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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (March 19, 2016)
Page 4A OPINION East Oregonian Saturday, March 19, 2016 Founded October 16, 1875 KATHRYN B. BROWN DANIEL WATTENBURGER Publisher Managing Editor JENNINE PERKINSON TIM TRAINOR Advertising Director Opinion Page Editor EO MEDIA GROUP East Oregonian • The Daily Astorian • Capital Press • Hermiston Herald Blue Mountain Eagle • Wallowa County Chieftain • Chinook Observer • Coast River Business Journal Oregon Coast Today • Coast Weekend • Seaside Signal • Cannon Beach Gazette Eastern Oregon Real Estate Guide • Eastern Oregon Marketplace • Coast Marketplace OnlyAg.com • FarmSeller.com • Seaside-Sun.com • NorthwestOpinions.com • DiscoverOurCoast.com MIKE FORRESTER STEVE FORRESTER KATHRYN B. BROWN Pendleton Chairman of the Board Astoria President Pendleton Secretary/Treasurer CORY BOLLINGER JEFF ROGERS Aberdeen, S.D. Director Indianapolis, Ind. Director OUR VIEW Gov. Brown tells rural Oregon to show up, speak up When Governor Kate Brown travels outside Salem, she seems to stop in Pendleton more often than not. This trip, her ¿rst of¿cial Maunt outside the Willamette Valley since the short session, was no different. Brown visited the Pendleton Early Learning Center, Blue Mountain Community College, a boot shop on Main Street and this newspaper’s editorial board — the whole Pendleton experience. With our board, she discussed the feeling of rural Oregonians who are represented in Salem almost exclusively by Republicans. Those Republicans are the minority party in both chambers. A minority representing a minority can ¿nd themselves far from the levers of power. And that feeling of voicelessness can manifest itself in dangerous ways, as we saw earlier this year in rural Harney County. In an act of de¿ance during the last short session, Republicans didn’t show up for an evening work session. The message from the GOP was that you don’t listen to us anyway — you don’t need us to get a partisan bill to the governor’s desk — so why even take part? At the same time, you can’t blame the Democrats for plowing ahead. They have their policy goals and they have the votes to achieve them. Brown knows what it’s like to be in the minority party. She spent 14 years in the House and Senate during a time when Democrats were outnumbered both places. Brown said she didn’t think the 2016 short session was terribly partisan, although she admitted “there were certainly times when there was a lot of tension.” But through that tension, she said good legislation made its way into law. And more often than not, a Republican signature was included on each one. “When we closed the session down, 75 bills had come through our desk,” said Brown. “All but one of them had some level of Republican support.” The one bill that didn’t was the minimum wage increase. She said that local Republicans Bill Hansell and Greg Barreto were pleased with the wolf bill, biomass tax credit and a bill to incentivize investment in solar energy. And we’ve heard the same from them. Of the wolf bill, clearly a priority for Eastern Oregon, Brown said: “Dor me, what was most important was sending a very strong signal that this type of collaboration and cooperation is how we want to solve problems in Oregon … and so that’s why I signed the bill. Bottom line. From a legal perspective it was certainly, no question, disconcerting for me.” The minimum wage bill is clearly the piece of legislation that will have the biggest impact on the state. And on that piece of Democratic legislation, Brown says the GOP made sizable contributions to how it will look once it’s brought to life this summer. “I believe that one of the reasons that the third tier was created was because of concerns that representatives like Cliff Bentz (R-Ontario) brought to the table,” said Brown. “Obviously we were aware of the dynamic — in terms of other states. When negotiating with the business community and the labor groups, frankly it was the business community that was not interested in having more than two tiers, because it can get very complicated.” But Brown said rural Oregon legislators persisted, pointing out the differences between their districts and the urban and suburban Willamette Valley. “Frankly I was pleased to see three tiers,” said Brown. “I think it was a better ¿t for Oregon. And so that’s why it’s really important that rural Oregonians not only step up, but have their voices be heard. Because I truly believe they can impact legislation. And while Rep. Bentz would probably say he was not particularly pleased with the ¿nal product, I think he would probably say it was better (when it became law) than when it started.” Brown’s three-day trip included stops in Bend and Eugene. Her time in Pendleton, speaking with local representatives and business owners and kindergartners, allow eastern Oregonians to have the governor’s ear, if only for a few hours. Unsigned editorials are the opinion of the East Oregonian editorial board of Publisher Kathryn Brown, Managing Editor Daniel Wattenburger, and Opinion Page Editor Tim Trainor. Other columns, letters and cartoons on this page express the opinions of the authors and not necessarily that of the East Oregonian. OTHER VIEWS Take the Trump quiz D onald Trump is very likely triumph at the end of 2015 when the going to be the Republican House passed a compromise spending nominee for president of the bill that keeps the government running United States. through the fall. Trump has been loudly Take three deep breaths. critical, and at a recent rally in North I know we’ve been on this path for Carolina, he said the bill was bad a long time, but it’s still hard getting because: your head around the idea, isn’t it? A. The appropriation for infrastruc- Just to ease the transition, our ¿rst-ever ture repair is inadequate. Gail exclusively Donald Trump quiz: B. It fails to address the really crit- Collins 1. After his big string of victories this ical Puerto Rican oil export issue. Comment week, Trump appeared on MSNBC’s C. It funds ISIS. Morning Joe, where he was asked who 8. Sarah Palin had to leave the his foreign policy advisers were. He said: Trump campaign to be with her husband, who A. “I’m speaking with a lot of generals. had a serious snowmobile accident. Before Very impressive people. All winners.” her departure she said Todd’s multiple inMuries B. “I’m speaking with myself.” made her appreciate: C. “I have a long list. It’s a good list. Vlad- A. The skill of Alaskan emergency treat- imir Putin said it was the best list he’d ever ment centers. B. The time that we have to spend in doing seen.” something so worthy, and 2. After making his surprise endorsement, Ben Carson said that’s to get Donald J. Trump that there were “two different elected president. Donald Trumps” and that C. The stress my family has the private one was “very undergone due to my unÀag- cerebral.” Asked about that ging pursuit of celebrity. comment, Trump replied: 9. After Trump defended A. “I think there are two the use of torture against Donald Trumps.” suspected terrorists, his son B. “I don?t think there are Eric, who was campaigning two Donald Trumps.” for him, pointed out that C. “I think there are two Donald Trumps ? I waterboarding: don’t think there are two Donald Trumps.” A. Is no different than what happens on 3. Trump claimed on Good Morning college campuses in frat houses every day. America that there was “nobody that’s done so B. Has real ef¿cacy when employed as a last much for equality as I have.” As an example he resort in isolated incidences. pointed to: C. Is no worse than what China’s doing to A. His endorsements by Mike Tyson and our manufacturing base. Dennis Rodman. 10. Since he threw his support behind B. The black guy who won ?The Appren- Trump, Gov. Chris Christie has been humiliated tice? in 2005. on a daily basis for everything; from his slavish C. His $100,000-membership club, Mar-a- stare at the candidate’s news conferences to Lago “totally open to everybody.” widespread criticism of his absence from New 4. After a protester rushed the stage at one of Jersey while he toils on the campaign trail. To his rallies, Trump claimed the man was associ- pay him back, at a pre-primary event this week, ated with ISIS, and retweeted a video of him Trump: holding a gun in front of the ISIS Àag. When A. Made fun of Christie for the absentee NBC?s Chuck Todd pointed out that it was a thing. hoax, Trump said: B. Announced he was indeed planning to A. “Whoops.” make Christie secretary of transportation. B. “All I know is what’s on the Internet.” C. Invited Christie to tell the audience all the C. “As Kierkegaard said, ‘The truth is a things he went through on 9/11. trap.’” 11. Trump has endlessly complained about 5. One of the groups that’s been opening the way immigrants steal Mobs from U.S. Trump rallies is USA Freedom Kids, little workers, but he’s used loopholes in federal law girls who sang about “President Trump” who to hire foreign workers himself. At a recent “knows how to make America great:” debate he argued that voters wouldn’t care A. “And give us schools that really rate.” about that seeming contradiction because: B. “Teach us to love and not to hate.” A. Everybody would like a Romanian C. “Deal from strength or get crushed every helper. time.” B. Nobody knows the system better than 6. Trump defended the supporter who me. sucker-punched a protester being led away by C. What happens in Mar-a-Lago stays in security forces. He said the attack was Musti¿ed Mar-a-Lago. because the protester: ANSWERS: 1-B, 2-C, 3-C, 4-B, 5-C, 6-C, A. Had violently attacked an elderly woman. 7-C, 8-B, 9-A, 10-A, 11-B B. Had tried to grab one of the of¿cer’s Ŷ guns. Gail Collins joined The New York Times in C. Was sticking a certain ¿nger up in the air. 1995 as a member of the editorial board and 7. House Speaker Paul Ryan scored a great later as an Op-Ed columnist. Take three deep breaths before answering. YOUR VIEWS EOTEC will be ready for 2017 fair and rodeo The sky is falling. Just like Chicken Little, the sky is always falling in on EOTEC if you believe the East Oregonian. It does not like the acronym “EOTEC.” (And what is the “EO Media Group” name?) It screeches that EOTEC is over budget! (When started, EOTEC didn’t have two nickels to rub together, much less a budget.) It roars that EOTEC is behind schedule! (The lease on the fairgrounds does not run out until Dec. 31.) It anguishes that EOTEC will be a burden on local government! (It will have zero debt when completed.) On Dec. 19 of last year, the East Oregonian editorial board whined about EOTEC being a “charity case” after attending an EOTEC public meeting beginning fundraising for $2 million of private funds to ¿nish the proMect. (In four months $1.8 million in donations and pledges have been received with a total of $2.3 million anticipated.) And in this Thursday’s editorial the editors darkly warned of an impending “maMor catastrophe” because a brand new proMect manager got crossed up on the deadline for completion. I have been involved in this proMect since March 2, 1983, with Joe Bums and Tom Harper, and in 1984 personally negotiated the option to purchase the new EOTEC site. Most recently I wrote the memorandum of understanding between the city, county, school district, fair and rodeo outlining how the fair could be moved and EOTEC created. Then, at the request of the city and the county, I wrote the intergovernmental agreement that created EOTEC. All for free. And while I have worked on this proMect for 33 years, there are others who have invested far more time. The EOTEC success will have a thousand fathers. To the EO Media Group and its sadly out of touch editors I say this: EOTEC will be built in time for the 2017 fair and rodeo, and at the end of this year, the Hermiston School District will take over the decrepit 24-acre old fairgrounds in time convert it into an unequaled high school campus in the center of town. The move of the fair, the expanded high school campus, and EOTEC will change the face of Hermiston forever. And what part will the East Oregonian and EO Media Group have played in this incredible undertaking? Absolutely nothing. In 16 months they are going to look very, very foolish. George Anderson, Hermiston LETTERS POLICY The East Oregonian welcomes original letters of 400 words or less on public issues and public policies for publication in the newspaper and on our website. The newspaper reserves the right to withhold letters that address concerns about individual services and products or letters that infringe on the rights of private citizens. Submitted letters must be signed by the author and include the city of residence and a daytime phone number. The phone number will not be published. Unsigned letters will not be published. Send letters to Managing Editor Daniel Wattenburger, 211 S.E. Byers Ave. Pendleton, OR 97801 or email editor@eastoregonian.com.
