Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (May 21, 2020)
NORTHWEST East Oregonian A2 Thursday, May 21, 2020 STATE ELECTION RESULTS Hass wins Democratic primary for secretary of state By HILLARY BORRUD The Oregonian SALEM — Oregon Sen. Mark Hass narrowly won the Democratic primary for sec- retary of state, with Wednes- day morning results show- ing he edged Sen. Shemia Fagan by 1 percentage point in results tallied as of 6 a.m. Wednesday. Hass had claimed 36% of the votes at that hour, just edging Fagan with 35%. Jamie McLeod-Skinner, a natural resources consul- tant from Terrebonne, was in third place with 28% in the state’s highest profile primary race. Hass, who is completing his 20th year in the Legisla- ture, said Tuesday night of his lead, “I’m very gratified, but it’s way too close and way too early.” From the shuttered Noble Rot wine bar where he was watching results, Hass predicted, “It’s gonna be a long night.” He led Fagan by 40% to 37% early Wednesday in Multnomah County, the county that historically has had the most last-minute bal- lots left to count after Elec- tion Day. Fagan’s campaign could Fagan McLeod-Skinner not be reached for comment on election night. The results reflected the extreme competitiveness of the race, despite Fagan jump- ing in less than three months ago, after former Oregon House Majority Leader Jen- nifer Williamson dropped out amid questions over her use of campaign funds. William- son had pinned her candidacy on being the most left-leaning candidate and Fagan took up that mantle. Public employee unions quickly lined up behind Fagan, spurning Hass over his votes to trim public pen- sion costs and skipping over McLeod-Skinner, who lacks a state-level voting record. The unions overwhelm- ingly bankrolled Fagan’s campaign, allowing her to raise more than her two oppo- nents combined. Hass’ top contributor was environmen- tal nonprofit founder Richard Roy, who gave him $50,000, OPB Photo/Bradley W. Parks, File Oregon Sen. Mark Hass narrowly won the Democratic prima- ry for secretary of state, with Wednesday morning results showing he edged Sen. Shemia Fagan by just 1 percentage point. and McLeod-Skinner raised the most of the three candi- dates in small donations of $100 or less: $84,000. With no incumbent in the race, all three candidates faced the challenge of build- ing name recognition with voters. That grew more dif- ficult when the coronavirus pandemic hit Oregon just as the primary shifted into high gear in the spring and Fagan, Hass and McLeod-Skinner were forced to quickly adapt their campaigns to the state’s social distancing orders. Hass, a former television FRIDAY SATURDAY SUNDAY MONDAY Voters say yes to fire district merger By ALEX CASTLE East Oregonian Winds gradually subsiding Partly sunny with a cool breeze Sun and clouds Cloudy Some sun with a shower; breezy PENDLETON TEMPERATURE FORECAST 59° 42° 60° 42° 66° 45° 70° 49° 76° 45° HERMISTON TEMPERATURE FORECAST 66° 46° 66° 45° 72° 44° 76° 52° OREGON FORECAST 82° 48° ALMANAC Shown is today’s weather. Temperatures are today’s highs and tonight’s lows. PENDLETON through 3 p.m. yest. HIGH LOW TEMP. Seattle Olympia 56/47 53/38 64/41 Longview Kennewick Walla Walla 59/43 Lewiston 57/46 68/46 Astoria 56/46 Pullman Yakima 67/45 58/43 61/44 Portland Hermiston 59/46 The Dalles 66/46 Salem Corvallis 59/42 Yesterday Normals Records La Grande 51/37 PRECIPITATION John Day Eugene Bend 60/43 54/33 50/35 Ontario 60/41 Caldwell Burns 61° 53° 74° 48° 94° (1928) 35° (2003) 24 hours ending 3 p.m. Month to date Normal month to date Year to date Last year to date Normal year to date Albany 59/43 0.20" 0.87" 0.73" 1.38" 4.17" 4.75" WINDS (in mph) 59/40 54/28 1.10" 2.31" 0.80" 7.47" 8.68" 5.95" through 3 p.m. yest. HIGH LOW TEMP. Pendleton 50/33 58/43 24 hours ending 3 p.m. Month to date Normal month to date Year to date Last year to date Normal year to date HERMISTON Enterprise 59/42 61/46 54° 49° 72° 48° 93° (1928) 33° (1910) PRECIPITATION Moses Lake 59/42 Aberdeen 56/38 62/45 Tacoma Yesterday Normals Records Spokane Wenatchee 57/47 Today Fri. Boardman WSW 15-25 Pendleton W 12-25 Medford 65/42 WSW 10-20 WSW 10-20 SUN AND MOON Klamath Falls 60/30 Forecasts and graphics provided by AccuWeather, Inc. ©2020 Sunrise today Sunset tonight Moonrise today Moonset today 5:17 a.m. 8:27 p.m. 5:03 a.m. 7:34 p.m. New First Full Last May 22 May 29 June 5 June 12 NATIONAL EXTREMES Yesterday’s National Extremes: (for the 48 contiguous states) High 102° in Maverick, Texas Low 18° in Mammoth Lakes, Calif. UMATILLA COUNTY — The merger to create the East Umatilla Fire & Rescue District is complete. According to results from Umatilla County Elections, voters resoundingly said yes on Tuesday night to dissolv- ing the East Umatilla County Rural Fire Protection District and the Helix Rural Fire Pro- tection District, and the vote for Measure 30-144 to form the new district passed with 72% by the end of the night. As a result, the East Uma- tilla and Helix fire districts will now merge with the Athena Volunteer Fire Department and the East Umatilla County Ambulance Area Health Dis- trict under the umbrella of one taxing district. “We’re really pleased,” said Dave Baty, chief of East Uma- tilla County Rural Fire Protec- tion. “We’re happy that we can continue to provide service to the people that we do.” The four agencies have worked together in an inter- Shown are noon positions of weather systems and precipitation. Temperature bands are highs for the day. -0s 0s showers t-storms 10s rain 20s flurries 30s snow 40s 50s ice 60s cold front E AST O REGONIAN — Founded Oct. 16, 1875 — 211 S.E. Byers Ave., Pendleton 541-276-2211 333 E. Main St., Hermiston 541-567-6211 Office hours: Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Closed major holidays EastOregonian.com To subscribe, call 1-800-522-0255 or go online to EastOregonian.com and click on ‘Subscribe’ East Oregonian (USPS 164-980) is published Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, by the EO Media Group, 211 S.E. Byers Ave. Pendleton, OR 97801. Periodicals postage paid at Pendleton, OR. Postmaster: send address changes to East Oregonian, 211 S.E. Byers Ave. Pendleton, OR 97801. Copyright © 2020, EO Media Group 70s 80s 90s 100s 110s warm front stationary front high low governmental agreement since last July and have been head- quartered at the Weston fire station with a board of mem- bers from each agency. While this means services won’t change as a result of the merger, residents of Helix, Ath- ena, Weston, Adams and sur- rounding areas will pay about $2 per $1,000 of assessed value for both emergency ambulance and fire services. Prior to Tuesday’s vote, the East Umatilla fire and ambulance districts were each already funded with $1 per $1,000 assessed value tax rate, while Helix residents were paying 43 cents per $1,000 of assessed value. Athena res- idents were covered by a $30,000 annual donation from the city. The merged districts are expected to raise an additional $120,000 in funding for its services. Now, Baty and the agencies are working through the next administrative steps as they prepare to officially make the switch to one unified district. “We won’t have bound- Commissioner’s race heads to runoff By ALEX CASTLE East Oregonian MORROW COUNTY — The next Morrow County commissioner will be decided in November. Incumbent Jim Doherty staved off a competitive pri- mary challenge from Joel Peterson on Tuesday night, coming in first in the nonpar- tisan race with 41.56% of the vote compared with Peter- son’s runner-up finish with 38.25%. But the two will have to face off again in a Novem- ber runoff because neither received more than 50% of the vote. “I don’t know if one ever really relaxes,” Doherty said of the result. “But I was really, really thrilled.” Though he had to keep a close eye on the results Tues- day night, Doherty said com- Subscriber services: For mail delivery, online access, vacation stops or delivery concerns call 1-800-522-0255 ext. 1 petitive elec- tions are u lt i m at ely w h a t ’ s best for a community. “I think Doherty it’s a great thing,” he said. “For a long time, espe- cially in these small counties and communities, you end up drawing from the same folks year after year. You want more involvement rather than less.” Peterson is a farmer from Ione, who has served as an elected member of the Ione School Board and spent a number of years as an appointed member of the Morrow County Planning Commission. He was unable to be reached for comment Wednesday. Doherty, a self-employed cattle rancher from Board- ADVERTISING Regional Publisher and Revenue Director: • Christopher Rush 541-278-2669 • crush@eomediagroup.com SUBSCRIPTION RATES EZPay 52 weeks 26 weeks 13 weeks Local home delivery Savings (cover price) $9.75/month 50 percent $135 42 percent $71 39 percent $37 36 percent *EZ Pay = one-year rate with a monthly credit or debit card/check charge Single copy price: $1.50 Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday Advertising Manager: • Angela Treadwell 541-966-0827 • atreadwell@eastoregonian.com Multimedia Consultants: • Jeanne Jewett 541-564-4531 • jjewett@eastoregonian.com • Audra Workman 541-564-4538 • aworkman@eastoregonian.com Business Office Coordinator Circulation Dept. 800-781-3214 ary lines anymore,” Baty said. “We’re just one big family.” Along with three district merging measures, voters approved a public transporta- tion tax for Milton-Freewater and a bond for the Echo Fire District. With just 359 total votes reported by Umatilla County Elections, Measure 30-140 will impose an estimated tax rate of $0.375 per $1,000 assessed value and raise $62,625 per year for the Echo Fire Dis- trict passed at 58% of the vote. The funds raised will pay for a 10-year general obligation bond to purchase firefighting equipment and add a bay to the existing fire station on West Main Street in Echo. Measure 30-141 was a five- year tax option that has helped pay for Milton-Freewater’s public transportation system since 1971 and was once again passed by voters with 62% of the vote. The tax is projected to raise $60,000 at a rate of 37 cents per $1,000 of assessed property value, which is the same rate it was when it first passed in 1971. MORROW COUNTY NATIONAL WEATHER TODAY -10s such as Planned Parenthood and the League of Conser- vation Voters, as reasons for voters to pick her, and said she was proud to receive huge financial contributions from unions because “these are the very people that we’re calling heroes.” McLeod-Skinner, a natu- ral resources consultant who serves on a statewide envi- ronmental board and local school board, sought to dis- tinguish herself as the Dem- ocratic candidate who could connect with both rural and urban areas of the state. She pointed to her competitive 2018 race against U.S. Rep. Greg Walden in the sprawling and strongly Republican 2nd Congressional District and promised to “represent the entire state,” saying during a City Club of Portland forum in March “that’s a voice that needs to be heard in Salem.” Hass will go on to run against Republican nomi- nee, Sen. Kim Thatcher of Keizer, in the general elec- tion. The current secretary of state, Republican Bev Clarno of Redmond, was appointed to the role after the death of Dennis Richardson and pledged not to run for an elected term. UMATILLA COUNTY Forecast for Pendleton Area TODAY journalist who now works in advertising, started out with some name recognition thanks to his years speaking to voters in the Portland area and Willamette Valley, first as a reporter, and then as a lawmaker for 20 years in the House and Senate. He prom- ised that as secretary of state, he would create an office of elections cybersecurity, push to allow same-day voter reg- istration, add climate change impacts to audits of state programs and advocate for ranked choice voting. Hass cited his record championing “big ideas that are now Oregon law,” such as full-day kindergarten and a $1 billion-a-year business tax passed in 2019 to boost public education. As corona- virus wreaked havoc on the state’s health and economy, he touted his leadership expe- rience during previous eco- nomic downturns as a key selling point. Fagan is an employment lawyer who served four years in the House and two in the Senate, where she pushed Senate President Peter Court- ney to allow floor votes on liberal policy priorities even if they lacked enough votes to pass and helped muscle through a statewide rent con- trol law. She focused on con- necting with voters based on her background of being raised by a single dad while her mother struggled with drug addiction, then going on to graduate from Lewis & Clark Law School. Although Fagan didn’t lay out a clear policy platform, she concurred with Hass and McLeod-Skinner on a num- ber of issues. For example, she agreed with Hass that Oregon should try out ranked choice voting. She pointed to her endorsements from groups, • Dayle Stinson 541-278-2670 • dstinson@eastoregonian.com man, is running for reelection after serving the last four years on the county’s three-person board of commissioners. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic restricting traditional cam- paigning methods, Doherty said he mostly relied on his record and reputation from being on the board for Tues- day’s primary. As those restrictions begin to ease and he can ease back into his preferred campaign- ing methods of going door to door and holding town halls, Doherty said he’ll likely need to reach out and gen- erate some more fundrais- ing for the next stage of the campaign. Other challengers, Joseph Armato, an emergency dis- patcher from Heppner, fin- ished third with 10.26% of the vote, while Michael Sweek, a chemical loader from Hep- pner, was fourth with 9.65%. Classified & Legal Advertising 1-800-962-2819 or 541-278-2678 classifieds@eastoregonian.com or legals@eastoregonian.com NEWS • To submit news tips and press releases: call 541-966-0818 or email news@eastoregonian.com • To submit community events, calendar items and Your EO News: email community@eastoregonian.com or call Renee Struthers at 541-966-0818. • To submit engagements, weddings and anniversaries: email rstruthers@eastoregonian.com or visit eastoregonian. com/community/announcements • To submit sports or outdoors information or tips: 541-966-0838 • sports@eastoregonian.com Business Office Manager: 541-966-0824 COMMERCIAL PRINTING Production Manager: Christopher Rush 541-278-2669 • crush@eomediagroup.com
