VIEWPOINTS
Saturday, February 5, 2022
East Oregonian
A5
PATRICK
CAHILL
OTHER VIEWS
PFLAG
Pendleton
offers support
and education
I
t is with a heavy heart and great
disappointment that we, PFLAG
Pendleton, as a member of the Pend-
leton Chamber of Commerce, are writ-
ing in response to the recent comments
on the use of pronouns made by the
chamber’s president. Unfortunately,
these hurtful and dismissive comments
were widely distributed to our busi-
ness and community leaders in a recent
chamber newsletter.
As PFLAG, in support of families
and friends of the LGBTQ2S+ (lesbian,
gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, two
spirit, plus) community, we advocate for
individuals within our society to live,
love and find happiness as their true
selves. Our chapter is one of 400 other
PFLAG chapters in the United States,
and our membership is just a few of the
millions of other American citizens that
believe as we do. Many of us have come
to these beliefs through great personal
challenges, changes and growth.
We find it disappointing that some-
one who is in a public position, who
is meant to serve her community and
constituency with an impartial outlook,
could be so thoughtless with her words
to negatively impact the people she is
meant to serve. The people who are put
into positions of leadership, whether it
be local government, city employees
or anyone who could be called a public
figure, should leave their personal nega-
tive feelings at the door to represent
their organizations.
Someone with a broad reach such
as the chamber of commerce president
ought to strive to make the lives of those
in their reach better, not more difficult.
It is exceptionally frustrating to see
a letter from someone who genuinely
believes that ignoring a changing world
would be in any way beneficial and
denouncing a part of her constituency
could be seen in any way as a positive
trait in a leader.
The chamber president literally
states, “Ostriches do not actually bury
their heads in the sand, and when
threatened they will fall down flat.
Ostriches are skilled at using their
strong legs to defend themselves by
kicking their opponents. While I am
not much of a runner, I do share another
quality of ostriches — they are very
vocal. Yes, ostrich-like behavior works
for me.”
We hope the chamber president will
use her voice in the future to build
people up, not tear them down.
It is PFLAG Pendleton’s view that
it is through the chamber’s organiza-
tion and leadership that our community
has a forum for business cooperation,
learning and growth. Further communi-
cation to members on these comments
provides a clear opportunity for educa-
tion, action and leadership by the
chamber. PFLAG Pendleton sees this
unfortunate incident as a growth oppor-
tunity. We appreciate the apology that
has been issued by the president and the
acknowledgement, from the two orga-
nizations she works and volunteers for,
that her opinions are hers and do not
represent their groups’ philosophies.
That’s a start, but apologies fade away
and the hurt remains.
This, in our opinion, is a true teach-
able moment and further action is
needed. We want to see members of our
city’s leadership stand up for a healthy
and safe place for everyone to live and
thrive. We hope they will choose to
learn more and work harder to under-
stand the true impact of someone
proudly declaring, “I’m going to keep
my head down and hope for brighter
days ahead.”
PFLAG Pendleton understands you
have to work for brighter days. We
can’t just “hope” they will happen. So
PFLAG Pendleton would like to offer
the Pendleton Chamber of Commerce
Board of Directors and staff an opportu-
nity for education and to show consid-
eration specifically toward the gender
nonbinary community. It is PFLAG’s
role in Pendleton not only to support
and advocate for the LGBTQ2S+
community but to educate, support and
advocate for others to help prevent these
types of situations in the future. We ask
that the chamber and its president will
join us in this important work.
PFLAG sees the word ally as a verb,
not a noun. Definition: To work along-
side with another as a collaborator,
listener, active accomplice, and advo-
cate. Referenced from “Ally-Up.”
———
Patrick Cahill (pronouns he/him/his)
is a PFLAG Pendleton Board Member
and on the PFLAG Board of Directors.
Patrick is a Pendleton High School grad-
uate and raised in our community.
A frenetic agenda for short session
DICK
HUGHES
OTHER VIEWS
T
he Oregon Legislature could impose a
sales tax on luxury cars, RVs, electron-
ics, boats, snowmobiles, jewelry, guns,
clothing and handbags.
Lawmakers might allow Oregonians to
pump their own gas at service stations.
But the Legislature won’t push year-
round schooling for K-12 students, although
state Senate President Peter Courtney said
that would help repair the damage that kids
suffered during the pandemic. The 35-day
legislative session that started Tuesday,
Feb. 1, in Salem doesn’t allow time for such
complex issues. Instead, lawmakers again
will put money into boosting summer school
programs.
So-called “short” legislative sessions in
even-numbered years complement the “long”
regular sessions in odd-numbered years,
which under the Oregon Constitution can last
up to 160 days.
Despite the pared-down agenda, the pace
will be frenetic, the action swift and the
outcomes highly uncertain.
During the Associated Press Legislative
Preview last week, Senate Republican Leader
Tim Knopp, of Bend, recalled that he was
the last person in the Capitol during the 2020
short session because everyone else in the
building got mad and went home.
That’s only a slight exaggeration. The
presiding officers — Courtney, a Demo-
crat from Salem, and House Speaker Tina
Kotek, D-Portland — abruptly adjourned the
session days before the constitutional dead-
line because all the Republicans walked out
except Knopp in the Senate and Rep. Cheri
Helt, of Bend, in the House.
This year’s prospects are dicey as well.
Here are five factors at play:
1. Why are we here?
Oregon’s state government runs on a
two-year budget cycle. The Legislature met
every other year, often with special sessions
in between, until voters in 2010 adopted
length-limited annual sessions. The 35-day
sessions were to deal with budget issues that
cropped up, fix problems in previous legisla-
tion and … what?
Republicans consistently contend that the
supermajority Democrats usurp the purpose
of short sessions by bringing in big issues
better handled in long sessions, if at all.
2020’s abiding outrage to Republicans was
the Democrats’ reworked carbon cap-and-
trade bill, which had failed the previous year.
This year’s dealbreaker could be House Bill
4002 requiring overtime for agricultural
workers. House Republican Leader Vikki
Breese Iverson, of Prineville, called it the
elephant in the room. Rep. Andrea Salinas,
of Lake Oswego, and other Democrats are
resuming their battle for agricultural overtime
after that proposal died in the 2021 Legisla-
ture.
2. Tensions within government
One of the briefest measures, sponsored by
Republicans, undoubtedly is dead on arrival
in the Democrat-controlled Legislature.
House Joint Resolution 201 would terminate
Gov. Kate Brown’s March 8, 2020 executive
order declaring a state of emergency over the
COVID-19 pandemic.
Democrats will back Brown on this. Yet
they’re displeased with her administration in
other areas, and not just unemployment and
rental assistance payments.
One concern is the state’s perceived lack
of progress in mental health care. Legislators
put more money into such programs, but they
now are unsure whether the money is going
where they wanted. Courtney said that raises
the question of how far the legislative branch
should go in overseeing the executive branch.
Legislators’ patience is running out.
3. New faces, no relationships
So many legislators have departed in
recent months that lawmakers haven’t met
some of their new colleagues. The pandemic
curtailed social events, funded by lobbyists
and others, where people got to know one
another on a casual basis. Meanwhile, health
protocols have restricted interactions in the
Capitol.
The latest newcomer, Rep.-designate
Travis Nelson, D-Portland, will be sworn
in a half hour before the 2022 Legislature
convenes Tuesday morning. He replaces
Kotek.
Virtual committee meetings mean legis-
lators aren’t sitting next to each other, chit-
chatting before – and sometimes during
– meetings. A hallmark of Oregon’s legisla-
ture is that D’s and R’s sit next to each other in
committees instead of being on separate sides
as in Congress.
Meanwhile, four of the key House leaders
are starting their first session in their roles:
House Speaker-nominee Dan Rayfield,
D-Corvallis; House Majority Leader Julie
Fahey, D-Eugene; Breese Iverson as Repub-
lican leader; and budget committee co-chair
Tawna Sanchez, D-Portland.
Such new leadership could mean a fresh
start, a less-combative middle and a coopera-
tive ending. Or not.
On the other side of the Capitol, Court-
ney is serving his final year in the Legislature
before retiring. The longest-tenured Senate
president in Oregon history, Courtney has
been a collaborative, moderating influence
while partisan divides have grown and his
own Senate Democratic Caucus has moved to
the left. How will his role play out in 2022?
4. Election year
As in any session, but more so during a
campaign year, expect lots of public politick-
ing and backroom dealing that make a legisla-
tor look good. Or bad. Lawmakers’ speeches
on the Senate and House floors rarely change
minds, but they do create clips for political
campaigns. Not only are many members
running for reelection, but some are going for
higher offices, such as Congress.
House members cannot fundraise during
a session, which helps explain why two legis-
lative combatants have resigned before the
session starts. Former Speaker Kotek and
former House Republican Leader Christine
Drazan, of Canby, are both running for gover-
nor.
Pollsters rank Oregon as likely elect-
ing a Democrat for governor this year. But
FiveThirtyEight reported on Thursday,
“Republicans might even have a shot at their
white whale — the Oregon governor’s office,
which they lost by just 6 points in 2014 and 2
points in 2010.”
Oregon’s largest labor union has now
endorsed Kotek. Service Employees Interna-
tional Union’s influence will mean signifi-
cant financial and volunteer resources for her
campaign. Meanwhile, Drazan’s campaign
announced that she is the first Republican
gubernatorial candidate to raise more than $1
million for this year’s race.
5. The pandemic
The ever-changing pandemic pres-
ents many unknowns. The Legislature has
perhaps an extra $2 billion to spend, much of
it for one-time investments. Brown wants a
half-billion of that set aside to shore against
future budget shortfalls.
Issues exacerbated by the pandemic —
including housing, employment and health
care — already are high on the agenda. “Short
sessions were built for this exact moment,”
Rayfield said.
Meanwhile, two of Oregon’s favorite
prohibitions could go separate ways.
The Legislature has gradually eroded the
full ban on self-serve gas. This year it might
go all the way. House Bill 4151 has bipar-
tisan backing from several key legislators
amid intense support and opposition from the
public.
However, the retail sales tax on luxury
items, which would finance $750 monthly
stipends to low-income Oregonians, likely is
dead on arrival. House Bill 4079 has only one
sponsor, retiring Rep. Brad Witt, D-Clats-
kanie.
———
Dick Hughes has been covering the Oregon
political scene since 1976.
Idaho Power is bullying local landowners
JIM
KREIDER
OTHER VIEWS
I
daho Power, an out-of-state regulated
energy monopoly, is attempting to build
a 300 mile, 500 kilovolt transmission line
through five Eastern Oregon counties. It is
called the Boardman to Hemingway, or B2H,
transmission line, an unneeded and destruc-
tive project that threatens our land and heri-
tage.
Idaho Power has started taking landown-
ers to circuit court to gain access to their
land for preconstruction surveys. This is for
precondemnation proceedings, aka eminent
domain — for a transmission line that has not
been approved.
The B2H application is still under consid-
eration; more specifically, it is in a contested
case that needs to be resolved before final
consideration and decisions are made by the
Oregon Department of Energy Energy Facil-
ity Siting Council. This is not expected until
summer or later this year. There could even
be more court challenges before a final deci-
sion is made.
Obviously, Idaho Power’s precondem-
nation process is premature. It ignores the
established state process for conducting
preconstruction surveys.
The ODOE process allows for “over-the-
fence” surveys should the landowner choose
not to allow utilities’ agents on their property.
The Stop B2H Coalition has communicated
with ODOE to learn the relevant regulations
regarding access to private property. Idaho
Power and its attorneys chose to bypass the
established ODOE processes and are taking
private landowners to court using methods
that are inconsistent with ODOE’s proposed
order.
To date, at least 21 landowners have or
will be served a petition for precondemnation
entry on their property. Eventually, there will
be more. How can we sit back and watch this
invasion of private property and potential land
taking happen to our neighbors and friends?
Idaho Power has the financial resources
to bully people, to publish slick materials to
convince Oregonians that the B2H is a done
deal, to make grandiose promises of tax reve-
nues to counties, to employ attorneys and
engineers to twist words and counter every-
thing that people, including our local scien-
tists, raise. They relentlessly “greenwash” the
project which is not green at all.
The B2H application should be suspended
until Idaho Power ceases its precondemnation
court proceedings and follows the proce-
dures in the proposed order. Condemnation or
precondemnation should not occur until a site
certificate is issued, which gives permission
to build the line. At that point, if that happens,
there is an established process for condemna-
tion or eminent domain that Idaho Power will
need to follow.
Please speak out. Contact your elected offi-
cials: demand that Idaho Power stop bully-
ing and harassing landowners. We sent this
letter to elected officials, citing the rules: bit.
ly/legis-ltr. Idaho Power has a bad reputation.
This has been clear since they built the Hells
Canyon Dam complex without the promised
fish ladders, and it has resurfaced and intensi-
fied with the B2H transmission line.
Passionate people from all walks of life
and politics make up the Stop B2H Coalition.
We have joined forces and commented on
every step in the decision making and permit-
ting processes (federal and state) since 2007
as individuals and 2016 as a coalition. We
have been steadfast and professional in our
well-researched filings against the B2H docu-
menting countless errors and outdated studies
in their application and analyses.
———
Jim Kreider of La Grande is the co-chair
of the Stop B2H Coalition Board of Directors.