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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 27, 2016)
Page 4A OPINION East Oregonian Saturday, August 27, 2016 Founded October 16, 1875 KATHRYN B. BROWN DANIEL WATTENBURGER Publisher Managing Editor JANNA HEIMGARTNER TIM TRAINOR Business Manager 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 OUR VIEW What we’d like to hear from governor candidates Kate Brown and Bud Pierce are squaring off for the top job in state government. While the incumbent Brown has the advantage in name recognition and political afiliation, it could be one of the closer governor’s races that Oregon has seen in some time. Thankfully, both Brown and Pierce have agreed to ive debates in the run-up to November. Of course, we’d love for journalists and the public to have even more opportunities to ask questions and watch the two interact on stage in front of cameras. But we’ll make do with ive, for now. The East Oregonian will help sponsor and moderate a Sept. 24 debate in Bend, where the focus will be on rural issues. And we are disappointed that we weren’t able to move that event farther east so more of our readers could attend. But it was as close as we could get to Eastern Oregon while still having a television station to broadcast the event live, which is a requirement for a little while longer. The post-TV world is fast approaching, and it will arrive none too soon. The other conirmed debates at this time are Sept. 30 in Portland, Oct. 6 in Eugene, Oct. 13 in Medford and Oct. 20 in Portland. Brown’s campaign told our Capital Bureau reporter that additional debates, forums or appearances will still be considered. We’re starting to craft questions that will elicit clear, newsworthy responses from both candidates. And we’re looking forward to those responses. There is still a lot to learn from both candidates, who remain unknowns to a large percentage of Oregonians. It’s good to remember that although she is the current oficeholder, Gov. Brown never won We’d like to hear from you too: Do you have question you’d like to ask the candidates? Email it to editor@eastoregonian.com an election for the state’s highest ofice. She took over shortly after John Kitzhaber’s name successfully led the Democratic ticket in 2014 and then was abruptly forced to resign. Pierce, a medical doctor from Salem, is a newcomer to statewide politics. Brown has made her voice clear, if belatedly, in support of Measure 97. But she will have to make a more forceful argument of the measure, which has been begun to slip in the polls, if both she and it are successful in November. From a rural perspective, we’re also interested in hearing her explain her stance on a possible Owyhee Canyonlands National Monument, the behind-schedule, over-budget Blue Mountains forest plan, the anti- government lavor brewing in some of the state’s smallest counties and the myriad resource, transportation, cultural and economic issues. Brown has questions to answer, but all the pressure is on Pierce. He has to outshine Brown considerably in order to make up ground in a state that votes reliably Democratic. He must come off likable but also capable, a newcomer worthy of skipping a few rungs on the ladder to the top. He must be aggressive and show the job was too big for Brown. Brown, on the other hand, has to show she deserves to stay at the controls. It will be fascinating to see the two debate, each trying to push and validate their policy positions but also trying to deine the state of our state. 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 Columbia River talks need to get going Tri-City (Wash.) Herald O ur Northwest congressional delegation has pleaded with federal State Department oficials since 2014 to set up a process so the U.S. and Canada can renegotiate the Columbia River Treaty. And time and again the request seems to go nowhere. We hope the lawmakers’ latest appeal inally will lead to some action. U.S. senators and representatives from Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Montana recently sent a letter to Secretary of State John Kerry asking him and the State Department to create parameters for the treaty talks, and to insist Canada appoint a lead negotiator. According to U.S. Rep. Dan Newhouse, R-Wash., the State Department said it intended to start treaty negotiations in 2016. But despite multiple letters from Congress urging action, progress has yet to be made. This is discouraging and, frankly, irritating. The lack of immediate deadline pressure is no reason to delay setting the course. The Columbia River Treaty is a complex document between the United States and Canada, and has provided the framework for hydropower production and lood control on the Columbia River since it was ratiied in 1964. It has turned the 1,243-mile Columbia into one of the most tightly controlled rivers in the world. The treaty hit its 50-year anniversary in 2014 and that opened the door for review. Portions of the agreement expire in 2024, but oficials with either the U.S. or Canada can give a 10-year notice that they wish to modify the agreement. And that is what our Northwest delegation is trying to do. With an expiration date now eight years away, State Department oficials may not believe there is a sense of urgency surrounding this issue. But they are wrong. The Columbia River Treaty is bound to take time to re-negotiate and our Northwest lawmakers are right to want the process started as soon as possible. Their latest letter says that the Columbia River plays a “critical role in the economy and the culture in the Northwest region” and that “potential management changes initiated through the treaty could have major impacts far into the future.” One of the priorities for the U.S. will be to re-negotiate the amount paid to Canada for the role it plays in producing hydropower. Native American tribes in the U.S. and in Canada also have been pushing for the treaty to include the return of ish runs that were destroyed by some of the dams. These are complicated issues by themselves, but there also are agriculture, recreation, navigation and environmental concerns to consider. Reaching an agreement will be a monumental task. Management of the Columbia River is a huge responsibility for both countries, and there is too much at stake to risk putting these crucial negotiations off any longer. Time is running out. Federal oficials need to set up treaty talks with Canada before another year goes by. OTHER VIEWS The art of gracious leadership L him radically hopeful and gave him ately I’ve been thinking about conidence and tenacity. His capacity experience. Donald Trump lacks to ight grew out of his capacity to political experience, and the receive. ineptitude caused by his inexperience Such people have a gentle strength. is evident every day. On the other They are aggressive and kind, hand, Hillary Clinton is nothing if free of sharp elbows, comfortable not experienced. Her ship is running revealing and being abashed by their smoothly, and yet as her reaction to transgressions. the email scandal shows once again, David The U.S. military used to be pretty there’s often a whiff of inhumanity Brooks good at breeding this type of leader. about her campaign that inspires Comment In the years around World War II, distrust. generals often got ired. But they So I’ve been thinking that it’s not were also given second chances. That is, they enough to be experienced. The people in endured brutal experiences, but they were public life we really admire turn experience given a chance to do something with those into graciousness. experiences and come back Those people, I think, see stronger and more supple. their years as humbling agents. They were also reminded They see that, more often than very clearly that as members not, the events in our lives are of an elite, they had the perfectly designed to lay bare responsibilities that come with our chronic weaknesses and that station. Today, everybody expose some great whopping is in denial about being part of new ones. the establishment, believing Sooner or later life teaches the actual elite is someone else. you that you’re not the center of Therefore, no one is raised with a code of the universe, nor quite as talented or good as stewardship and a sense of personal privilege you thought. It teaches you to care less about and duty. what others think and, less self-conscious, to Hillary Clinton has experience, but does get out of your own way. People who are gracious also understand not seem to have been transformed by it. Amid the accuracy of John Keats’ observation the email scandal she is repeating the same that “Nothing ever becomes real ‘til it is mistakes she made during the Rose Law Firm experienced.” You can learn some truth out scandal two decades ago. Her posture is still of a book or from the mouth of a friend, but brittle, stonewalling and dissembling. Clinton somehow wisdom is not lodged inside until scandals are all the same. There’s an act of its truth has been engraved by some moment unseemly but not felonious behavior, then the of humiliation, delight, disappointment, joy or futile drawn-out withholding of information, some other irsthand emotion. and forever after the unwillingness to ever The mistakes just have to be made. come clean. Gracious people are humble enough to Experience distills life into instinct. If you observe that the best things in life are usually interpret your life as a battleield, then you undeserved — the way the pennies of love will want to maintain control at all times. You you invest in children get returned in dollars will hoard access. You will refuse to have later on; the kindness of strangers; the rebirth press conferences. You will close yourself off that comes after a friend’s unexpected and to those who can help. overawing act of forgiveness. If you treat the world as a friendly and The gracious people one sees in life and hopeful place, as a web of relationships, you’ll reads about in history books — I’m thinking look for the good news in people and not the of the all-time greats like Lincoln, Gandhi, bad. You’ll be willing to relinquish control, Mandela and Dorothy Day as well as closer and in surrender you’ll actually gain more igures ranging from Francis to Havel — turn strength as people trust in your candor and awareness of their own frailty into sympathy come alongside. Gracious leaders create a for others’ frailty. As Juan Gabriel Vásquez more gracious environment by greeting the wrote, “Experience, or what we call world openly and so end up maximizing their experience, is not the inventory of our pains, inluence and effectiveness. but rather the learned sympathy towards the It’s tough to surrender control, but like pain of others.” the rest of us, Hillary Clinton gets to decide They are good at accepting gifts, which is what sort of leader she wants to be. America necessary for real friendship, but is hard for a is desperate for a little uplift, for a leader who proud person to do. They can be surprisingly shows that she trusts her fellow citizens. It’s tenacious in action. never too late to learn from experience. Think of Martin Luther King Jr. The ■ grace that lowed into him from friends and David Brooks became a New York Times supporters and from all directions made Op-Ed columnist in September 2003. Experience distills life into instinct. YOUR VIEWS Boardman transmission line continues to move forward The Boardman to Hemingway Transmission Line Project is moving forward to meet the energy needs of the Paciic Northwest region. Since 2002, Idaho Power has regularly analyzed the need for this regional transmission connection. Analysis shows the need for the project is still strong and the project will beneit the entire area by allowing more electricity to move throughout the Paciic Northwest. In fact, B2H was identiied as a priority project by the Obama Administration as part of the Interagency Rapid Response Team for Transmission. Major permitting milestones are on the horizon for B2H. The Bureau of Land Management expects to release its inal Environmental Impact Statement this year. Following the federal Record of Decision, which is the next step after the inal EIS, we will continue to gather information on the selected route to develop the detailed design needed for Oregon’s Energy Facility Siting Council Process. Idaho Power continues to work with local communities, permitting agencies, and other partners and stakeholders. For example, routing variations were developed for analysis in response to comments on the draft EIS received from Union County and the County’s B2H Advisory Committee in January 2016. Similar efforts have occurred throughout Malheur, Baker, Umatilla and Morrow counties since the BLM issued their draft EIS in December 2014. Idaho Power and its contractors are out in the ield surveying plant species, bird and wildlife habitat and cultural resources. Federal and state permitting requires this data to assess potential environmental impacts of each route alternative. We are not conducting engineering surveys to inalize locations of transmission towers or other related facilities such as roads at this time. We are also not seeking to negotiate easements with landowners right now, but will begin those conversations once necessary permits are in place. Idaho Power sends requests to enter property to survey lands potentially crossed by the project. We rely on each county Assessor’s ofice for information necessary to send requests to landowners. We respect landowners and other stakeholders and partners and do not share any information that may be considered private. You can ind more information on B2H at boardmantohemingway.com or by contacting the project team at ipc@ boardmantohemingway.com or 1-877-339- 0209. Idaho Power 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.