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East Oregonian
Saturday, April 21, 2018
KATHRYN B. BROWN
Publisher
DANIEL WATTENBURGER
Managing Editor
TIM TRAINOR
Opinion Page Editor
Founded October 16, 1875
OUR VIEW
Our choices for county commissioner
Two of the three seats on the Umatilla
County Board of Commissioners are up
for election — a voting majority.
So there is plenty at stake when
registered voters get their ballots in the
mail next week. Constituents have until
May 15 to return those ballots.
George Murdock and Larry Givens are
running for re-election. Murdock has two
challengers for his seat, while Givens has
one.
As we’ve noticed in many of the public
forums and in our private conversations
with each candidate, all five believe that
county government is operating pretty
well at the moment. Each candidate has
their own prescription for improvement,
but there seems a general agreement that
the county is in a good place. In recent
years it has achieved a sense of financial
stability, shed costs and helped attract
economic growth and increased business
investment.
Both incumbents and challengers also
agreed, for the most part, on the problem
areas: A lack of housing. Poor mental
health care. Always-rising PERS costs.
Poor roads and other infrastructure. Water
tables on the decline. An overcrowded jail.
So with much agreement over what
the county is doing well and what needs
improvement, here is who we think can
best capitalize on the good and confront
the bad.
Position #1
George Murdock was first elected to the
board in 2013, and in five years has taken
on a leadership role in guiding the county
toward reworking upper management and
the structure of important departments. He
led negotiations that allowed the county to
hand the Eastern Oregon Trade and Event
Center to the city of Hermiston, releasing
the county of liability over that project and
thereby simplifying its management. He
has also pushed forward the county charter
review, too long delayed, and pledged not
to meddle in that committee’s work.
His two competitors just do not offer
compelling alternatives.
Tom Bailor has now run three times
for county commissioner, but hasn’t
made much of a dent in the previous two
elections. We think he has something to
offer local government, but wish he would
have taken previous advice to get involved
in some part of the county machinery in
the last six years. It would have made
him a more credible candidate this time
around.
There are myriad committees and
subcommittees that could have used his
expertise, and he would have benefited
from the experience and increased
recognition. If he hopes to win an election
to this kind of position in the future, he still
needs to take that step first.
The other challenger, Rick Pullen,
hasn’t made a compelling argument
for his credentials or a plan of action.
Atop his list of priorities is protecting
county workers from losing their jobs.
But reducing government salaries and
removing employees who were under-
performing is one of the best moves
Murdock and current county government
have made in recent years. And in this
region of conservative thought and desire
for slim and efficient government, Pullen’s
message doesn’t resonate.
Murdock remains the choice, and if
elected we expect him to put in another
four good years of work — unless the
charter review committee decides to get
rid of his seat.
Position #2
Incumbent Larry Givens has the
bureaucrat role down pat. He is a
member of many boards with all kinds
of acronyms, which take him to Salem,
Washington, D.C., and elsewhere.
He said the work he is proudest of is
being a board member of the Department
of Geology and Mineral Industries
(DOGAMI) until 2016 — including time
spent as board president — as well as
his long, tedious work crafting the Blue
Mountain Forest Plan.
The only problem: Those are not
accomplishments to be proud of.
DOGAMI just recently emerged from
deep financial problems, most pronounced
in a 2015 budget shortfall that resulted
from mismanagement of federal grants.
It has recovered now, and Givens is no
longer on the board.
And the Blue Mountains Forest Plan
is decades behind schedule, and Givens’
work creating the last proposal has gone
for naught — the draft he worked on has
since been pulled off the table. Perhaps
Givens has been able to keep fringe voices
from dominating the discussion, but in
no way has he been able to bring about a
needed consensus.
It’s fair to say then, that Umatilla
County taxpayers have gotten little benefit
from the work Givens said he is proudest
of.
Add Givens’ confusing position on
EOTEC, a project for which he was the
county representative for many years. He
said in back-to-back answers during his
interview with our editorial board that
EOTEC would not attract large groups
of visitors from out of the area, but then a
few moments later — when reminded that
he had made an opposite claim for many
years — said that yes, actually, EOTEC
could someday be the kind of project that
does just that. It’s that kind of unclear
vision of what EOTEC is and should be
that led to miscommunication and too
many people pulling in different directions
on that project for far too long.
We think John Shafer is the better
choice.
He has government experience, albeit
on a smaller level, working as Athena
mayor and leading the East Umatilla
County Health District. We also appreciate
his advocacy for better mental health
coverage in the county — he knows the
problems there better than most, having
been a longtime employee of the Umatilla
County Sheriff’s Department. He said
he wants to hold Lifeways responsible
for improving their performance and is
willing to make changes to the contract, or
cancel it entirely, if they don’t measure up.
There can be concern that Shafer is
too close to the sheriff’s office, having
spent 17 years as an employee there. But
he argued strongly that he has the ability
to be independent and open, and free to
make up is own mind when it comes to
important budget and personnel decisions
there. He has some practice as both the
mayor of a city that contracts with sheriff’s
office and as an employee there.
In general, we think Shafer would bring
a new perspective and ideas to a board that
may be in for a time of change. Givens,
on the other hand, has been on that board
since 2007. And after 11 years he should
have more to show for it.
OTHER VIEWS
Voters need to send
legislature another message
against illegal immigration
By CYNTHIA KENDOLL
AND RICHARD F. LAMOUNTAIN
Oregonians for Immigration Reform
O
YOUR VIEWS
Help defend Pendleton
from invasive weeds
Myrtle spurge, a bright green ground cover
with yellow and red flowers, is a very visible
weed showing up on hillsides around town. In
the Willamette valley myrtle spurge is a garden
ornamental. In arid Eastern Oregon it is a class
B invasive weed. It crowds out native vegetation
by preventing other plants from growing nearby.
Invasive weeds are not just a problem for ranchers
and farmers.
Warming temperatures are triggering dormant
myrtle spurge seeds to sprout. Mature plants are
flowering and developing seed pods which will
soon spread more seeds. When disturbed the ripe
seed pods can disperse seeds 15 feet. The small
seeds are easily carried by our strong winds.
Now is the time to help defend Pendleton from
new myrtle spurge plants getting established along
with removing older plants before they can spread
new seeds. There is no silver bullet to eradicate
myrtle spurge. The best tactic involves digging up
the plants. Four-inch trenching shovels work well.
Digging up the plant stops seed production, but it
may come back if the roots regenerate.
Try to get at least four inches of tap root. It may
take more than one year to get this invasive weed
under control. Year two should have fewer plants
Unsigned editorials are the opinion of the
East Oregonian editorial board. Other
columns, letters and cartoons on this page
express the opinions of the authors and
not necessarily that of the East Oregonian.
returning.
Now is the time to act! Enlist neighbors,
grab shovels and clear myrtle spurge from your
neighborhood. If you join the battle, protect your
skin as the milky sap is a skin/eye irritant for
humans and animals. Pants, long sleeves and gloves
are recommended.
Dispose of the plants as garbage. Do not
compost or recycle as yard debris. The seeds
will contaminate the compost. Attacking with
power equipment like mowers and tillers are
counterproductive as mowers only clip the top off
the plant while the roots continues to grow. Tillers
chop up the tuberous roots and spread them like
seed potatoes.
Chemicals like 2,4-D can be effective when
applied in the fall. However, that is after the plants
have set seed for the next year. The seeds can
remain dormant for years resulting in the need of
repeated applications.
Myrtle spurge is not the only invasive weeds in
our area. You can also use your shovels to remove
numerous types of thistle plants and puncturevine
(aka goat heads).
Pictures and info for noxious weeds can be
found in “Field Guide to Weeds of Eastern Oregon”
Ron Fongere
Pendleton
n the issue of illegal
immigration, what will it
take for the Legislature to
heed Oregonians’ will?
Just over three years ago,
in the November 2014 general
election, Oregon voters rejected
Ballot Measure 88 and the
illegal-immigrant driver cards the
Legislature had approved in 2013.
The statewide margin was almost
two-to-one; more than 983,000
Oregonians — including a majority
in 35 of 36 counties and 80 percent
in Umatilla County — voted “no.”
The magnitude of Ballot Measure
88’s rejection made clear: The
vote transcended the single issue
of driver cards to constitute a
broad mandate against all forms of
state-government benefits for illegal
immigrants.
Did lawmakers get the message?
They did not. Ever since, they’ve
legislated as though Ballot Measure
88’s outcome had been the opposite.
In 2015, lawmakers credentialed
many illegal-immigrant university
students to compete against Amer-
ican citizens for taxpayer-funded
Oregon Opportunity Grants. In
2017, they extended Oregon Health
Plan coverage to 14,000 additional
illegal immigrants and broadened
existing “sanctuary” protections
(more on which below).
And in the session that ended
last month, via House Bill 4111,
lawmakers granted illegal immi-
grants enrolled in former President
Barack Obama’s Deferred Action
for Childhood Arrivals (DACA)
program the right to renew Oregon
driver licenses — this despite the
unequivocal outcome of Ballot
Measure 88, via which Oregonians
rejected driving privileges for
all illegal immigrants without
exception.
Earlier this month, Gov. Kate
Brown signed HB 4111 into law.
Oregonians have every right to be
angry. What, they may ask, can we
do to make lawmakers hear and
heed the mandate of Ballot Measure
88?
One way is to send the same
message again. Activists affiliated
with Oregonians for Immigration
Reform are circulating petitions to
qualify a measure for the November
2018 ballot to repeal Oregon
Revised Statute 181A.820 — the
“sanctuary” law which keeps
Oregon’s police and sheriffs from
using their money, personnel and
equipment to detect or apprehend
reputedly “non-criminal” illegal
immigrants. If, by early July,
88,000 registered Oregon voters
sign OFIR’s petition — Initiative
Petition 22 — voters will be able to
strike that law from the books.
If they did, that would be two
citizen-initiated ballot measures in
four years via which Oregonians
gave a thumbs-down to laws that
benefit illegal immigrants. Would
lawmakers, then, finally get the
message and stop introducing
and voting for such legislation?
Those with safe seats in liberal
urban districts probably would not.
But those in competitive “swing”
districts — ever cognizant that
the next election is just around the
corner — may, perhaps in sufficient
numbers to make the difference.
Ours is a government of, by and
for the people. So send your elected
representatives the message they
need to hear. This spring, sign the
IP 22 petition. And in November,
vote to repeal the sanctuary law. By
doing so, you’ll take another step
to force our lawmakers to listen to
us — and to stop enacting policies
that encourage illegal immigration
to our state.
■
Cynthia Kendoll is president
of Oregonians for Immigration
Reform. Richard F. LaMountain is
the group’s former vice president.
To sign Initiative Petition 22, go to
www.StopOregonSanctuaries.org.
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. 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.