things have to be set up
and grazing?
in a way that businesses can function.
I don’t have a particular agenda on
Q: Do you think agriculture has
either of those issues because I’m not
too large a claim on Oregon’s water
an expert.
supply?
Kotek says solving Oregon’s hous-
ing crisis is a top priority. does she
Johnson: I do not. Oregon’s econ-
omy rests on the back of agriculture.
support using timber harvested from
Farmers, fishing interests, ranchers,
Oregon’s forests to build houses?
other producers are part of the back-
We’re gonna have to build 36,000
bone of our economic past and cer-
housing units per year for the next
tainly our economic future.
decade to actually meet our gap and
Drazan: I don’t. Oregon agricul-
get ahead of it. I love the cycle of
ture has always been a critical partner
using Oregon-based mass timber to
in Oregon’s economy, to Oregon cul-
construct homes. Mass timber is a
ture, to Oregon families. And we can-
very viable product that we have to
not overlook the need for access to
promote.
local food production.
Q: Was it a mistake to shut down
Kotek: I don’t know if I can com-
schools and businesses during the
ment on that. What I do know is Orego-
COVID-19 pandemic?
nians like the fact that we grow things,
Johnson: Hell, yes.
that we are a leader in export products
I think we did enormous damage. I
in the ag sector, and it’s kind of in the
don’t think we’ve measured the social,
DNA of Oregon to grow things. So, I
emotional, mental health and academic
think ag is really important.
damage that we’ve done to our kids.
Q: What does good forest and
A lot of the hospitality industry is not
public lands manage-
going to recover. We’ve
ment look like to you?
dissipated the workforce.
For example, do you
And our response to the
support
prescribed
distribution of money
OREGON IS
burning, grazing, thin-
was not consistent or
ning and logging?
objective.
HOSTING AN
Johnson: Yes, yes,
What would she have
UNUSUAL
yes, yes.
done differently?
(Although
Johnson
I
would
have
THREE-WAY
supports all four prac-
approached the issue with
RACE AMONG
tices, she described
more humility. I would
nuances.
have talked to county
A TRIO OF
Johnson said she sup-
commissioners and city
ports prescribed fire but
councilors and mayors.
WOMEN
has ‘questioned the com-
If you don’t have the
WHO ARE
petency of the Forest
affected people’s opin-
ion(s), you just have what
Service not to let some
ALL RECENT
emanates out of Salem.
of those prescribed burns
My reaction to what
get away.’
MEMBERS OF
happened was that the
Johnson said there are
THE STATE
agencies were punitive
“subtleties” on grazing:
(and) retaliatory. They
‘Do you keep the critters
LEGISLATURE.
didn’t work with business
out of the streams?’
to try to prescribe the saf-
On thinning, she said,
est conditions for patrons
‘We have got to thin.’
and workers. Rather, they
Johnson said she also
just had their little regulatory Big-
backs post-fire salvage logging.)
ger Book of Bureaucracy out, running
Drazan: There’s a place for all of
around trying to tell people what they
that, to be clear. We need to have active
were doing wrong.
management of our working lands, and
Drazan: I’m a mom of three kid-
that has got to include forests.
dos. I had my daughter at home online
Technology exists for us to be able
trying to teach herself algebra in mid-
to identify, say, when lightning strikes
dle school. It was absolutely a mistake
occur, which may result in a fire start.
to keep schools closed as long as they
We also have the Good Neighbor
were.
Authority program; we should con-
tinue to invest in that. (The program
Those first days where we did not
allows states, counties or tribes to do
fully understand how to navigate
forest, rangeland and watershed resto-
COVID, who was at risk, how this was
ration projects on federal lands.)
going to move through our communi-
ties. … As House Republican leader, I
I think we should make more of our
sent a letter to the governor on behalf
forestlands available for logging. We’re
of our caucus saying: Whatever you
either gonna manage (our forests) or
need, however we can work with you,
we’re gonna watch (them) burn.
we need to do everything we can to
Kotek: My baseline is: Talk to the
protect public health.
experts. OSU (Oregon State Univer-
sity) is a huge resource for us, under-
And that suddenly became: She
standing what the experts at OSU think
did whatever she wanted. And she
we should be doing.
mandated everything. I think that the
I believe we do need some level of
duration of that shutdown was heavy-
prescribed burning, and it has to be
handed and was an absolute abysmal
done safely.
failure.
What will Drazan do differently if
there’s a future pandemic?
I’d give more local control to our
school boards with recommendations.
And businesses?
And businesses. You can trust Ore-
gonians with the best information and
the most support possible to make the
right choices for themselves, their cus-
tomers, their clients and their families.
Kotek: There was certainly dis-
agreement across the state on how
best to do this. I think it was import-
ant that we instituted public health
requirements that kept people safe,
and frankly, alive. There are a lot of
people walking around today because
we tried to do the right thing.
Will Kotek keep schools and busi-
nesses open moving forward?
The No. 1 priority to me is, no matter
what, we have to keep our schools open.
We have to have students in person.
What about businesses?
I think one of the things (that)
didn’t go well is you can’t tell busi-
nesses they are open and give them 48
hours and say, ‘Oh, and you’re clos-
ing in two days.’ You have to give peo-
ple advance warning. It’s important to
have businesses part of the conversa-
tion and give them adequate notice
whenever you’re gonna do something
that could impact their business.
Q: Rural economies are largely
based on agriculture and natural
resource industries. What do you
see as the ideal jobs of the future in
rural Oregon?
Johnson: I think that industry
in rural places is doing it. Walking
through the plywood mill in Elgin,
realizing how much of that is now
computer-driven.
We’re innovating new products we
had never even dreamed of. Oregon is
uniquely positioned to do the things
we’ve already talked about — thin-
ning, logging — but also, I think we’re
uniquely positioned to innovate.
Drazan: Across every generation,
you see the evolution of community.
What we have to continue to protect
and preserve, though, is the autonomy
of local communities.
We live in a free society. That is
the beauty of our nation — its inde-
pendence. Oregonians should have
the right to choose for themselves and
their families their best lives.
And I frankly don’t believe there is
a future for our state and nation with-
out rural communities that continue
to provide the values and benefits that
our agricultural community has pro-
vided for centuries.
Kotek: I’m super bullish about the
strides we’re making on broadband
infrastructure. The other issue for me
is clean energy jobs.
We have to produce more clean
energy in our state. That is jobs for
rural Oregonians. That is large-scale
solar. It’s offshore wind. It’s the
pumped storage (hydropower) facility
down in Klamath.
One of the things about large-scale
solar in particular (is) finding proper-
ties that are on low-grade or low-value
farmland. We have to protect the land
use system. So, clean energy jobs and
broadband (are) very important and
supporting our traditional industries as
well.