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UMATILLA
COUNTY FAIR
RESULTS
FALL
SPORTS
PREVIEW
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 31, 2016
140th Year, No. 228
One dollar
WINNER OF THE 2016 ONPA GENERAL EXCELLENCE AWARD
2016 UMATILLA COUNTY SHERIFF’S CAMPAIGN
Keeping
voters’
data safe
State takes measures to
guard against hackers
By CLAIRE WITHYCOMBE
Capital Bureau
SALEM — Oregon’s secretary of state
says her agency has taken appropriate
precautions to minimize the risk that
personal information submitted by the
state’s voters could be hacked.
In the wake of recent security breaches
in Arizona and Illinois, state elections
authorities received an alert from the FBI
by way of the federal Elections Assistance
Commission.
The FBI’s alert
“At this point
recommended
states
check
we feel that
whether certain
IP addresses had
we are pretty
attempted
to
secure.”
access protected
information main- — Jeanne Atkins,
tained by state
Secretary of State
elections agencies.
The
recom-
mendation was incorporated into the
Secretary of State Offi ce’s ongoing security
measures to protect the state’s centralized
voter registration database, Secretary of
State Jeanne Atkins said Tuesday.
In Oregon, voter registration informa-
tion is considered public record. Although
there are exemptions to releasing certain
details submitted by voters to the state, the
public already has a right to access the dates
of birth, home addresses, party affi liation
and voting histories for most of the state’s
registered voters, according to Atkins.
If you are a corrections or police offi cer,
or if public access to your voter registration
information otherwise poses a risk to your
safety, a county clerk or the Department of
Justice can seal that information, Atkins
said.
Although voters can access their own
registration information online, members of
the public seeking voter registration infor-
mation must go to a county clerk’s offi ce
to view registration information or fi le a
public records request with the particular
county or the state.
See DATA/8A
EO fi le photos
LEFT: Sheriff Terry Rowan waves as he walks down the street during the Umatilla County Fair Kick-Off Parade on Aug. 6.
RIGHT: Umatilla County Sheriff candidate Ryan Lehnert waves to the crowds from the back of a campaign fl oat during the
Fourth of July parade on July 4 in Pendleton.
Contributors fuel sheriff’s race
Both candidates donate
to their own campaigns
By PHIL WRIGHT
East Oregonian
Umatilla County Sheriff Terry
Rowan of Hermiston has kept his
re-election campaign spending local.
And challenger Ryan Lehnert of Pend-
leton received backing from someone
with close ties to both men.
Rowan reported cash contributions
of $4,400 so far in his bid for a second
term, while Lehnert reported $4,945,
according to ORESTAR, Oregon
Elections System for Tracking and
Reporting, the secretary of state’s
website of campaign fi nance activity.
Lehnert also loaned his campaign
HERMISTON
Hermiston has a legiti-
mate city council race on its
hands after fi ve people fi led
for four at-large positions.
For the council’s zoned
positions, candidates run
for a specifi c seat. But for
the four at-large seats —
the ones up for election in
November — candidates
merely turn in the paper-
work to get on the ballot and
the top four vote-getters are
elected.
New candidate Mark
Gomolski has fi led for a seat
in addition to incumbents
Manuel Gutierrez, Rod
Hardin, John Kirwan and
Doug Primmer.
Gutierrez returned to the
city council in 2012 after a
past term and also serves on
the city’s Hispanic Advisory
Committee. He works for
Domestic Violence Services.
Hardin has served as a
city councilor since 1992
and is the council’s longest-
serving member. He has
lived in Hermiston since
1980 and is the principal of
Hermiston Christian School.
Kirwan is also in his
fi rst term of offi ce. He is a
systems engineer for Union
Pacifi c Railroad.
Primmer is fi nishing his
fi rst four-year term as a city
councilor. He is a Hermiston
See SHERIFF/7A
Lehnert’s top contributors
Jim Humphrey, Pendleton .................................. $1,000
Carol Trumbo, Pendleton ................................... $1,000
North Country Growers Inc., Helix ...................... $500
South County Construction Inc., Pendleton ....... $400
Premium Wash Inc., Pendleton ............................ $400
Wenaha Group Inc., Pendleton ............................. $300
J.L. Williams, Helix ................................................ $250
Rowan’s top contributors
Amstad Farming Co., Hermiston ....................... $1,000
Paul Burns, Hermiston .......................................... $500
Robert Levy, Hermiston ......................................... $500
Art Prior, Echo ....................................................... $500
Undersheriff Jim Littlefi eld, Hermiston ................ $500
Hermiston Aviation, Credits Inc., Hermiston ....... $250
Preferred Property Management, Hermiston ...... $250
Preferred Realty, Inc., Hermiston ......................... $250
HERMISTON
Five candidates will vie
for four city council seats
By JADE MCDOWELL
East Oregonian
$500, and Rowan gave $1,638 in-kind
to his effort, common moves in smaller
political races. Lehnert reported $825
in miscellaneous small contributions of
$100 or less, and Rowan $200. The real
meat of their campaigns is from bigger
givers.
Jim Humphrey of Pendleton, former
detective with Oregon State Police
whose brother ran for sheriff in 2012,
wrote Lehnert’s campaign a $1,000
check. And Carol Trumbo of Pendleton
did the same.
She is the wife of John Trumbo, the
former Umatilla County sheriff. Rowan
served as undersheriff when Trumbo
was in offi ce, and Lehnert has known
the Trumbos since he started his law
enforcement career as a deputy in the
1990s. Carol Trumbo did not return
native and works for the
Department of Corrections.
Gomolski moved to
Hermiston from Chicago
in 2015 and has been a
frequent audience member
at Hermiston city council
meetings. He was campaign
manager
for
Umatilla
County Commissioner Bill
Elfering’s re-election bid
earlier this year.
All fi ve candidates will
be on the Nov. 8 ballot
and the four winners will
start their four-year term in
January.
In May, Mayor David
Drotzmann and Municipal
Judge Thomas Creasing
both ran for re-election
unopposed, which secured
their seats without having
to appear again on the
November ballot.
In November, Hermiston
residents will also be voting
on a city-sponsored initia-
tive to determine whether
the city will allow marijuana
dispensaries to operate
within in its city limits.
———
Contact Jade McDowell
at jmcdowell@eastorego-
nian.com or 541-564-4536.
PENDLETON
Council pleased
with Smith’s
performance
Council thinks
Corbett meets
expectations
Two years into job,
city manager excelling
Some criticize city manager
over communication skills
By JADE MCDOWELL
East Oregonian
By ANTONIO SIERRA
East Oregonian
Byron Smith’s yearly review shows the
Hermiston City Council is very pleased
with their city manager of two years.
The review was given in executive
session during an Aug. 22 city council
meeting, but the
city handed over a
written copy of his
scores and councilor
comments to the
East Oregonian upon
request.
Councilors were
asked to rate Smith
on a scale of 1 to
5 — with 1 being Smith
“exceptional” and 5
being “below expectations” — in seven
categories. Smith scored in the exceptional
range for personal conduct and inter-
governmental/agency relationships and
scored in the exceeds expectations range
(the next best score) for council relations,
organization, community relations, fi scal
performance and communication.
Names of individual councilors were
See SMITH/7A
Following a ruling from the Umatilla
County district attorney, Pendleton City
Council’s thoughts on City Manager
Robb Corbett’s job performance over the
past two years are now public.
District Attorney
Dan Primus allowed
the city to redact the
names
associated
with the council’s
comments
on
Corbett’s 2016 eval-
uation, but the city
also sent the East
Oregonian unedited
versions of his 2015 Corbett
evaluation and a
supplementary comment sheet.
Corbett’s 2016 performance evaluation
reveals that he largely met the council’s
expectations, although some councilors
criticized Corbett over his communica-
tion and staff management skills.
Corbett was evaluated in 17 different
categories, where 66 percent of the
council’s impressions were rated “meets
See CORBETT/8A