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OPINION
East Oregonian
Saturday, October 29, 2016
Founded October 16, 1875
KATHRYN B. BROWN
Publisher
DANIEL WATTENBURGER
Managing Editor
TIM TRAINOR
Opinion Page Editor
MARISSA WILLIAMS
Regional Advertising Director
MARCY ROSENBERG
Circulation Manager
JANNA HEIMGARTNER
Business Office Manager
MIKE JENSEN
Production Manager
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OUR VIEW
Rowan for
re-election
Two men are running for Umatilla and would hopefully have earned their
County sheriff: Incumbent Terry
trust in his first term.
Rowan and challenger Ryan Lehnert.
That troubled relationship led
Rowan is finishing his first term,
to bumps when folding multiple
and served as undersheriff for more
city departments into the county
than a decade before that. Lehnert
dispatch system, but that complicated
is a corporal with
work is done and law
the Pendleton Police
enforcement response
Department and began
times will improve
his law enforcement
because of it.
career with the sheriff’s
Response time is the
office.
other big black mark
The sheriff’s
on Rowan’s reputation.
job can make for a
While many have come
strange election —
forward to vouch for
it’s a nonpartisan,
his character, others
supervisory law
have complained he lets
enforcement role,
too many things slide.
and while the budget
Calls from citizens go
is managed by the
unreturned, requests
office, the purse
for comment go
Rowan
strings are controlled
unanswered. Rowan
by the county
has been far more
commissioners.
in his year of
His management visible
The sheriff must
campaigning than
competently
in the previous three
ability may
manage five
of holding electing
best be
divisions — patrol,
office.
civil, parole, jail
We hope that,
reflected in the if re-elected,
and dispatch — and
endorsements he continues to
is ultimately
responsible for
be available for
from his staff
their successes and
informal chats with
failures.
and the county constituents and
that his
Rowan’s
commissioners. demands
office prioritize
campaign has
customer service. It’s
detailed a list of his
the direction most of
accomplishments
the county government has gone in
from his first four years in charge.
recent years, and the sheriff’s office
It ranges from the big (doubled the
patrol force from 7 to 14 deputies) to must follow.
Both men turned over their
the small (participated in the “Little
personnel files to the East
Sheriff for a Day” program) to the
Oregonian, which surely was more
vague (Continue to be RESOLUTE
difficult for Lehnert. It revealed a
in protecting every citizen’s
previous promotion to a leadership
Constitutional Rights).
position within the Pendleton Police
Among the most praiseworthy
Department didn’t go well, and he
is Rowan’s work to hold more
was quickly demoted back to an
inmates in the county jail until they
officer. It also showed in the years
can stand before a judge. It keeps
since he has gained back the trust
offenders accountable to know they
of his supervisors and is a highly
won’t be back home before the ink
is dry on their police report. It was a regarded leader on the force.
His passion for collaborating
definite problem, and Rowan found
with other agencies on mental health
a definite solution.
issues is inspiring, and he clearly
As for the increased patrol
presence, Rowan has benefited from speaks from a personal knowledge of
the challenge which we consider to
three county commissioners who
be one of the most pressing for law
moved money from elsewhere to
enforcement.
bolster his office. Though a good
We believe Lehnert is a leader,
manager does effectively make his
proven by his time both here in
case to those who write the checks.
Umatilla County and in the U.S.
His management ability may best
Army. He has the opportunity to one
be reflected in the endorsements
day be an excellent sheriff, but more
from his staff — both the union
administration experience will only
employees and administrative staff
make him better. It takes a lot of guts
— and the county commissioners.
to run against an incumbent, and we
On the other hand, local law
admire that.
enforcement leaders have put their
But for now, because of his steady
support behind Lehnert, which doesn’t
hand and support of the county,
speak well for Rowan’s relationship
we recommend re-electing Terry
with law enforcement colleagues.
Rowan while demanding continued
While he’s the only law enforcement
improvement from the county
boss elected by voters, it’s critical he
sheriff’s office.
work closely with the other agencies
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
Getting over the ‘taboo’ in
a gun rights conversation
L
ast year, several residents of
The councilman was encouraged
Missoula, Montana, asked Bryan
by the support, but he also listened
von Lossberg, a first-term city
to his opponents. He worked with
councilman, to introduce an ordinance
Councilwoman Marilyn Marler, a
requiring background checks on most
co-sponsor and fellow gun owner, to
gun sales and transfers within the city
revise the original ordinance. They
limits. Von Lossberg immediately felt
agreed to include language exempting
nervous.
concealed-carry permit holders, because
The councilman, who keeps a rifle
Gabriel they already go through a background
in his home and enjoys Montana’s
Furshong check. The change earned praise from
long hunting seasons, knows that gun
some skeptics, and the gap between
Comment
rights are fiercely defended
supporters and opponents
in the state, which ranks
began to shrink.
sixth in gun ownership
“Most dialogue on this
nation-wide. “The topic is
topic gets boiled down to
so taboo in Montana,” he
where you’re pro-Second
says, even though Missoula
Amendment or you aren’t,”
is a university town with
von Lossberg says. “Over
a reputation for being
the course of the year, our
the state’s most liberal
community wrestled with that
community.
dichotomy, and we realized
“It was surprising to me
that it’s just not reality.”
to have conversation after
Eventually, the council
conversation where I would
was rewarded for pushing
hear a variant of, ‘Ya know, I
the difficult topic into the
support what you’re trying to
open. This Sept. 26, a second
— Bryan von Lossberg,
do here, but I’m not so sure
hearing was held, nearly one
Missoula city councilor
I’d been willing to stand up
year after the first. Another
and express support for it.’”
large crowd turned out and
Despite his misgivings, von Lossberg
the ordinance passed on an 8-4 vote, making
couldn’t stop thinking about the data he’d
Missoula the first city in the Northern Rockies
received from local members of Moms Demand to require background checks on gun sales and
Action, comparing states that have passed gun
transfers.
safety measures to those that have not.
Now, the question is whether the ordinance
In the eight states that require background
will survive legal challenges. Opponents,
checks on all gun transfers, there were 38
including the Montana Shooting Sports
percent fewer deaths of women shot by intimate Association, claim it violates both state law
partners, as well as lower rates of gun suicides
and the Second Amendment. But volunteers
and aggravated assaults with firearms. By
with Moms Demand Action are confident
contrast, Montana ranks fifth in gun deaths per
in the city attorney’s opinion, which states
capita and received an “F” from the Law Center that a “local government unit … has power
to Prevent Gun Violence in 2015. To make
to prevent and suppress … the possession of
matters worse, seven of the 11 Western states
firearms by convicted felons, adjudicated mental
also earned failing grades, including all four of
incompetents, illegal aliens and minors.”
Montana’s neighbors.
Volunteers are now considering how
These figures led von Lossberg to another
to export the ordinance to other Western
important number: His daughter had recently
communities. In von Lossberg’s view, the
turned 4 years old.
linchpin of that effort will be civil dialogue,
“Hunting and guns are really important parts similar, he says, to what we strive for within our
of Montana culture, and I want my daughter
families.
to pursue hunting, but I also want to set a good
“My wife and I are raising a little girl,” he
example for her on gun transactions,” he says.
explains, “and every moment we’re together
“The research shows when communities use
seems like an opportunity for a teachable
this tool, it benefits the community. I want her to moment – talking about our feelings, our fears,
follow that example.”
our hopes.” He’s convinced that this simple
Von Lossberg introduced an ordinance a
recipe for open communication is part of the
year ago this September. A month later, over
answer for communities hoping to curb gun
300 people attended a hearing on the measure.
violence.
Testimony lasted five hours and was interrupted
“It’s hard to have courage about something
several times by disruptive behavior, including
when you can’t even talk about it within your
one speaker who passionately accused council
community,” he says. “Regardless of your
members of treason. And yet the majority of
position or passion, it’s critical to hear all the
speakers supported the measure. It was as if a
voices that are touched by this issue.”
“pressure valve” had been opened, according
■
to von Lossberg. “The number of people who
Gabriel Furshong is a contributor to Writers
want this topic discussed and addressed – it was on the Range, the opinion service of High
overwhelming.”
Country News. He writes in Missoula, Montana.
“It’s hard to
have courage
about something
when you can’t
even talk about
it within your
community.”
OTHER VIEWS
Death penalty deserves honest
discussion, not just delays
The Bend Bulletin, Oct. 23
or almost five years now, Oregon’s death
penalty has been on hold. Gov. Kate
Brown announced recently that will
continue until at least the end of the year. If she
is re-elected, it will continue through her term
until 2018.
It would be better if the governor led Orego-
nians beyond the waiting game. We need to have
an honest discussion about the death penalty
and whether it continues to be the punishment a
majority of voters favor for those who commit
the most heinous crimes in this state.
Oregon’s death penalty was adopted in
1864, rescinded in 1914, adopted again in 1920,
F
rescinded in 1964, adopted in 1978, declared
unconstitutional in 1981 and reinstated in 1984.
With the exception of the 1981 court ruling, it
was voters who decided to make the changes.
When then-Gov. John Kitzhaber put a
moratorium on executions in 2011, he did so
in part because he believed the penalty to be
morally wrong. But he did more than simply
slap a moratorium in place. Kitzhaber called
for a “long overdue debate” among the state’s
residents and lawmakers about the death
penalty.
That hasn’t happened. It should. Brown
should see that it does. There should be a vote
of the people to decide what happens with the
death penalty in Oregon.
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. Send letters to Managing Editor Daniel Wattenburger,
211 S.E. Byers Ave. Pendleton, OR 97801 or email editor@eastoregonian.com.