REGION
Saturday, April 9, 2022
East Oregonian
A3
Pendleton judge
Commissioner candidates speak on suggests reforms
mandates, Greater Idaho and more on the way out
UMATILLA COUNTY
By ERICK PETERSON
East Oregonian
HERMISTON — John
Shafer told a group of people
Thursday, April 8, his hope
for his future as a Umatilla
County commissioner.
“I want to continue being
your humble servant,” the
incumbent said.
He added there was work
left to do, and he wanted
people to reelect him into
offi ce so he can resume it.
Shafer is running against
two challengers, HollyJo
Beers and Rick Pullen, who
made their appeals to voters,
too, at the county commis-
sioner candidates forum at
the National Guard Armory
in Hermiston before about 50
members of the public. The
three are running for commis-
sioner Position 2.
Meanwhile, a fi eld of six
candidates is vying for votes
in their race for Position 1,
which is an open seat in the
upcoming election. All six
candidates, Bob Barton, Jesse
Bonifer, Susan Bower, David
Nelson, Cindy Timmons and
Alvin Young spoke before the
Hermiston audience.
The Umatilla County
Republicans organized the
forum, and a moderator asked
the candidates a variety of
questions. The format capped
most answer at 30 seconds to a
minute. Candidates could say
whatever was on their mind,
provided there was no unruly
behavior and they kept to the
time limits.
What followed was a
cordial series of talks from
candidates who off ered little
disagreement.
They spoke on the priori-
ties of a county commissioner,
solutions for homelessness,
plans for spending money
given to the county for
COVID-19, the Greater Idaho
movement and more.
Kathy Aney/East Oregonian
David Nelson, a former state senator from Pendleton, intro-
duces himself at the Umatilla County commissioner candi-
dates forum Thursday, April 7, 2022, at the National Guard
Armory in Hermiston.
Candidates understood a
question about what rights do
people have when it comes to
what to put in their bodies as
asking about whether vacci-
nation mandates were right.
They largely agreed they were
not.
“No. No. No,” Timmons
said.
Beers and Bonifer refer-
enced the Nuremberg trials
and a necessary stand against
tyranny. Others said it was
an issue of choice, with some
variation in regards to the
need for choices to benefit
society.
The other questions were
met with the same amount
of agreement, most often
with each candidate giving
opinions that related back to
stances of personal freedoms
and limited government.
Speaking to their opin-
ion on critical race theory,
for example, candidates
were unifi ed in their opposi-
tion, with Beers saying that
it “causes segregation” and
Bonifer stating it “causes divi-
sion.” They all said parents
should have the right to teach
on this topic, not schools.
They also sided on indi-
vidual or local choice when it
came to where children would
attend school, and whether
vouchers should be given to
families. Some candidates
pointed out that this and the
question about critical race
theory were not really a
county commissioner issue.
Likewise, the Greater
Idaho movement, an attempt
by some to have parts of
Oregon and Washington
join their eastern neighbor, is
not likely to involve county
commissioners, either. Still,
candidates answered the
question, offering reasons
why the proposal was unlikely
or impossible, though they
argued it was a useful move-
ment.
Pullen said Greater Idaho
proponents can “rattle the
cages” of people who are
ignoring Eastern Oregon.
Others agreed, saying East-
ern Oregonian need to be
heard. But even Bower, who
said she once signed a petition
supporting Greater Idaho,
said it was “never going to
happen.”
More relevant to their
campaigns, candidates were
asked for their opinions on the
most important issue or role
for county commissioners.
Bonifer emphasized trans-
parency, speaking on the
need for offi cials to stand up
for what is right. Addressing
mental health and drug use
are two important issues, he
said.
Bower spoke on the impor-
tance of workforce develop-
ment, as well as tackling
redundancy in government.
Nelson said family was
the most important thing, and
government needs to promote
eff orts that will support fami-
lies.
Timmons said govern-
ment needs to make sure
people are getting the services
they require. Elder care and
veteran services, for instance,
are needed, she said.
Young argued for the need
for infrastructure, medical
services and better roads.
Beers said there was need
for the county to address drug
use, mental health, veteran
care, homelessness and crime.
Pullen spoke of farmers
and the importance of help-
ing ease burdens created by
excessive legislation.
Shafer stated there are
problems of drug use and
homelessness that need to be
solved through new and exist-
ing services.
Barton said he wished for
programs that would encour-
age youth engagement, giving
young people opportunities to
learn and stay out of trouble.
At the end, they met each
other and visitors to the
forum, nodding as candi-
date Young said, “We have
the same agenda” and they
all want to do what is best for
Umatilla County.
EO Rental & Sales moving to former PGG Site
By JOHN TILLMAN
East Oregonian
PENDLETON — Remod-
eling the 42,000 square-foot
former Pendleton Grain
Growers headquarters at
1000 S.W. Dorion Ave.,
remains a work in progress.
On a rainy Monday morn-
ing, March 21, workers were
polishing the fl oor inside the
cavernous structure, while
outside, a trackhoe oper-
ator dug a trench. When
completed, the premises will
form the new home of East-
ern Oregon Rental & Sales.
Braseth Properties LLC,
of La Grande, bought the
building and parking lot
on July 23, 2021, at auction
for about $1.8 million. The
Pendleton branch of its
subsidiary sales business
will move from its present
location at 338 N.W. 57th
Drive to the ex-PGG site
later this year.
“We’re moving from up
near the airport to downtown at
the former PGG site,” general
manager Dan Domey said.
The company has not set a
grand opening date.
Besides Pendleton, East-
ern Oregon Rental & Sales
has locations in Baker City,
La Grande and is doing busi-
ness as NW Construction
Supply Inc., of Pasco. It off ers
an extensive line of aerial
work platforms and all-ter-
rain forklifts.
HERMISTON
Council to reinstate cash contribution to SHIP
By ERICK PETERSON
East Oregonian
HERMISTON — During
the previous meeting of the
Hermiston City Council, a
handful of residents let the
city know they were unhappy
about a plan for them to pay
more for improvement to
the South Hermiston Indus-
trial Park. In the council’s
upcoming meeting Monday,
April 11, the city will present
a new plan to give the locals
what they want.
The city in 2019 esti-
mated new infrastructure
for SHIP would cost about
$3 million. A grant from the
U.S. Economic Develop-
ment Administration would
cover half the cost, Umatilla
County would pay $50,000
and property owners at the
industrial park would be
on the hook for about $1.4
million.
To ease the burden on
property owners, the city
off ered $250,000. Total cost
to property owners would be
closer to $1.16 million.
Construction, though,
proved to be less costly than
expected. The final price
for the project was under $2
million.
As the city saved on the
project, it extended savings
to the property owners. One
lot, for example, which would
have owed $39,673, would
only be paying $30,619 under
a revised plan. The total cost
to all the property owners
would have been $947,734.
At the March 28 city coun-
cil meeting, the city proposed
removing its $250,000
contribution. This angered
property owners who showed
up at the meeting and argued
this was an unfair breach of
promise.
City councilors agreed
with the property owners
and voted unanimously for
the creation of a plan to rein-
state the $250,000 from the
city and reduce costs to the
property owners. Councilors
said they would then vote on
the new, revised plan at the
meeting April 11.
Mark Morgan, assistant
city manager, shared the
new plan on April 8. The plan
reinstates the city’s promised
contribution and reduces
costs to property owners to
a total $697,734.
The aforementioned
lot, which was previously
expected to pay $30,619 will
only have to shell out $22,542
under the latest plan.
The Port of Umatilla is
CONCEALED CARRY
PERMIT CLASS
SATURDAY
APRIL 16 TH
Hermiston
Ranch & Home
9AM
CLASSES
Multi-State $ 80
Oregon Included No Fee
Oregon Only $ 45
MULTI-STATE
Valid 35-States, including Washington
Shaun
Shaun Curtain
Curtain 360-921-2071
360-921-2071
or or email:
email: ShaunCurtain@gmail.com
ShaunCurtain@gmail.com | www.ShaunCurtain.com.com
| www.ShaunCurtain.com.com
the largest benefi ciary of the
latest adjustment; it stands to
save $91,185.
By ANTONIO SIERRA
East Oregonian
PENDLETON — The
Pendleton City Council
gave former Municipal
Court Judge Monte Luding-
ton a plaque, and he left the
council a report.
At a Tuesday, April 5, city
council meeting, Luding-
ton offi cially stepped down
from the bench as he returns
to the Umatilla County
District Attorney’s Offi ce
following several years in
private practice.
Ludington also deliv-
ered a report that more fully
fl eshed out his views and
provided the council with
recommendations on how
to improve the court.
Unlike their counter-
parts on the circuit court,
municipal court judges
don’t hear felony or even
most misdemeanor cases.
Instead, Pendleton judges
are responsible for presid-
ing over traffi c violations,
city ordinance violations
and other cases that don’t
usually lead to jail time.
Also unlike circuit court,
municipal court is not a
“court of record,” meaning
no one transcribes records
of what happened during
hearings.
While the cases in
municipal court often
contain lower stakes than
state court, that doesn’t
mean municipal court is
free from scrutiny. Luding-
ton referenced a 2018
lawsuit from a Pendleton
woman who spent 55 days
in jail for owing $1,000 to
Pendleton Municipal Court.
The city of Pendleton
agreed to pay the woman
$130,000 and changed its
policies to ban jail time for
the indigent.
“Even though it is not
required, making our
municipal court a court
of record would provide
further transparency and
should be considered for
that reason,” Ludington
wrote.
If Pendleton were to
make the municipal court
a court of record, it would
join only six other munic-
ipal courts across the
state in doing so. Luding-
ton also pointed out other
cities avoid the move
because of the increase
in cost and staffing that
comes with it.
Unlike elected state
judge positions, the city
council appoints the Pendle-
ton municipal judge. While
the council has the power
to evaluate the judge on a
regular basis, Ludington
argued the council should
evaluate municipal court
staff as a whole rather than
just focusing on the judge.
“Given their roles, it
would be diffi cult to eval-
uate the municipal judge
without also evaluating
the court clerks and pro
tern judges,” he wrote. “As
discussed above, Court
Clerks are the Municipal
Judge’s arms, and Pro Tern
Judges step into the Munic-
ipal Judge’s shoes. It is
diffi cult to discuss or eval-
uate one without discussing
the other.”
Despite the fixes he
wants to see in the munic-
ipal court, Ludington also
defended its continued
existence. He wrote the
municipal court provided
the city with local control
and allowed the city to
prosecute cases that might
fall through the cracks if
they were to be referred
to an overburdened circuit
court.
Ludington wrote that
the municipal court is not
primarily a mechanism to
send people to jail, noting
that jail overcrowding
often means inmates tied
to municipal cases are
often released fi rst. Instead,
Ludington said he’s used
the court’s power to impose
probation supervised by the
court.
“The goal of any munic-
ipal court supervision
should not be for defen-
dants to fail and go to jail
but for them to succeed,”
he wrote. “In this respect,
municipal court shares a
similar mission as a treat-
ment court.”
During Ludington’s
tenure, the municipal court
partnered with the Umatilla
County CARE Program to
help connect them with
social services while under
court supervision.
While Mayor John
Turner said Ludington’s
report and recommenda-
tions were appreciated, the
city council was unlikely to
adopt them.
“I’m not saying they’re
not good ideas, he said.
“I’m just not sure there’s
much enthusiasm from the
council.”
Turner said the city
wasn’t eager to take on the
new costs of making the
municipal court a court
of record. And he also
plans to keep the current
judge evaluation system
in place, which involves
Turner and City Manager
Robb Corbett gathering
input from court staff and
then sitting down with the
judge to go over it.
But he did like Luding-
ton’s partnership with
CARE and planned to
meet with the new munici-
pal court judge, Pendleton
attorney Blaine Clooten, to
discuss how to keep it going.