Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (April 9, 2016)
Page 4A OPINION East Oregonian Saturday, April 9, 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 Transparency loses with Gov. Brown Who owns government role in making certain the public information — citizens, or the public knows what civil servants are doing employees our taxes pay to produce and saying. Inconvenience and it? expense are never valid excuses Oregon continues to struggle with when an agency fails to live up to this issue, as our Capital Bureau fundamental expectations. reporters explored in a Tuesday The rise of email — and a trend story about the waning drive for of government employees and transparency reforms elected leaders using in the state capital. personal accounts Gov. Kate Brown conduct what is The rise of to supposed succeeded in some to be public email makes business — makes it small efforts directed at situations arising important it particularly particularly from the Kitzhaber/ that transparency laws Hayes scandal. But keep up with changing important more meaningful technology. It is that improvements have reasonable to require died on the vine. of¿cials to promptly transparency submit A legislative leader such emails for laws keep told our reporters that a of¿cial archiving. key reform stalled this Beyond the issue up with year because city and of government changing county governments documents in all opposed deadlines and some public technology. formats, fee limits in the bill. entities in Oregon It is always possible routinely shut the to ¿nd examples of press and public out of gadÀies stretching open-records meetings, or fail to publicize them. laws by making overly broad or This is never acceptable. burdensome requests. However, the Oregon prides itself on strong American system of government adherence to democratic principles. deliberately vests the news media Our leaders must do much better at and citizen activists with a large living up to these aspirations. 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. YOUR VIEWS Local gas taxes won’t work in Eastern Oregon It seems that some of our council candidates are in favor of a gas tax. No city in Eastern Oregon has a gas tax. Even our democratic governor knows there is a great difference between eastern and western Oregon. The difference between the minimum wage in eastern and western Oregon is a good example. The only way a gas tax will work is statewide. The voters of Pendleton answered this question last fall. The gas tax failed in Pendleton and also in Bend. We are in competition with other cities in Eastern Oregon for business and industry. Let’s not make Pendleton less competitive than it already is. Ask your council candidate what their position is on gas tax, fee increases, and other taxes. My position is no gas tax, no fee increases, no tax increases until we have an ef¿ciency expert look at all city operations. Maybe we can let the taxpayers keep some of their own money. Rex J. Morehouse Pendleton Lieuallen the choice for circuit court judge On May 17 I encourage you to vote Jon Lieuallen Circuit Court Judge. I have known Jon Lieuallen for 20 years. He is an honest, hardworking, knowledgeable, impartial, conscientious, caring man who serves his community well, both on the job and off. Jon is a devoted and loving husband and father to his wife and four children. Jon believes in everyone working together to get things accomplished At home his four children are all assigned chores to help keep their home running smoothly. Taking out the garbage, feeding pets, mowing the lawn and emptying the dishwasher are the responsibilities of Jon’s children. Jon takes pride in the accomplishments of his children. He supports them and participates in their various school and sports activities and dance recitals. The family is also known to lend a helping hand to their neighbors. This past fall the family raked leaves from their neighbor’s yard when their neighbor was hospitalized. Our justice system needs judges who are of good character, impartial, fair-minded and good listeners. Our community and justice system needs Jon Lieuallen. Judith Pompili Portland Athena-Weston schools have golden opportunity The Athena-Weston School District has a remarkable opportunity to make improvements to its school facilities at a fraction of what it might normally cost. That’s because the state of Oregon has agreed to provide a $4 million matching grant if the citizens of the district vote in favor of a bond issue to provide the matching funds. Having been involved with the school district in a variety of ways over the past 17 years, I am well familiar with the school facilities and the needs of the district. While district staff has worked hard to do what they can to be good stewards of the facilities, there are needs which are simply beyond their capacity. The projects that are included in this funding proposal are not glitzy, but rather the kind of improvements necessary to insure the buildings will be serviceable for years to come. Projects like roo¿ng, modernization of energy systems, Àooring, more ef¿cient windows, safety and security enhancements, modern buses, better lighting, and technology will be wise investments that prolong the life of the buildings and equipment and contribute to a workable education setting. It has been my experience working with both the schools and the Athena and Weston communities that the residents demand value from their tax dollars and that they hold public of¿cials accountable for wise use of those resources. The bond issue proposed for the Athena-Weston School District — with generous support from the state of Oregon — meets that test of value and I am hopeful the citizens of both communities will respond with a positive vote of support. George Murdock, chair Umatilla County Board of Commissioners Be heard! Comment online at eastoregonian.com OTHER VIEWS The Lincoln caucus T he Republican presidential If the Republican ticket gets campaign just changed. Until devastated in November, members of now this has been a candidate- the Lincoln Caucus could say, “We centric process. All the different stood for something different,” and candidates were competing to get they’d be in a good position to lead the a majority of delegates to the GOP rebuilding process. convention. But now it’s likely no But the Lincoln Caucus would candidate will get that majority on the primarily serve more immediate ends. ¿rst ballot. First, the Lincoln Caucus would David So the campaign has become a Brooks work with the rules committee to get delegate-centric process. Suddenly rid of any party bylaws that inhibit Comment the delegates have all the power and delegate Àexibility at the convention. the candidates have to woo them for Second, it would tell the Trump and their support. The crucial question is: How are Cruz campaigns this: After the second ballot, delegates going to use their power? we will entertain offers for our support. You Well, they could go the may offer us policy pledges, solitary path. In this model personnel positions or the delegates give away anything you think will win their support one by one. our favor. But they’d get nothing for it After the offers were in, in return — except maybe a members of the Lincoln hug from Ivanka Trump or Caucus would hold a public a Ted Cruz coffee mug. Big vote. They could vote for whoop. the Trump offer, for the Or they could choose the Cruz offer or for some as yet collective path. unknown third candidate. If This is the path that most of the Lincoln Caucus recognizes that the situation votes went for the third we’re in now is more like option, then that person a parliamentary process than a presidential would be the caucus candidate in the ensuing process. Even very small groups can have convention ballots. an amazing inÀuence over big candidates This process would bring the Trump and who are trying to build a majority coalition. Cruz campaigns back toward the Republican Think of the way small Israeli religious parties mainstream. It would create a road toward extract concessions from the much larger party unity after one deal or another was Israeli parties. reached. It might go some way toward So I’m suggesting some number of heading off a general election debacle. delegates organize themselves into a caucus It would also create a democratic path called the Lincoln Caucus. The Lincoln toward a Republican nominee who is not Caucus would not be an explicitly anti-Trump Trump or Cruz. Remember, the members caucus or an anti-Cruz caucus. It would just of the caucus would be delegates, not be a caucus made up of delegates who are not Washington insiders. They would be a happy with the choices currently before them. committeeman from Missouri or a state rep The evidence suggests that there will be from Ohio. They’d be tied to the grass roots, a lot of these delegates. Only 10 percent of and the press would be all over these people the delegates are named by the presidential at the convention. This is the best way to get a campaigns. The vast majority, still to be non-Trump/Cruz candidate without sparking chosen, will be local activists or state riots in the streets. legislators. Mostly, members of the Lincoln Caucus If they have a chance on a second or third would stand up for the legitimate rights of ballot, many of them will love to vote against the party. In our republican system, it is Donald Trump. By July, many of them, I parties that choose nominees; not primary suspect, will be less satis¿ed with Cruz than voters. Parties are lasting institutions that they are today — after he gets crushed in a manage coalitions, preserve historical bunch of big primaries and gets bloodied in commitments, protect us from Àash-in-the-pan the Trump-Cruz civil war. demagogues and impose restraints on the I’m suggesting that the delegates who excessively ambitious. The Lincoln Caucus signed up to be members of the Lincoln would embody these legitimate institutional Caucus make a pledge to work and vote responsibilities. together at the convention. It’s impossible to tell where this process The ¿rst thing the Lincoln Caucus would is heading. It would be nice to have a do is plant a Àag for a different style of pre-organized faction, standing up for Republicanism. Members of the caucus pragmatic, reform conservative ideas, ready would remind the country that there still for whatever may come. are Republicans who believe in prudent If modern conservatives don’t stand globalism, reform conservative ideas to lift up together, they will surely hang separately. the working class. There are still Republicans Ŷ who believe in certain standards of polite David Brooks became a New York Times behavior in public and pragmatic compromise. Op-Ed columnist in September 2003. If modern conservatives don’t stand together, they will surely hang separately. 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.
