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Tuesday, October 5, 2021
East Oregonian
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Redistricting:
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The end of the session
The redistricting maps passed
largely on party lines, but earned
some extra indignation from
Republicans.
The heart of Republicans’ ire
was directed at Kotek. She had
previously committed to appoint-
ing an equal number of Democrats
and Republicans to the redistricting
committee. But when the commit-
tee couldn’t come to an agree-
ment, she created new redistricting
committees to pass the maps.
The move received swift
condemnation from Republicans.
Levy called it a “transparent display
of anti-democratic behavior” in a
statement, while Hansell said it was
“disappointing” in an interview.
While Republicans didn’t deny
Democrats a quorum to pass the
maps, they did attempt to censure
Kotek before the end of the session.
Smith, who was appointed
to the new legislative commit-
tee, explained why he became a
late addition to the redistricting
committee.
“My understanding is I was
appointed to that committee to
bring experience, because this is
the third time I’ve been through
redistricting, and the fourth district
I’ve served,” he said. “I was able to
bring a little bit diff erent perspec-
tive than most of the members on
the committee who had never been
through redistricting.”
It was explained how Republi-
cans were stuck between a rock and
a hard place. Another GOP walkout
could result in fairer congressional
maps once redistricting is put in the
hands of the court system. But fail-
ing to pass legislative maps means
Secretary of State Shemia Fagan, a
Democrat, would redraw the lines
in the state, potentially rendering a
worse map for Republicans. Smith
passed the legislative maps out of
committee but voted against them
on the fl oor of the House.
A veteran of three redistricting
Oregon redistricting website/Contributed Graphic
The new legislative maps for Eastern Oregon make a number of changes to House districts 57 and 58. Helix and Stanfi eld swapped districts while
Milton-Freewater splits between both. District 57 also gained Wheeler County, a larger portion of Wasco County and the Warm Springs Reservation.
Senate District 29 remains a combination of districts 57 and 58.
cycles, Smith said Democrats have
been gaining power in redistrict-
ing since 2000, when a Democratic
secretary of state drew the map.
Smith said the trend is unlikely to
change unless voters pass a referen-
dum to put redistricting in the hands
of an independent commission.
Redistricting creates
new questions in
Wheeler County
With Oregon’s urban and subur-
ban areas growing while much of its
rural territory is fl at or shrinking,
many rural legislative districts grew
in area to ensure all districts were
equal in population size.
District 57 followed that trend,
but added Wheeler County in the
process. Smith now represents a
county that he also works with
directly.
In his day job, Smith works on
economic development projects
across the region. One of Smith’s
many hats includes acting as the
offi cer of the board for the Wheeler
County Development Corp. In
conjunction with Wheeler County,
the organization operates a revolv-
ing loan fund for small businesses.
Smith is listed throughout the
corporation’s website as a contact
person.
Smith said he has no plans to
step down from his role with the
corporation, adding that “there’d be
no reason for me to give up the good
work we do down and Wheeler
County.”
“It’s no diff erent than any other
type of work I do,” he said. “You
have to be extraordinarily careful
in following the rules and the laws
that we have in the state of Oregon.
And that’s what we will do.”
This isn’t the fi rst time Smith
has garnered scrutiny for potential
confl icts between his personal busi-
ness and his legislative work.
Willamette Week said Smith
“may be the best compensated
lawmaker in Salem,” highlighting
connections between his day job as
an economic development special-
ist and the projects he approves as a
legislator. The Malheur Enterprise
investigated the public contracts
he holds through his personal
company, including his role as the
director of the Malheur County
Economic Development Depart-
ment.
Ben Lonergan/East Oregonian
Attendees wander a line of vendors Saturday, Oct. 2, 2021, during the annual Morrow County Harvest Festival at the SAGE Center in Boardman.
Festival:
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Rietmann said he has
been to all of the festivals,
since they began. He goes to
local craft bazaars, and this
one is “very good,” he said.
Gracie Krahn, Linn-Ben-
ton Community College
sophomore and 2021 Oregon
Dairy Princess Ambassa-
dor, was among the people
who had a booth at the festi-
val. She visited Boardman
on her tour of state fairs,
summer camps and other
events. Krahn, an Albany
Ben Lonergan/East Oregonian
Anthony Licea, 12, paints a pumpkin Saturday, Oct. 2, 2021, during the Morrow County Har-
vest Festival at the SAGE Center in Boardman.
Cases:
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The Round-Up required
no proof of vaccination or
negative COVID-19 to enter
the grounds. Had there been
a requirement, Fiumara said
some of the infection could
have been avoided. He
pointed to college football
games in Oregon that have
those requirements and have
yet to see an outbreak.
There is no state rule that
says organizers must require
a proof of COVID-19 vacci-
nation or negative test to
hold an event.
Pendleton Round-Up
General Manager Erika
Patton did not return a call
seeking comment prior to
press time.
Cases stemming from the
week-long rodeo have so far
been reported in Oregon,
Washington and Montana,
as well as Umatilla, Jeff er-
son, Morrow, Wallowa and
Union counties, according
to Mike Stensrud, an epide-
miologist with Umatilla
County Public Health. The
vast majority of cases have
been reported in Umatilla
County — 166.
But the county still
doesn’t know if the outbreak
could be larger, as contact
tracers have only been able
to interview 81% of identi-
fi ed cases stemming from
the Round-Up.
The county plans to
disclose more data soon about
where the cases occurred
during Round-Up week to
inform residents about their
likelihood of exposure to
the virus and and to inform
future event planning.
Umatilla County has
reported 13,596 COVID-19
cases since the pandemic
began, according to county
health data. In all, 129 county
residents who have contracted
the virus have died.
resident, said she was
having a good time.
“I love this event,” she
said. “I’ve been able to
connect with little ones and
others, all the way up to
grandmas and grandmas.
It’s been an outstanding
afternoon.”
Linda Mackey, owner
of The Natural Maximum
of Washington, boasted
being at Harvest Festival
each year since it began. A
Prosser, Washington, resi-
dent, she said she was glad
to be outside in beautiful
weather. Most years, she
said, the weather has been
windy and unpleasant.
Mackey was at the festi-
val with products, such as
hats, made from alpaca
wool. She raises alpacas,
sheers them, sends the fiber
away to be processed and
then she makes products
with the wool. She knits,
weaves, crochets and felts.
As Beck greeted attend-
ees and met with vendors,
she said the 2021 Morrow
County Harvest Festival
was a big success. And
she said she expects next
year will be even better,
with more space for more
vendors and additional
attendees returning from
COVID-19 quarantines.