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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 23, 2019)
OFF PAGE ONE Wednesday, October 23, 2019 East Oregonian A7 Clarno rejects ballot proposal on immigrant driver’s licenses Staff photo by Ben Lonergan Vehicles pass by a sign advocating the Hermiston School bond measure along Highway 395 in Hermiston on Tuesday afternoon. Bond: Largest portion of raised dollars went to PR firm Pac/West Continued from Page A1 $500 each, as did Ric Sher- man, chair of the board for Umatilla County Fire District 1. Hermiston Mayor Dave Drotzmann, Hermiston High School Principal Tom Spoo and the Oregon AFL-CIO also joined the $500 club. And a multitude have con- tributed more than $1,200 in miscellaneous cash contribu- tions of $100 or less. The Umatilla County Elections Division mailed 44,642 ballots last week for the Nov. 5 election. Kim Lin- dell, county elections man- ager, said 923 — 2% — have trickled in so far. She expects this election to have a lower overall turnout in the county. Hermiston should have a higher turnout because of the school bond, Lindell said, and other communities with something at stake could show up in greater numbers. Milton-Freewater voters are considering the forma- tion of the Milton-Freewater Valley Ambulance District with a permanent tax rate of $1.10 per $1,000 in assessed value. The Echo Fire District is asking voters to approve a $150,000 local tax to support its operations over five years. And the Riverside Rural Fire Protection District seeks a five-year local option tax of about 91 cents per $1,000 in assessed value that would raise $36,000 a year. But the two countywide measures may not spark a lot of interest. One measure asks if vot- ers want to change the lan- guage in the county char- ter from “law enforcement department” to “sheriff’s office” as set out in Oregon law. That would have the practical effect of having the county’s foundational doc- ument reflect the name the county and locals already call the law enforcement agency. The measure also aligns the charter with the functions of the sheriff under Oregon law with the exception of tax collection. The second measure amends the election process for county officials. Under the proposal, the county would require a primary election only if more than two candidates filed for the election, and the two with the most votes would face off in the November general election. The change could end situations where a losing incumbent remains in office more than six months. Whether the ballot is exciting or not, Lindell said the election will cost about $45,000, or around $1 per registered voter. Sale: Interested party will remain confidential until an official offer is made Continued from Page A1 yes,” the Herald quoted Wolfe as saying during his speech at the grand opening. For most of its existence, the center was run by the Greater Hermiston Area Chamber of Commerce, but in 2017 the city council voted unanimously to end its contract with the cham- ber and move the parks and recreation department into the building to run it instead. Residents who showed up to oppose the move were told by city staff and city coun- cilors that the center would still be available for com- munity events under the new management. During that time the city conducted a study of avail- able event space in the area, noting there were 689 total events held in the Hermis- ton Community Center in 2016, including chamber of commerce meetings. The city did not have an updated figure for 2018 immediately available. The report listed the city-owned Eastern Oregon Trade and Event Center, the National Guard Armory in Hermiston and the Pendle- ton Convention Center as the other alternatives in the area for an indoor 300-plus person event. Alternatives for smaller events included the Maxwell Siding Event Center, the Port of Morrow’s offices in Boardman and the Oxford Suites in Hermiston. Assistant City Manager Mark Morgan reported to the council before their 2017 vote on the chamber contract that it took $198,700 in gross expenses to run the center, paid for by rental fees and transient room tax funds. He said rental revenue for the community center had decreased since EOTEC had opened its event center in 2016. The community cen- ter is in the city’s urban renewal district, meaning tax revenue generated from increases in the property’s value would go toward the district for improvements to the downtown area. Walgreens: After 6 years store is coming to an end Continued from Page A1 to a store that was built and opened in 2013. At the time of its open- ing, Walgreens supported 20 jobs and a corporate spokes- man expressed confidence in the store’s success despite the presence of nearby competitors. Pharmacies at Rite Aid, Safeway and Walmart are all within close proximity, and the Bi-Mart pharmacy is less than a mile away. The 100 block of South- west 20th Street has also struggled to retain the chain stores that used to anchor the area. At the nearby Pendle- ton Retail Center strip mall, Pizza Hut, Rent-A-Cen- ter, GameStop, and Verizon have either closed up shop or moved their stores to a dif- ferent location. Secretary of State ballot measure doesn’t comply with the Oregon Constitution By CLAIRE WITHYCOMBE Oregon Capital Bureau SALEM — An attempt to repeal a new state law allow- ing undocumented immi- grants to get Oregon driver’s licenses has hit a snag. Oregon Secretary of State Bev Clarno on Tues- day halted a proposed bal- lot initiative to walk back House Bill 2015, saying it doesn’t comply with require- ments stated in the Oregon Constitution. The bill, passed earlier this year, allows Oregonians to present forms of ID that don’t prove a person’s legal immigration status in order to get a driver’s license. The licenses will not be available until Jan. 1, 2021. Undocumented immi- grants — or others without documents proving U.S. cit- izenship or that they are in the country legally — have been barred from getting driver’s licenses in Oregon since 2007. Supporters of the petition want to prevent people who are here illegally from get- ting state driver’s licenses. The campaign to repeal the law, which calls itself “Stop Illegal Drivers,” is led by Mark Callahan, a fre- quent candidate for political office in Oregon. Callahan, reached for comment Tuesday, said the campaign was “definitely going to fight” the ruling, and pointed to several pre- vious cases he believes sup- port his interpretation that the petition passes muster. The Secretary of State’s Office believes the consti- tution requires the petition- ers to present the changes the petition would make to state statutes. Instead, the ballot title just says that a “Yes” vote on the petition “‘Demands’ repeal” of the bill. In a post on the “Stop Illegal Drivers” website, the campaign said the rea- son Elections Director Steve Trout gave — the constitu- tional requirement cited by Clarno — was “not valid.” The campaign also posted on the website a message from Callahan addressed to Trout. Callahan called Oregon Capital Bureau Photo/Claire Withycombe, File Secretary of State Bev Clarno gives a speech April 3, 2019, at her swearing-in ceremony. Clarno on Tuesday halted a proposed ballot initiative to walk back House Bill 2015, saying it doesn’t comply with requirements stated in the Oregon Constitution. the reason for the rejection “flawed in logic and reason- ing.” He maintained the peti- tion was not trying to pass a new law. “How can we submit the full text of a law that we are NOT ‘Proposing?’” Calla- han wrote. “It doesn’t make any sense. If we are NOT ‘Proposing’ a law, there is no full text of a law to submit.” Oregon’s constitution includes several ways that Oregonians can have a direct say on a policy at the ballot box. Lawmakers can refer a measure to the ballot; cit- izens can ask for a referen- dum on a particular law; or citizens can file an initiative petition to change state laws. A referendum, which simply asks voters to reject or keep a law state legisla- tors pass, differs from an ini- tiative petition. In the case of House Bill 2015, petitioners could not submit a referendum. That’s because of a few words in the bill that amount to an “emergency clause.” That clause says the bill takes effect as soon as law- makers pass it. The state constitution doesn’t allow bills that go into effect that soon to get referred. But citizens can file an initiative petition in that case. That’s what the back- ers of Initiative Petition 43 did. Since they filed an initia- tive petition, the Secretary of State’s Office says, peti- tioners were supposed to present an amended form of the law for voters’ consider- ation, showing exactly how the law would be changed if the provisions of House Bill 2015 were repealed. But the petition they sub- mitted just “demanded” repeal of the law. House Bill 2015 affected many parts of state law, said Deputy Secretary of State Rich Vial. “We feel like you need to put the sections that were originally affected by the legislation in to the petition and show what you would propose to take back out of the law or change it back to what it was before,” Vial said. “The law, obviously, was complicated enough that there was a number of things in the statute that were added or changed.” Moving forward, the petitioners could rewrite the petition and re-gather the sponsorship signatures in order to get another bal- lot title drafted, at which point the Secretary of State’s Office would review both again for constitutionality, Vial said. But in cases like this, if petitioners don’t want to rewrite the measure, some- times they will bring a lawsuit. Supporters of the petition argue House Bill 2015 con- tradicted the will of Oregon voters, who in 2014 rejected a measure to create a sepa- rate type of license for peo- ple who cannot prove they are in the country legally. Proponents of House Bill 2015 said that bill would simply allow Oregonians to present forms of per- sonal identification that don’t prove legal status. It would also apply to people who didn’t have access to vital records, such as peo- ple who are experiencing homelessness. House Bill 2015 also says licenses granted to those who don’t present proof of citizenship do not meet fed- eral “Real ID” standards. The new IDs, a post- 9/11 policy intended to strengthen security, will be required for Oregonians to enter certain federal build- ings and to board commer- cial flights starting Oct. 1, 2020. Members of the pub- lic had complained the bal- lot title was misleading. The ballot title said the effect of the “demand” stated in the petition was unclear. Several commenters, in response, provided the dictionary definition of “demand.” One member of the pub- lic, Kaila Calkins, wrote an email to the Secretary of State’ Office saying that “this is nothing more than another political ploy to effectively silence the Ore- gon voter.” Clarno said in a state- ment she hoped the petition- ers would “take (her) ruling as an opportunity to improve their proposal.” “The initiative petition process is very important in giving Oregonians an oppor- tunity to directly participate in our government,” Clarno said in a statement. “It is my sincere hope that the propo- nents of this ballot measure will take my ruling as an opportunity to improve their proposal. I will always sup- port the presentation of bal- lot measures that meet con- stitutional requirements.” Californians brace for possible outage By JOCELYN GECKER AND CHRISTOPHER WEBER Associated Press SAN FRANCISCO — Hundreds of thousands of Northern California res- idents braced for another possible power outage as the state’s largest utility warned that a return of dangerous fire weather could prompt shut-offs across 16 counties. The warning from Pacific Gas & Electric about a possible blackout Wednes- day prompted a feeling of resignation among residents and business owners and renewed rushes to stock up on emergency supplies. “I think it’s not panic per se, just ‘Eh, we gotta do this again?’” said Kim Schefer, manager of Village True Value Hardware in Santa Rosa. Schefer was busy Tues- day directing customers to gas cans and batteries as they prepared for what many see as a costly, frus- trating new routine. It would be the second blackout in two weeks for much of the state. PG&E cut power to more than 2 million people across the San Francisco Bay Area in rolling black- outs from Oct. 9-12, para- AP Photo/Christian Monterrosa Firefighters watch as a helicopter drops water in a wildfire in the Pacific Palisades area of Los Angeles on Monday. lyzing parts of the region in what was the largest deliberate blackout in state history. Schools and uni- versities canceled classes and many businesses were forced to close. Earlier this week, PG&E notified 200,000 customers, or roughly a half-million people, that it could begin a new round of precaution- ary shut-offs mostly in the Sierra foothills and north of the San Francisco Bay Area. Blackouts would last at least 48 hours, the utility said. PG&E says it’s con- cerned that winds forecast to hit 60 mph could throw branches and debris into power lines or topple them, sparking wildfires. At Murphy’s Irish Pub in Sonoma, co-owner Der- mot Coll groaned at the thought of another power outage. The watering hole kept its doors open during the last 48-hour shut-off, but it wasn’t easy because gen- erator power to the walk-in coolers kept failing. “We made it work, but it was a headache,” Coll said. “We kept saying, ‘Is this even worth it?’” Coll said he fears that precautionary blackouts will become a regular occur- rence now that fire season in California is a year-round phenomenon. “It’s going to be an annual event, I’m afraid. I hate to say it, but I believe it’s probably true,” he said. PG&E has cast the black- outs as a matter of public safety to prevent the kind of blazes that have killed scores of people in Cali- fornia over the past several years, destroyed thousands of homes, and ran up tens of billions of dollars in claims that drove the company into bankruptcy. California Gov. Gavin sent a sharply worded let- ter Tuesday to Bill Johnson, CEO of the utility, blam- ing the unprecedented mass outage earlier this month on the company’s failure to maintain and upgrade its equipment. “I believe the unaccept- able scope and duration of the previous outage — deliberately forcing 735,000 customers to endure power outages — was the direct result of decades of PG&E prioritizing profit over pub- lic safety,” Newsom wrote, referring to the number of businesses and households affected, not the total num- ber of people. PG&E says the shut- downs are not about money. “The sole intent is to pre- vent a catastrophic wild- fire,” Johnson said in a Monday briefing. A huge portion of Cali- fornia is under high fire risk amid unpredictable gusts and soaring temperatures.