Page 4A
OPINION
East Oregonian
Thursday, May 4, 2017
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
OUR VIEW
Getting involved
in Umatilla
The city of Umatilla’s government city government, despite the fact
has undergone significant change in
that almost half the city is Latino.
the last year, putting it at a fork in the That’s not a city government that is
river.
accurately representing the people,
Back in 2016, city council
which was rightfully brought up
ushered its city manager to an early
Tuesday by both Dufloth and Lyle
retirement. They named then-public
Smith, his fellow candidate for the
works head Russ Pelleberg as the
appointment.
replacement. Pelleberg brought
This has not been a city that has
questionable credentials to the
been transparent about its issues,
job, including two college degrees
whether it’s bluffing on your résumé,
from Breyer
not being upfront
after crashing your
State University,
Corvette or not being
a non-accredited
Voters must
to discuss
diploma mill now
keep the city willing
serious questions in
based in Panama.
open session.
The legitimacy of
government
The city of
those degrees was
accountable. Umatilla has
not questioned during
significant problems,
his initial hiring, and
both in the structure
strangely doesn’t
of the town and the culture of its
seem to bother the council now.
government. Both are fixable,
Then-mayor David Trott
but a lack of public comment and
questioned Pelleberg’s credibility
involvement exacerbates those
after he promoted junk degrees from
problems.
a fake institution. Trott also claimed
Dufloth said Tuesday that Umatilla
Pelleberg lied on his application about
his departure from his last job, but the is a jewel that needs some polish. We
agree with the sentiment but would
council has taken no action. Once it
became clear he wasn’t going to make recommend something more than a
light scrub. The way to rebuild public
headway, Trott resigned in March
trust is with more transparency,
citing “irreconcilable differences.”
which sometimes takes the form
This week, two more city
of real disagreement in the council
councilors resigned including
chambers.
council president Mary Dedrick.
The East Oregonian will do our
One councilor who remains is Mike
part to report the problems facing
Roxbury, who quit his job with the
the city as well as its successes, but
Umatilla Fire Department about a
voters are the most important part
year ago and while on paid leave
of keeping your public agencies
had a questionable late-night crash
accountable. If you are a resident of
that does not seem to have been
Umatilla, we urge you to get involved
investigated in a timely or sufficient
manner. He was elected to the council in your city and hold up that end of
the bargain.
seven months later.
All interested parties should
On Tuesday, the city appointed
Daren Dufloth as Trott’s replacement, show up, speak up, and demand
everyone in city government —
meaning an unelected mayor will
helm the council for more than a year. from mayor to manager to police
chief to planner — treat the public
There’s a lot going on here.
as active partners. In this moment
Personal animosities and friendships
of turnover and churn, there is the
have mixed into political differences
opportunity for change. It should not
and plain indifference. There are
be discarded, nor should bad habits
divided visions of how to move
be further cemented into the culture
Umatilla forward. There is also
of decision making in the city.
the total lack of a Latino voice in
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
Facts matter on Pendleton
fire station decision
Pendleton citizens want clear facts
when they consider voting for a major
project such as the new fire station. Here
are some facts:
1. The new fire station location will
save, on average, six seconds of response
time compared to the existing site.
2. The response time is measured
from the time fire service personnel
board the truck or ambulance until
the time they reach the fire or medical
emergency.
3.The usual preparation time in the
fire station is 60 seconds from the time
the alarm is received.
4. If a citizen lives in Pendleton,
the time you wait for service will be
reduced.
5. The old St. Anthony Hospital
location will provide better access to
primary roads or to the freeway and will
allow more effective traffic control in the
event of a major fire event — when all
equipment is dispatched.
Please consider the above when
completing your ballot.
John Brenne
Pendleton
Fire station too big
an ask for city voters
We feel the bond measure for a new
fire station which we are being asked to
vote on May 16 is rather elaborate and
costly to taxpayers. There is no doubt
there needs to be improvements in the
fire station and of the equipment. But
we have major concerns about the very
deluxe plans being submitted under the
current bond proposal.
Why do we need a museum in the
new fire station when the city has so
many other concerns and deficits? The
surveys done said that response times
are better. Really? Look at the large
population on the North Hill. These
homes will no doubt find their response
time increased from the new proposed
site. There were more centrally located
sites proposed and the access to travel
north, south, east or west seems more
logical.
The cost per square foot — there
must be some gold plating along with the
expensive counter tops, interior doors,
decorative lighting, and landscape costs.
How many employers provide on-site
exercise facilities? And the need for a
satellite police station because it is at
the other end of town from the current
station?
We echo Steve Richards’ views from
the April 26 opinion page and likewise
“encourage the city to rein in the size
and cost of the station and return to the
voters with a more reasonable request.”
OTHER VIEWS
A lot of Republicans don’t
want to repeal Obamacare
“We’re going to go when we have
repeal measure.
the votes,” Speaker Paul Ryan said
Other GOP lawmakers are openly
Thursday when asked when the House
conceding that whatever the House
will pass a bill to repeal and replace
does — if it does anything — it won’t
Obamacare. Lawmakers will not be
actually repeal Obamacare. Large parts
constrained by any “artificial deadline,”
of Barack Obama’s legacy legislation
Ryan declared.
will remain standing, a fact that more
On March 24, when the Speaker
Republicans are admitting as time goes
pulled the GOP Obamacare bill before
by.
Byron
what would have been a sure defeat,
Some Republicans remain
York
he said, “We’re going to be living with
optimistic, but in a much longer-term
Comment
Obamacare for the foreseeable future.”
sense. “The process of removing a
But why? Republicans have 238
2,300-page law with 20,000 pages
seats in the House. Repealing Obamacare
of rules can’t be done in one vote,” says
will require 217 votes. Even with unanimous
the member who estimated that 25 to 30
Democratic opposition, Republicans could
Republicans don’t want to vote for repeal.
lose 21 votes and still prevail on repeal. Why
“The process will take two years.”
haven’t they done it?
The Republican-controlled House and
By this time, it’s becoming increasingly
Senate both voted to repeal Obamacare in
clear that Republicans have not repealed
January 2016. In the House, 239 Republicans
Obamacare because a lot of Republicans do
voted for repeal, while three voted against it
not want to repeal Obamacare.
and four did not vote. President Obama, of
They don’t even want to sorta repeal
course, vetoed the bill.
Obamacare. The bill currently on the table, like
Now, with a president who would sign an
the bill pulled in March, falls far short of a full Obamacare repeal, there’s no way Republicans
repeal of Obamacare. And yet Republicans still could get as many votes as last year.
When repeal first failed last month,
cannot agree on it.
a number of commentators blamed the
About a week after the first Obamacare
conservative House Freedom Caucus. In the
repeal failure, a House Republican, speaking
days since, caucus members have made the
privately, said the difficulty in passing the bill
was not a parliamentary problem involving the case, convincingly, that they have shown an
enormous amount of flexibility in trying to
complexities of the Senate and reconciliation.
No, the lawmaker said, “It is a problem that we reach agreement with the Tuesday Group,
made up of House GOP centrists.
have members in the Republican conference
Now, the centrists — a number of
that do not want Obamacare repealed, because
Republicans refer to them as “the mods,”
of their district. That’s the fundamental thing
for moderates — appear to be moving
that we’re seeing here.”
the goalposts, even as the conservatives
“I thought we campaigned on repealing it,”
offer concessions. Conservatives suspect
the lawmaker continued. “Now that it’s our
the centrists were perfectly happy for
turn, I’m finding there’s about 50 people who
conservatives to take the blame for killing
really don’t want to repeal Obamacare. They
the first bill, but now are showing their true
want to keep it.”
colors by rejecting compromise on the second
Other conservatives are saying similar
version.
things. In an email exchange Thursday
The reason is fear. When the lawmaker
afternoon, I asked one member where the latest
said colleagues don’t want repeal “because of
bill stood. “We absolutely do not have the
their district,” that was another way of saying
votes to repeal it,” he answered. “The fact that
the members are all representatives, and the
some members are balking at even allowing
voters they represent don’t want repeal. From
states to waive out of some of Obamacare
regulations is proof positive. We’ve gone from The Hill on Thursday afternoon: “Many
vulnerable Republicans are running scared.
‘repeal it root-and-branch’ to ‘Mother-may-I
One moderate Republican was overheard in a
opt out of some of Obamacare’ — and we still
House cafeteria this week telling an aide: ‘If I
are having trouble getting the votes.”
vote for this healthcare bill, it will be the end
In a phone conversation Thursday
of my career.’”
afternoon, another Republican, Rep. Steve
Whichever faction inside the Republican
King, quibbled a bit with the number of
Party is to blame, it could well be that the
House Republicans who don’t want to repeal
conservatives’ numbers are basically right:
Obamacare — he would put it in the forties
— but felt certain there are lots of Republicans There are a lot of Republicans, say 40 to 50,
who don’t want to repeal. “If you don’t want to who don’t want to repeal Obamacare. Given
get rid of federal mandates to health insurance, unanimous Democratic opposition, that
means that there are somewhere around 190,
then it’s pretty clear you don’t want to get rid
or maybe 195, House members who actually
of Obamacare,” King said.
want to repeal Obamacare. That will never get
“Whatever we come out with, it will say
the job done. Even a lower estimate, of 25 to
to the American people that a full repeal of
30 members who don’t want repeal, would
Obamacare is no longer in the cards,” King
make success impossible. And if that is the
added.
case, the question is, why are Republicans
Yet another Republican member, in an
trying?
email exchange, estimated that there are 25
■
to 30 House Republicans “who don’t want
Byron York is chief political correspondent
to be forced to make the repeal vote.” Even
for The Washington Examiner.
that lower number would be enough to sink a
Bob and Chris Adelman
Pendleton
Excellent public safety
requires investment
I think we would all agree that public
safety is the most valuable of services
the city provides.
Pendleton enjoys a high quality of
law enforcement and first responder
services because, after all, it’s just the
way it is. And when you do need to
use those resources, you’re extremely
thankful for them. Yet, public safety is
likely the city service that we take most
for granted. We just assume that it’s
going to be there when we need it, and
that it will continue indefinitely into the
future.
If public safety becomes diminished
through lack of investment, poor
leadership, morale or otherwise, it’s very
challenging (and expensive) to correct
and reinstate. Once in a while we need to
make an investment in maintaining the
standard of public safety services. Please
vote yes for the fire bond.
Mike Short
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. 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 211 S.E. Byers Ave.
Pendleton, OR 97801 or email editor@eastoregonian.com.