REGION
Saturday, October 13, 2018
East Oregonian
Page 3A
Walden, McLeod-Skinner take on the issues
By PHIL WRIGHT
East Oregonian
Republican Greg Walden seeks an 11th
term as the U.S. representative for Oregon’s
2nd Congressional District. But he said this
election is different.
He is feeling heat from some constituents.
He has paid for billboards. And Democrat
challenger Jamie McLeod-Skinner said she
has now raised more than $1 million. Still no
threat to the $3.2 million in Walden’s account,
but a good showing for a Democrat in this
district.
A look around Pendleton shows plenty
of McLeod-Skinner yard signs and none for
Walden. Still, his visit Friday to town drew all
of four protesters outside the Umatilla County
Courthouse, Pendleton, while about a dozen
local public and health officials crowded into
a conference room to meet with the man.
Walden and McLeod-Skinner this week
talked about key issues in the race.
How they see the district
“We’ve got systems that are broken,”
McLeod-Skinner said, with 50 percent of dis-
trict residents at or near the poverty line.
She took that figure from the United Way’s
“ALICE Report” for “Asset Limited, Income
Constrained, Employed,” which qualifies the
threshold as the average income a house-
hold needs to afford basic necessities (hous-
ing, child care, food and the like). The ALICE
Threshold includes poverty-level households.
U.S. Census data shows 13.8 percent of
the district’s population had income below
the poverty line, while the median household
income is $51,813 and the mean household
income is $68,305.
Walden said he does not see 50 percent
poverty in the district, but pockets lack eco-
nomic recovery and growth while others are
booming.
Economic development
Walden said rural broadband is essential
Walden
McLeod-Skinner
to the district’s prosperity. T-Mobile has an
“aggressive plan” to build the next genera-
tion of wireless communication throughout
Eastern Oregon, he said, and other compa-
nies are likely to follow. Walden said public
safety, education, health care and business all
will benefit.
“This is really important to make sure
we’re not left behind,” he said.
McLeod-Skinner, too, said growth hinges
on broadband. She also touched on the need
for a compact between states so Oregon could
take more water from the Columbia River
for growth. And she said the Port of Morrow
could be just the place for a regional recycling
hub.
iffs are endurable for now. He contended the
administration’s use of tariffs is resulting in
better deals with Canada and Mexico, with
China as the big goal.
According to the Pew Research Center, the
U.S. tariffs in 2016 across all products was 1.6
percent. Mexico’s was 4.4 percent and Chi-
na’s was 3.5 percent.
Tariffs
Retaliatory tariffs on American agricul-
tural exports are jeopardizing communities,
McLeod-Skinner said, and the $4.7 billion
bailout to make up for losses is not the answer.
“Farmers don’t want to borrow money
from China,” she said, “they want to sell
wheat to China.”
Walden agreed, but he said the wheat farm-
ers he talked to are going to take the “Trump
bump” at 14 cents per bushel, and the tar-
Health care
McLeod-Skinner advocated for doctors,
nurses and other professionals and tradespeo-
ple to serve in rural Oregon in exchange for
the cost of their education.
“When I think about health care, I think
about big picture ideas,” she said.
That includes the consolidation of services
and industry, she said, so patients could obtain
health insurance through the government or a
public-private partnership.
And she wants to allow for the negotiation
with pharmaceutical companies to keep drug
prices down.
Walden rolled through Eastern Oregon on
Friday to talk about his bill that helps local
communities fight the opioid crisis.
“This will save lives,” he said.
And he defended his vote to end the Afford-
able Care Act.
“Nobody gets kicked off as long as you’re
on Medicaid,” he said.
Connecting to the people
McLeod-Skinner, her supporters and
Walden critics have hammered the conserva-
tive politician for his lack of public town halls
this election. McLeod-Skinner said that’s part
of the job.
“No. 1 — show up,” she said.
Walden contended he has no problem with
that and has had multiple meetings on his
seven trips this year to Umatilla County alone.
“I’m talking to people all over the district,”
he said.
But he does have a problem when peo-
ple berate and even threaten his staff, he said,
that’s become a regular occurrence at his
office in Bend. He said there’s is more to the
job than holding town halls, and in the past 12
months he handled 129,500 correspondences
through a variety of means.
“So I’m deeply engaged in all of this,”
Walden asserted.
Nov. 6, election night
McLeod-Skinner said if she wins, she is
heading to Burns on Nov. 7 to attend a public
meeting. She said she is committed to main-
taining connections with the people of the
district.
Walden said he remains dedicated to work-
ing for the district and the often quiet work of
passing bipartisan legislation. He said 92 per-
cent of his 129 bills have had the support of
10 or more Democrats. The bill to fight opi-
oid addiction passed with a wide bipartisan
margin.
Political forecasting websites show the
House is likely to flip from Republican control
to Democrat, but Oregon’s 2nd Congressional
District remains a Republican lock. Fivethir-
tyeight.com estimates McLeod-Skinner tak-
ing almost 35 percent of the vote and Walden
winning with about 61 percent.
That would be a drop of about 11 points for
Walden since the 2016 election.
PENDLETON
Eighth Street Bridge cost climbs to an estimated $8.6 million
East Oregonian
The budget keeps rising
for the Eighth Street Bridge
project, meaning the city of
Pendleton’s local match is
also going up.
The Pendleton City Coun-
cil will consider raising its
local match by $78,836,
which will go toward a proj-
ect budget that’s risen to $8.6
million.
This is not the first time
the Eighth Street Bridge proj-
ect has seen its cost balloon.
In September 2017, the
council agreed to an amend-
ment that upped the total cost
of the project from $7.4 mil-
lion to $7.7 million. Since
the state assumes 89.73 per-
cent of the project’s cost, the
city is responsible for cov-
ering the rest, which rose to
$793,357 under the new cost.
According to a staff
report, the Oregon Depart-
ment of Transportation
needed to raise the price
tag to $8.6 million because
of inflationary costs and
updated requirements related
to the Americans with Dis-
abilities Act. That means the
city is now on the hook for
$883,594.
The council will also con-
sider paying the Murraysmith
design firm $113,039 to
design roads and a drain-
age system for a Pendleton
Unmanned Aerial Systems
Range Industrial Park.
The council agreed to
pay Murraysmith $597,211
in September to design util-
ity extensions to the indus-
trial park, although the city
doesn’t have the money to
build the park, which would
be constructed north of the
airport terminal.
The city does have the
money to buy a new air han-
gar, and it’s seeking coun-
cil approval to make the
purchase.
The estate of Robert Hart
will sell the hanger, located
at 5301 N.W. A Ave., to the
city of Pendleton for $30,000
if the purchase is approved.
The hangar is expected to
be filled by a customer at the
UAS range.
BRIEFLY
Public invited
to give input on
search for new
BMCC president
Blue Mountain Commu-
nity College is looking for
input on its search for a new
president.
The college is hosting
a community forum Oct.
18 from 5:30-6:30 p.m. in
Morrow Hall, room 100, on
BMCC’s Pendleton cam-
pus to learn what the pub-
lic is looking for in a new
leader for BMCC. Students
and other community mem-
bers can also join the forum
remotely from the college’s
Hermiston, Milton-Freewa-
ter, Boardman and Baker
City campuses.
Current president Cam
Preus is leaving at the end
of the month to become the
executive director of the
Oregon Community College
Association in Salem. The
college’s board of education
has hired executive search
firm Gold Hill Associates
— which recruited Preus for
the job during BMCC’s last
search — to assist in find-
ing a new president. The
community forum Thursday
will help them put together
a “presidential profile” of
skills and attributes to look
for in a candidate.
The public is also invited
to a farewell celebration for
Preus on Oct. 30 from 5-7
p.m. at the Student Union of
Pioneer Hall on the Pendle-
ton campus.
Dr. Connie Green, retired
president of Tillamook Bay
Community College, will
serve as BMCC’s interim
president until Preus’s
replacement is hired. The
BMCC board hopes to have
a new president in place by
next July.
HermNaz
celebrates Pastor
Appreciation
Month
HERMISTON — In rec-
ognition of Pastor Appre-
ciation Month, Hermiston
Church of the Nazarene is
celebrating Pastor Eric Fritz,
his wife Sharon, and their
children Gabrielle, Graydon,
Gideon and Geric.
A work party at the Fritz
Farm is planned Saturday,
beginning at 8:30 a.m. Peo-
ple are invited to help win-
terize the property, includ-
ing cleaning flower beds and
some outdoor painting. Also,
dessert will be served Sun-
day at 7 p.m. in the church’s
ministry center, 1520 W.
Orchard Ave., Hermiston.
The HermNaz board encour-
ages people to come out and
enjoy a time of fellowship.
In addition, cards, gift cards
or notes of thanks/encour-
agement can be left in the
church’s card basket.
For more information
or to sign-up for the work
party, contact 541-567-3677
or
hermistonnaz@gmail.
com.
10/12 - 14
10/15 - 16
Cineplex Show Times
$5 Classic Movie
Cineplex Show Times
$5 Classic Movie
10/17 • 12pm
The Night of the Hunter
10/17 • 12pm
The Night of the Hunter
FIRST MAN (PG13)
12:50* 3:50* 6:50 9:50
FIRST MAN (PG13)
3:50* 6:50 9:50
GOOSEBUMPS 2: HAUNTED
HALLOWEEN (PG)
12:30* 2:40* 5:00 7:10 9:30
GOOSEBUMPS 2: HAUNTED
HALLOWEEN (PG)
5:00 7:10 9:30
VENOM (PG13)
11:50* 4:50 7:20
2:20* 10:00
VENOM (PG13)
4:50 7:20
10:00
A STAR IS BORN (R)
12:40* 3:40* 6:40 9:40
A STAR IS BORN (R)
3:40* 6:40 9:40
SMALLFOOT (PG)
12:20* 2:30* 4:40 7:00 9:20
SMALLFOOT (PG)
4:40 7:00 9:20
* Matinee Pricing
* Matinee Pricing
wildhorseresort.com • 541-966-1850
wildhorseresort.com • 541-966-1850
Pendleton, OR I-84 - Exit 216
Pendleton, OR I-84 - Exit 216
Pendleton Friends of the Library
Thank You !
To the many volunteers for making the PFOL Book Sale a HUGE success!
Pendleton Convention Center Staff —set up/take down/and extra help when needed
City of Pendleton—Glenn Graham and Mary Finney—forklift/ pallet jack/ use of parking lot
Gordon’s Electric—putting up our banner
IMESD and WalMart—book transport
Hodgen Distributing—use of pallets/ book transport
PHS Cross Country and BMCC Men’s Basketball teams—distribution of boxes of books
Safeway—shopping carts
Aaron’s—bottles of water
Liquor Store—many empty boxes
East Oregonian—newspaper ads
Reader Boards –at various businesses
Special thanks to Chair Deidre Byrd for keeping us on track.
Also the PFOL Board and our MANY volunteers for unpacking books,
keeping the sale running, and clean-up.
Thank you to all who donated or sorted books throughout the year.
INVEST IN COMMUNITY VALUES:
HEALTHCARE,
EDUCATION,
& ECONOMIC
DEVELOPMENT
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