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About Wallowa County chieftain. (Enterprise, Wallowa County, Or.) 1943-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 10, 2018)
A12 From A1 wallowa.com BUEHLER Continued from Page A1 to incentivize the construc- tion of affordable units. He also is a proponent of tweaks to the state’s land use laws to make it easier to build afford- able housing in areas that are now outside the urban growth boundary. Gun control Buehler supports a ban on bump stocks and raising the legal age to purchase an assault rifle from 18 to 21. In 2017, he voted for Brown’s legislation to confis- cate firearms from domestic abusers. He voted against a biparti- san bill designed to prevent sui- cides and other gun violence by creating a way to petition the courts to temporarily confiscate a firearm from a family mem- ber or loved one who is at risk of harming others or themselves. “... if you are going to take away someone’s fundamental right in regards to the Second Amendment, in my opinion, they need due process,” Buehler said. “They need to have their time in court, too, to make their case why they shouldn’t have their firearm taken from them, and most other states have that due process component in the legislation.” He also opposed a proposal by Brown to prohibit the trans- fer of a firearm for 10 business days if Oregon State Police are unable to determine whether the recipient is eligible to receive the weapon. The proposal is known as closing the “Charles- ton loophole.” Environment Buehler opposed a proposed cap and trade program in Ore- gon earlier this year but says he would be willing to support a carbon tax to address climate change. Cap and trade programs set an allowance, or a cap, for the amount of carbon dioxide indus- try can emit free-of-charge. Any business that released more than that amount would be required to buy credits at auction to off- set its emissions. The proceeds of those purchases would go toward investing in projects aimed at stemming climate change. Buehler says he opposed that plan because the revenue went to the Department of Environ- mental Quality rather than bol- stering the state’s general fund. He voted for the state’s Low Carbon Fuels Standard to reduce the intensity of carbon in fuel in 2015 and for a statewide plan to gradually abandon coal-gener- ated electricity in 2016. Public Employees Retirement System Buehler says he would move the pension program’s $25 bil- lion in unfunded obligations to retirees to the top of his agenda. “I won’t sign any new spend- ing bills until I have a PERS reform bill on my desk,” he said. Reforms he would like to see would: cap annual payouts to future retirees at $100,000 per year; require public employees to contribute to their retirement fund; and transition the pension plan to a 401(k) retirement plan. October 10, 2018 BROWN Continued from Page A1 the number of insured adults from 94 percent to 99 per- cent and insured children from over 98 percent to 100 percent. Housing and homelessness Brown has pledged to request $370 million from the Legislature for afford- able housing incentives and housing assistance in the next two years. Since she became governor, lawmak- ers have allocated $300 mil- lion to assist in building affordable units, homeless- ness prevention programs and rental assistance. Ore- gon Housing and Commu- nity Services has awarded subsidies and tax credits to build about 15,000 units in the past three years. Gun control Next year, Brown plans to again introduce failed legisla- Wallowa County Chieftain She also was a player in passing the state’s Low Car- bon Fuels Standard to reduce the intensity of carbon in fuel and the statewide plan to gradually abandon coal-gen- erated electricity. tion to prohibit transfer of a firearm for 10 business days if Oregon State Police are unable to determine whether the recipient is eligible to receive the weapon. The pro- posal is known as closing the “Charleston loophole.” She supports raising the legal age from 18 to 21 to purchase an assault rifle and a ban on bump stocks. Public Employees Retirement System Public employers are in heavy debt over the state’s generous public retirement benefits. Brown has spear- headed some modest changes to the pension system, such as incentives for public employ- ers to pay off debt, but none so far have made a significant impact on the state’s $25 bil- lion unfunded future obliga- tion to retirees. Brown said she wants cov- ered workers to have “skin in the game,” and noted that after recent rounds of collec- tive bargaining, 98 percent of state workers will pay 6 per- cent of their salary for their pension side accounts. That’s known as the “employee con- tribution” but had long been paid by the state. Environment The governor supports and her staffers are active in helping to craft legislation to create what is known as a cap and trade program called “Clean Energy Jobs.” Cap and trade programs set an allowance, or a cap, for the amount of carbon diox- ide industry can emit free- of-charge. Any business that released more than that amount would be required to buy credits at auction to offset their emissions. The proceeds of those purchases would go toward investing in projects aimed at stemming climate change. Where is the money going in Oregon’s most expensive gubernatorial race? By AUBREY WIEBER Oregon Capital Bureau In addition to being one of the closest governor’s races in recent memory, the fight between Gov. Kate Brown and Rep. Knute Buehler is one of the most expensive. In 2018, Brown as of Wed- nesday has raised $7,805,941, according to Oregon Secretary of State’s Office records. Buehler has raised $8,115,084 this year, $1 mil- lion coming from Nike co-founder Phil Knight in what was the largest contribution in state history. In September, he got $750,000 from the Repub- lican Governors Association. Both candidates came into the race with million-dollar war chests, and collectively have raised $20.2 million as of Thursday. The previous record was $17.7 million when Dem- ocrat John Kitzhaber narrowly defeated Republican Chris Dudley in 2010. So where is all that money going? An analysis of campaign finance reports shows typi- cal spending, with the bulk of money going to advertising and marketing firms, political consul- tants, television and radio buys, data analytics and software. Buehler’s campaign has spent big on advertising - which can include anything from materials for campaign signs or branded gadgets to televi- sion ads. And a lot of the larger expenditures went out East. So far in 2018, Buehler has spent $4,266,909 on broadcast advertising through Strategic Media Services of Arlington, Va. FP1 Digital, a public affairs firm in Alexandria, Va., has received $627,315. The cam- paign spent $623,371 on Red Maverick Media, a Harrisburg, Pa., political consulting firm. Campaign finance reports require disclosures of where the money is going, but not neces- sarily what it is for. For exam- ple, a campaign could disclose a large payment to a firm that does data analytics, polling, political consulting and TV ad buys, but the campaign doesn’t need to identify the particular service. Additionally, campaign sea- son usually means the surfacing of “dark money.” That’s where a nonprofit or PAC not officially tied to a candidate can spend money without disclosing where You’re Invited! it came from or where it went. An example of this is Pri- ority Oregon, spending about $1.5 million on attack ads against Brown in markets along Interstate 5. Salem Reporter reached out to both campaigns to see if they had detected any unusual spending by their opponents, but none was reported. Even in an ordinary cam- paign, however, spending reports can give some insight on the preferences of candidates. For example, Buehler’s cam- paign has spent $1,374 on meals at Deschutes Brewery. Brown dropped $207 at Bandon Dunes Golf Resort and $184 at Moth- er’s Bistro, a Portland restaurant. Brown’s campaign used donor money for $267 on scrubs for a video shoot, $160 on a microphone rental and $157 at Starbucks throughout 2018. Buehler’s camp spent $240 of donor money at a fund- raiser at Topgolf, an arcade- style driving range, and $116 on tickets to an airshow. Brown spent $19,806 on health insurance for campaign staff. Buehler’s reports don’t indicate an obvious expendi- ture for health insurance, and when asked if the campaign provides such benefits, spokes- woman Monica Wroblewski said the campaign doesn’t dis- cuss staff compensation. One significant differ- ence between the two is con- tributions to outside political groups. Brown spent a total of $1,340,009 on outside groups — more than $1 million to her own PACs. That included $739,000 to Defend Oregon’s Values, which among other expenses spent $498,000 on TV airtime. Defend Oregon’s Values, in turn, is listed as providing $693,000 in in-kind contribu- tions to Brown’s campaign. Team Oregon, Brown’s other PAC, spent some money on marketing firms, but largely has been used to spread money around to other political inter- ests, such as liberal nonprofit Our Oregon and Future PAC, which funds the Oregon House Democrats. The largest expendi- ture was $27,500 to Our Oregon. From her campaign funds, she contributed $1,000 to a Democratic candidate for gover- nor in Minnesota and $230,000 to the Democratic Party of Oregon. GET MORE WITHOUT PAYING MORE! 23 nd Annual Healthy Futures Dinner Auction! Help us raise money for a new and improved ultrasound -- more precise images means better diagnostics! Tickets on Sale Now! Saturday, November 10, 2018 Cloverleaf Hall, Enterprise Doors open 5:00 pm Emcee Ted Hays; Auctioneer Jake Musser Special musical entertainment Doors open 5:00 pm with Silent Auction & Social Hour! Elegant Dinner by Backyard Gardens, choice of prime rib, chicken or vegetarian Bar by La Laguna Wine bar featuring L’ecole 41 Live Auction at 7:30 pm To purchase tickets — $60 per person Stop by the Foundation Office at Wallowa Memorial Hospital Or mail check made out to WVHCF to PO Box 53, Enterprise 97828 MONTHS Please specify beef, chicken or vegetarian entree Space is limited Your support is greatly appreciated The Wallowa Valley Health Care Foundation CARPET • HARWOOD • LUXURY VINYL VINYL • LAMINATE • TILE AND MORE! BAKER CITY ENERPRISE LA GRANDE 2001 2nd Street, Baker City, OR 97814 541-523-1533 Mon-Fri: 9-5:30 • Sat 9-2 800 S. River St., Enterprise, OR 97828 541-426-9228 Mon-Fri: 9-5:30 • Sat 9-2 1606 Portland St., La Grande, OR 97850 541-963-6033 Mon-Fri: 9-5:30 • Sat 9-2 CarpetoneEO.com