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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 23, 2018)
Page 4A East Oregonian Thursday, August 23, 2018 CHRISTOPHER RUSH Publisher KATHRYN B. BROWN Owner DANIEL WATTENBURGER Managing Editor Founded October 16, 1875 OUR VIEW The Neal deal T he Port of Morrow has been the primary engine driving the Morrow County economy for decades. Its impact cannot be overstated. Part of the success has been purely logistical — a port with river, interstate and rail access, plus plenty of room to grow. But part, and we’d argue a big part, has been Gary Neal’s leadership as general manager. He’s customer service oriented, always finding ways to say “yes” to new development and new ideas. The port has flourished under his guidance, and the surrounding area has been the beneficiary. So Neal’s impending retirement has been a matter of great interest. Finding someone with the combination of vision and acumen to take the helm is no easy task. A four-month search ended with the job being offered to Gary Neal’s son, Ryan Neal, who has worked under his father at the port (though not reporting directly to him) for the last four years. Family succession is commonplace in the business world. It’s only natural that someone raised in the family business would be an obvious choice to take it over. But the Port of Morrow is no family business. It’s a public entity, funded by taxpayers and directed by five elected port commissioners. The role of general manager is comparable to a city manager. This kind of succession certainly warrants deeper scrutiny. For starters, Ryan Neal is no slouch. His résumé, even with the last name removed, would rightfully catch the eye of a search committee. His history at large trucking companies, and his internal promotions while there, indicate that his success wasn’t some ploy of his father. But there’s still the tricky issue of nepotism, or even its appearance. The timing of his arrival back in Boardman, and his quick rise to a leadership post at the port, is worthy of a raised eyebrow. The port commission seemingly did its due diligence, expanding the search in June when it didn’t feel it had enough qualified candidates and putting four finalists in front of a panel to help find the pros and cons of each. One of those finalists was tossed, another dropped out, and the decision came down to Neal and Stephanie Seamans, a CPA and economic development director in the Tri-Cities and previously at the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation. Staff photos by E.J. Harris Ryan Neal and father, Gary Neal. According to Rick Stokoe, a port commissioner, Seamans had plenty of qualifications but was lacking a big one — experience at a port. It’s a reasonable drawback to consider. There’s no overwhelming evidence that the last name made the difference. But there’s also no completely convincing answer that it didn’t. The fact that Ryan Neal grew up in the community, has personal connections to the commissioners and stakeholders and has the current general manager on speed dial (and at Thanksgiving dinner) can be seen two ways. To the commissioners, he looks like a natural fit. To onlookers, he’s an unfair shoo-in. Ultimately, it’s the port commission’s choice to make. Their positions will come up for election, and voters will have the option to change course if they disagree. All five believe Neal 2.0 was the best option. Don Russell, a former commissioner with the port and now for Morrow County, said he thinks Ryan’s work will speak for itself and within two years we’ll “forget who his father is.” For Ryan’s sake — and the port’s — we hope that’s the case. It’s an awfully large shadow to come out from under, and a job with big implications in Eastern Oregon life. OTHER VIEWS Melania’s call to greatness M YOUR VIEWS McLeod-Skinner recognizes global warming threat Most of us accept the scientific evidence that our world is warming. The downstream effects of warming our global environment are not good. Worldwide there will be hotter temperatures, more droughts, fires, famine, and refugees. There will be more competition for dwindling resources, potentially threatening our own national security. One major cause of this warming is mankind’s activities. Thus, we have the theoretical ability to change this scenario. We need our lawmakers to acknowledge this and come up with science based solutions. How do we know which of our District 2 congressional candidates is paying attention and willing to do this? An easy way is to look at their website and see their stance on global warming. Greg Walden’s website doesn’t mention it. Jamie McLeod-Skinner’s website says global warming is the greatest threat to our environment there is. I’m voting for Jamie. John Schwartz The Dalles CONTACT YOUR REPRESENTATIVES U.S. SENATORS Ron Wyden 221 Dirksen Senate Office Bldg. Washington, DC 20510 202-224-5244 La Grande office: 541-962-7691 Jeff Merkley 313 Hart Senate Office Building Washington, DC 20510 202-224-3753 Pendleton office: 541-278-1129 U.S. REPRESENTATIVE Greg Walden 185 Rayburn House Office Building Washington, DC 20515 202-225-6730 La Grande office: 541-624-2400 GOVERNOR Kate Brown 160 State Capitol 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. 900 Court Street Salem, OR 97301-4047 503-378-4582 REPRESENTATIVES Greg Barreto, District 58 900 Court St. NE, H-38 Salem, OR 97301 503-986-1458 Rep.GregBarreto@state.or.us Greg Smith, District 57 900 Court St. NE, H-482 Salem, OR 97301 503-986-1457 Rep.GregSmith@state.or.us SENATOR Bill Hansell, District 29 900 Court St. NE, S-423 Salem, OR 97301 503-986-1729 Sen.BillHansell@state.or.us aybe someday, when When she initially announced the history of Donald her cyberbullying campaign in Trump’s presidency is a speech in November 2016, we written, we’ll pinpoint the start of thought that she was out to lunch. this week as his pivot into complete Did she not see the contradiction? derangement and come up with a The updated theory is that she’s pithy name for it. Maybe we’ll call trolling him. I buy it. It fits in with it Melania Monday. so much else. Fank We’ll note that on Aug. 20, For the president’s first State Bruni 2018, the first lady, again with of the Union address, she wore Comment a pussy bow, publicly chided a white pantsuit that served as a cyberbullies at the same time sartorial reminder of suffragists that her husband ranted and raged on and of Hillary Clinton. This month, after Twitter, likening Robert Mueller to Joseph he questioned LeBron James’ intelligence McCarthy and demonstrating a grasp of in a tweet, her spokeswoman released history commensurate with his grip on a statement that asserted the first lady’s civility. admiration for James’ work with at-risk We’ll admire the wickedness of her children in his hometown, Akron, Ohio. Melania was possibly interested in visiting announcement, just hours later, that she’d the school there that James had helped to be making a solo trip — her farthest and start, the statement said. flashiest yet as an official ambassador — And my colleagues Katie Rogers and to Africa, whose nations the president can’t Maggie Haberman recently reported pronounce, let alone respect. She didn’t choose that destination randomly, throwing that during a trip overseas last month, the president had a fit because the first a dart at a map. She chose it defiantly, lady’s television on Air Force One was throwing shade at her husband. tuned to CNN, not his beloved Fox News. Surely Melania Trump is getting under his skin. Certainly she’s making the effort. Was CNN an accident or a provocation? Well, in a public response to the incident, If she would just turn these fitful baby Melania’s spokeswoman made clear that steps into full-length strides, she might the first lady watches “any channel she finally undo him and set us free. Melania wants.” the Savior. A pussy-bow coup. Stranger I’m not sure what to make of that “I things have happened. Less exhilarating REALLY DON’T CARE, DO U?” jacket fantasies have been born. that she wore on her way to a detention And is it really so far-fetched? To judge by his tweets, tantrums and apparent center for migrant children in Texas. It’s the “rosebud” of our time. But what if the belief that Rudy Giuliani is an appropriate message was that she didn’t mind if we advocate, Donald Trump teeters at interpreted her behavior as a rebuke of her the precipice of incoherence and self- husband’s? destruction, needing only a shove. Who Marriage as psyops — it’s not virgin best to administer it but a spouse with her own, separate bedroom in the White House territory, but the stage and stakes here are epic. On Monday, as The Washington and her own, separate hotel suite when Post’s James Hohmann noted, she used the they travel? She inches ever closer to open contempt phrase “global society” in both her spoken remarks about cyberbullying and her for him. She finds increasingly clever ways to show it. And it’s a perfect wedding written remarks about the trip to Africa, which she praised for its “rich culture.” of patriotism and payback for all the Her husband, of course, treats “globalists” humiliations that he has heaped on her. and “globalism” as dirty words, and some This first-lady thing clearly flummoxed of his “shithole countries” are on that her at first. It’s a ludicrous job. You’re richly cultured continent. She’ll be going supposed to make a difference without there without him. making waves, find a passion while Other first ladies beautified highways, veiling your convictions and smile blithely promoted reading, planted squash. This through a ceaseless forensic examination one could abbreviate a nightmare. She’s in of your every accessory. a situation that her predecessors weren’t, It’s infantilizing. It’s objectifying. If a on the arm of an overlord who needs presidential administration were a sedan, undermining, and it’s her invitation to the first lady would be its hood ornament. greatness, or at least her prompt for an If it were a manse, she’d be the topiary itinerary tailored to taunt. bracketing the front stoop. ■ Usually Melania Trump was absent Frank Bruni has been an Op-Ed colum- topiary. America had a denuded front nist for The New York Times since June 2011. stoop. And we made hasty assumptions. 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.
