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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (April 23, 2016)
Page 4A OPINION East Oregonian Saturday, April 23, 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 Remaking Pendleton City Council It’s fantastic to see so many competitive races for Pendleton City Council. /RWVRIQDPHVORWVRIEXEEOHVWR¿OOLQRUVNLSRYHUORWVRIPXOWLFRORUHG signs decorating Pendleton yards in each of its wards. But that also means more responsibility rests on voters, who must parse and pick between quality candidates. But no need to feel overwhelmed. The East Oregonian editorial board sat down with all 13 candidates still vying for seats on city council. We recorded those interviews, which you can listen to on our website and on iTunes. They allow you to hear each candidate in their own words, responding to questions and prompts from the edit board. You’re welcome to come to your own conclusion after listening to them all. But if you’d like to hear what we took from those interviews, read on. Ward 1 With such a posse of new cowboys gunning for council seats, one could be tempted to kick the whole old guard out of town. Becky Marks is the incumbent in Ward 1, the only woman running an active campaign in council elections. Her votes to keep the public from having a voice on marijuana policy in the city, and her promise to ignore them if they overturn the city’s temporary ban, is troublesome and undemocratic. But there is no better option this time around. Challenger James Tibbets has a troubled history of his own. He’s a better person now than he was when convicted of a hate crime, but not ready to take a leadership role in Pendleton. Ward 2 Hardworking and energetic Chuck Wood decided not to run for UHHOHFWLRQZKLFKPHDQVLW¶VDZLGHRSHQUDFHWR¿OOKLVZHOOZRUQVKRHV :HWKLQN6FRWW)DLUOH\LVWKHEHVW¿W He is a good communicator, both willing to listen and willing to throw out ideas, has government experience and — at 49 and with a child still in college — provides a necessary and long missing perspective on the council. :HKDYHFRQ¿GHQFHKHZLOOWDNHWKHMREVHULRXVO\ Bob Ehmann has had eight years on city council, from 1992-2000, and the electorate would be better served by bringing new voices into the fold. (KPDQQLVDJRRG¿WRQKLVPDQ\ERDUGVDQGFRPPLVVLRQV City council meetings are better when Rex Morehouse is involved. But we think he is more useful to the city when reliably questioning councilors during the public comment section rather than being another body on the dais. We think he enjoys that more than being a councilor, too. Ward 3 Tom Young decided not to run for another term in Ward 3. Three candidates are in the running to replace him. Dale Primmer is clearly the best choice. He’s thought long and hard about the issues facing Pendleton and, of the candidates most likely to win the election, comes in with the clearest vision of how to bring changes. Setting goals and holding people accountable to PHHWLQJWKHPDOWKRXJKQRWÀDVK\RQ\DUGVLJQVLVWKHNLQGRIQRH[FXVHV expectations that the city needs to set. It’s great to see young Cody Cimmiyotti throw his hat in the ring, but we think he’s better off starting his political career the long way, on one of the PDQ\FLW\FRPPLWWHHVDQGRUQRQSUR¿WERDUGVEXLOGLQJUHODWLRQVKLSVDQG collecting knowledge and experience. Hopefully his name will be on the ballot in future elections. Don Bennett did not separate himself from his competitors, nor from the council’s general naysayers. At-Large In what may be the toughest decision on the ballot, we tabbed Paul &KDOPHUVWRKROGRQWRWKHVHDWKHKDGSUHYLRXVO\EHHQFKRVHQWR¿OO If you remember, Jane Hill left this seat not long ago, and Chalmers EHDWRXWDFURZGHG¿HOGWRJHWWKHQRGIURPWKHFXUUHQWFRXQFLO+HKDVQ¶W KDGPXFKWLPHWRGLVWLQJXLVKKLPVHOI\HWEXWLVDVWURQJ¿VFDOYRLFHZLWK deep knowledge of the inner workings of local government. His voice and perspective are valuable on the council. Rick Rohde would make an excellent councilor too. Perhaps no candidate spends as much time caring for the city of Pendleton than he does — not just when collecting litter from city streets, but attending council meetings and sparking community discussion on the pages of this newspaper. He has a clear approach to political issues and is not afraid to look askance at things the city has been doing for years without thinking twice about. Like 0RUHKRXVHKHLVDEHQH¿WWRWKHFLW\HDFKWLPHKHVKRZVXSDWFLW\KDOO Paul Rabitaille was among the most enjoyable candidates to talk with, but he lacked concrete and workable ideas to move the city forward. Mayor John Turner is running unopposed for the position after longtime RI¿FHKROGHU3KLOOLS+RXNGHFLGHGQRWWRWU\IRUDQRWKHUWHUP Turner has a long history in Pendleton, earning respect and building connections in numerous local institutions. That will be to his advantage. Running unopposed means Turner hasn’t had to lay out much of a campaign. He has used his time to praise the current mayor and council and talk about the good things going in Pendleton. And though there are many, Turner may be surprised to see the seriousness with which new faces want to make changes to Pendleton and how its government operates. We hope he’s willing to be part of that and help make this election a turning point for a city that has been stuck in idle. 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 José Martí, the national poet H AVANA — Many nations have source: the 19th-century poet and attempted the transition from journalist José Martí. I was amazed revolutionary socialism toward how much Martí’s name came up in some form of democratic capitalism; conversation here and how little Fidel &XEDMXVWKDSSHQVWREHWKH¿QDORQH Castro’s did. Martí is the national The country has many things going poet, the one who shifted the national against it as tries to make the journey. imagination, who told Cubans who It suffers from the dysfunctions they were and what their story was. He WKDWDIÀLFWFRXQWULHVWKDWKDYHJLDQW LQVSLUHGDFRPPRQIDLWKLQDGLJQL¿HG David bureaucratic states lying heavy on Brooks future. society. Those at the top have been One foundation head told me: Comment trained all their lives to regulate and “When I’m depressed I try to read control. The governing elites speak (at something Martí wrote. He’s a father great length) in lifeless ideological jargon. who embraces you. I think he engages the best The current government slogan — not of Cuba.” without haste, but without Martí taught by pause — suggests a steady H[DPSOH¿JKWLQJIRU&XEDQ reform process, but in fact the independence all his life. He old people running this effort was jailed in Cuba and exiled are halting and glacial. The to Spain and elsewhere. world is changing Cuba faster He lived a good chunk of than the Cuban state can cope. KLVOLIHLQWKH86¿JKWLQJ The neighborhoods feel American imperialism but warmer and more communal writing admiring essays on than those in many other Whitman, Emerson and the nations, but there are certainly a lot of young Brooklyn Bridge. He excelled at prose, poetry men lethargically hanging about all day and political organization. He died in battle, without much to do. ¿JKWLQJIRU&XEDQLQGHSHQGHQFHIURP6SDLQ Independent civic institutions are scarce. He also taught through his writing, which The young people, local scholars say, are is quoted on all sides. He believed in an disillusioned with all systems. They hope independent Cuba, a moderate and democratic technology will save them, or moving abroad political system with protections to tame will. capitalism. His love of Cuba caused him to %XWWKHUHLVRQHELJWKLQJ&XEDGH¿QLWHO\ love all Cubans. He spent much of his life has going for it: national pride. One trying to unite and reconcile them. “Absolute HQFRXQWHUVD¿HUFHORYHRIFRXQWU\DVHQVHRI ideas must take relative forms if they are not QDWLRQDOVROLGDULW\DQGDFRQ¿GHQWSDWULRWLF to fail,” he wrote. spirit that is today lacking in the United States. But he was not primarily a systematic The patriotism has prickly manifestations. or programmatic thinker. “The problem of &XEDQRI¿FLDOVGURSUDQGRP%D\RI3LJV independence is not a change in form but references into their conversations with DFKDQJHLQVSLULW´KHEHOLHYHG+H¿UHG Americans, just for the ornery satisfaction of SDWULRWLVPDQGVHOIFRQ¿GHQFH+HIRXQGLQQHU it. There is also a pervasive (and sometimes IXO¿OOPHQWE\VHUYLQJDQDWLRQDOSURMHFWDQG completely unhelpful) sense of Cuban envisioning a national purpose. exceptionalism; the idea is that no other It’s hard to be too optimistic about Cuba’s PRGHOTXLWH¿WV&XEDEHFDXVHWKHSODFHLVVR short-term future. The leaders are trying to remarkably distinct. square the mother of all circles — to have a But there are glorious manifestations. rich society but without rich people; to have A lot of that national pride is based on an entrepreneurial class but without losing the cultural achievements. I am here with the egalitarian solidarity; to have revolutionary President’s Committee on the Arts and socialism and also outside investment and the Humanities, part of President Barack growth, risk-taking and enterprise. Obama’s reconciliation with Cuba. Musicians But it’s exciting to see a nation that has a like Smokey Robinson, Dave Matthews, palpable sense of its own soul. It’s interesting Joshua Bell, John Lloyd Young and Usher to see what a powerful force a national and creative types like playwright John poet can be. Long dead, Martí is a precious Guare and choreographer Martha Clarke, UHVRXUFHZKRXQL¿HVDPLGGLVDJUHHPHQWDQG got to interact with their Cuban counterparts, IRUWL¿HVLQKDUGWLPHV ZKLOHJRYHUQPHQWRI¿FLDOVQHJRWLDWHGIXWXUH Every nation needs to know who it is and exchanges. what its collective story is. I wonder if the This is the way to see Cuba at its best. The current U.S. malaise has something to do with artistic community is consistently dazzling. the way we have lost touch with our own It’s not only the high artistic standards. There national poets, or even a common sense of is a radiating joy in performance that glows who they might be. out of each artist, a blaze from something deep Ŷ in the Cuban soul. David Brooks became a New York Times But Cuban national pride has another Op-Ed columnist in September 2003. Cuba’s patriotism has prickly manifestations. YOUR VIEWS Lieuallen’s character sets him apart in circuit court race As a lawyer practicing in Umatilla County, I am very concerned about the quality and character of the two candidates for judge in Umatilla County Circuit Court. I have known both candidates for many years and have had several cases with both of them. Both Jon Lieuallen and John Ballard have the education and legal experience for the job of circuit court judge. However, they could not be more different as persons. Lieuallen is a home-grown family man from this area, with four busy kids involved in all kinds of activities. His wife is a medical professional here also. He comes from a farming/ranching background and has family roots deep in our community. His hard-work ethic has made him compassionate and generous with his time and able to work ZLWKDGLYHUVHSRSXODWLRQXQGHUGLI¿FXOW circumstances. Ballard, by contrast, portrays none of these things. His scorched-earth litigation style is damaging and unnecessary. It’s also unprofessional. I was not at all surprised to learn of his close call before the Oregon Supreme Court in 2014, when he went to trial on a Bar complaint alleging several violations of Oregon rules of ethics. While Ballard was ultimately not found in violation of the rules, his conduct and judgment so negatively impressed the trial panel that it stated on the second page of the opinion, immediately after stating that Ballard was acquitted of the charges: “However, it should be made clear that the trial panel unanimously disapproves of Ballard’s conduct... The claim by Ballard of “I owed no duty to the wife” rang hollow with the trial panel.... The trial panel found it offensive IRU%DOODUGDVDQDWWRUQH\DQGRI¿FHURIWKH court, to be directly involved in surreptitiously taking and holding the vehicle used by wife, no matter the rationale offered.” This is not the kind of person I want GHFLGLQJGLI¿FXOWDQGSDLQIXOGLVVROXWLRQDQG custody cases or any other kind of case, for that matter. Skating on very thin ice ethically and morally is not a talent I admire in a lawyer, much less a judge. I am voting for Jon Lieuallen for Circuit Court Judge. His experience with prosecution, defense, and serving as pro tem judge gives him a fair and balanced approach to the law. Lieuallen is a man of high moral character and integrity who will bring honor and professionalism to his courtroom. He is a person worthy of respect and of your vote. Kittee Custer Pendleton 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. Submitted letters must be signed by the author and include the city of residence and a phone number. Send letters to 211 S.E. Byers Ave. Pendleton, OR 97801 or email editor@eastoregonian.com.
