ANDREW CUTLER
Publisher/Editor
KATHRYN B. BROWN
Owner
PHIL WRIGHT
News Editor
SATURDAy, AUGUST 7, 2021
A4
Founded October 16, 1875
OUR VIEW
Brown deal
leaves bad
aftertaste
I
t is not a political scandal by any
means, but the recent news Gov.
Kate Brown spent a large chunk of
public money to pay one of her former
advisers to serve as a political consultant
leaves a bitter aftertaste.
The news last week barely broke above
the collective consciousness of the state
and it certainly gained little traction in
portions of the Willamette Valley, a tradi-
tional base for the governor.
At its heart the news revolves around
a deal brokered in 2020 where the gover-
nor hired her former communications
director Chris Pair through a no-bid
state contract. The deal provides Pair
with a salary of $6,500 a month to attend
weekly meetings of the Western Gover-
nors’ Association regarding enlarging the
effort to create infrastructure for electric
vehicles. So far, the state has paid Pair
$91,000.
Brown also has paid Pair money
through one of her political action
committees.
When Pair — a longtime member of
Brown’s staff — departed in January
2020, Brown made no mention he might
be hired back. A month later, the gover-
nor’s office asked state officials to prepare
the no-bid contract for Pair’s consulting
company.
Now, on the face of it, none of this is
illegal. In fact, former government offi-
cials turning around to work as indepen-
dent contractors for their former bosses
or agencies is commonplace. It just looks
bad.
Transparency in government is essen-
tial for a democracy to function properly.
That means the public has the right to
know what its elected leaders are doing
and why.
The money paid to Pair so far is, obvi-
ously, just a drop in the bucket of the
multibillion-dollar budget of the state.
But it is the principle that counts in this
situation. If the governor was going to
hire one of her former staffers and let him
or her be paid with public dollars, she
should have disclosed it. State govern-
ment — and especially the governor’s
office — isn’t a private company. It’s
funded by the public, and the public has
a right to know — no matter how low the
sum — how the government is using its
money.
The governor didn’t break the law, but
bankrolling one of her former staffers on
the public’s dime doesn’t sit well with us.
EDITORIALS
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.
LETTERS
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:
editor@eastoregonian.com,
or via mail to Andrew Cutler,
211 S.E. Byers Ave. Pendleton, OR 97801
YOUR VIEWS
City transportation system
needs an overhaul
A bus barn at the airport is the latest
brainstorm to come out of Pendleton
City Hall. They say the need has arisen
for a storage building to house an accu-
mulation of vehicles that city manage-
ment has deemed essential for the
operation of our public transportation
system, vehicles paid for with various
government grants they consider “free”
money.
The vehicles are currently “stored”
at city hall or at the local taxi company,
10 vehicles in all. The city contracts
their subsidized services to the local taxi
company. Those services include senior/
disabled and general public taxi tick-
ets, plus fixed and deviated bus routes.
This is supplemented by the Clearview
Disability Resource Center, which
provides non-emergency medical trans-
portation for individuals on the Oregon
Health Plan.
City hall loves comparing our
services to other cities, so let’s take a
look at Hermiston. Their services pretty
much mirror ours. The difference is how
they’re administered.
All of their public transportation is
contracted through third parties. Kayak
Public Transit, operated by the Confed-
erated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian
Reservation, provides their fixed-route
bus service. On-demand taxi service for
all, including seniors, disabled and the
“rides to work” program, is provided
by Hermiston Transportation LLC, the
local taxi company.
This is where the similarities end.
Hermiston does not own any public
transit vehicles — no need for a bus
barn. Pendleton, on the other hand,
plans to construct a bus barn at the
airport. How inconvenient is that? With
office space included, I expect they’ll
be hiring a manager of some sort, so
long-range costs are sure to exceed the
planned $90,000 for construction. That
cost includes $72,000 of “free money”
provided by the state “transit tax.”
That’s a new tax levied on employers
and passed down to you in the form of
increased retail prices.
City hall should be asking itself: Do
we really need these 10 vehicles that
require storage? When the CTUIR is
the city’s largest employer, why are we
not reciprocating by taking advantage
of the expertise in mass transit offered
from Kayak? Why continue to waste tax
dollars on new facilities when we can’t
maintain what we have?
How about investing in projects that
enhance our economic future? Why
not stick to those goals just announced
by our city council? City management
is already losing its focus with projects
such as this bus barn fiasco.
Rick Rohde
Pendleton
River Democracy
Act shows ‘vision and
determination’
Northeast Oregon connects the
Rocky Mountains to the Blue Moun-
tains, the Cascades and Coast Range
beyond. Its waterways provide a habi-
tat connectivity corridor of continen-
tal importance. Flowing from some
of Oregon’s tallest peaks into deep
river canyons, including Hells Canyon
— North America’s deepest — these
waterways flow through deserts and wet
forests rivaling the rain forests of the
coast.
Ours is truly a landscape of superla-
tives.
Currently, only 2% of Oregon’s
110,000 miles of rivers are protected
under the federal Wild and Scenic
Rivers Act. That is why I was thrilled
to read about Sen. Ron Wyden’s call for
nominations (“Nominate your favor-
ite waterway for Wild and Scenic Act
protection,” The Observer, Dec. 16,
2019): “Whether you are a whitewater
rafter, an angler or simply an Oregonian
who believes strongly in protecting the
river or stream that provides safe drink-
ing water to your community, I want to
hear from you.”
Thousands of Oregonians from every
county in our state answered that call by
submitting more than 15,000 nomina-
tions of waterways to be included in the
legislation.
Congress passed the Wild and
Scenic Rivers Act in 1968 to protect
our nation’s best free-flowing rivers, to
ensure clean drinking water, to safe-
guard fisheries, and preserve cultural
resources, scenery and outdoor recre-
ation opportunities for all future genera-
tions. Our Northeast Oregon waterways
do indeed provide many distinctive
wildlife habitats, clean water and recre-
ation opportunities that make our region
so unique. I applaud the senator’s vision
and determination.
Brock Evans
La Grande
CONTACT YOUR REPRESENTATIVES
U.S. PRESIDENT
Joe Biden
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Ave. NW
Washington, DC 20500
Comments: 202-456-1111
GOVERNOR
Kate Brown
160 State Capitol
900 Court St.
Salem, OR 97301-4047
503-378-4582
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
REPRESENTATIVES
Bobby Levy, District 58
900 Court St. NE, H-376
Salem, OR 97301
503-986-1458
Rep.BobbyLevy@state.or.us
Greg Smith, District 57
900 Court St. NE, H-482
Salem, OR 97301
503-986-1457
Rep.GregSmith@state.or.us
U.S. REPRESENTATIVE
Cliff Bentz
2185 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
202-225-6730
Medford office: 541-776-4646
SENATOR
Bill Hansell, District 29
900 Court St. NE, S-415
Salem, OR 97301
503-986-1729
Sen.BillHansell@state.or.us