Wednesday, April 21, 2021
A4
OPINION
VOICE of the CHIEFTAIN
Call to
investigate
Joseph
council is
correct
T
he abrupt resignation of Joseph
City Administrator Larry Braden
late last week comes as a shock-
ing blow to the city at a time when the
city government needs an administrator
on board — budget season.
What is more concerning though, is
the alleged harassment cited by Braden
in his resignation letter, which was read
at an emergency City Council meeting
Friday, April 16.
Given the council will have an inves-
tigation done by city attorney Wyatt
Baum, we at the Chieftain feel any
words written here need to be used cau-
tiously so as to not give a view of point-
ing fingers or taking sides, nor to in any
way impact the investigation.
That said, this is a situation that needs
commented on.
The allegations should be taken seri-
ously, and we are sure the investigation
into them will be thorough. The call to
investigate is absolutely correct.
Prior to his resignation letter, Braden
cited problems he was having perform-
ing his job, as it seemed there was con-
fusion over his role as the city admin-
istrator. He claimed the city was not in
compliance with the charter, and in the
April 1 meeting said doing his job in a
functional way was “impossible.”
Regardless of the legitimacy of this
complaint, the Chieftain does rec-
ommend every person on the council
re-read the city charter and know what
not only their own role in the city is, but
the roles of everyone in the city govern-
ment. Then follow them.
Reading and knowing the char-
ter leaves those on the council with-
out excuse in the future. If this were to
happen again, nobody would be able to
plead ignorance, and anyone doing so
would have to be carefully looked at.
But that’s only a suggestion for the
future. What about in the present?
Mayor Belinda Buswell is right to rec-
ommend an all-hands-on-deck approach
to getting the budget done, as it will be
a much more daunting task to undertake
with Braden gone.
Councilwoman Lisa Collier is also
right to recommend the council mem-
bers stay clear of the inner workings of
City Hall — even during this budget sea-
son. The desire to help is noble, but even
a simple allegation that someone on the
council is causing problems is enough
to warrant a judicious step like this. It
would smell very fishy if an individual
insisted on helping in this instance.
The investigation needs time to play
out, as well. And if, as Braden has
alleged, his job was being hindered —
especially intentionally — and he was
being harassed by a member of the coun-
cil, at the very least, that council member
should follow in Braden’s footsteps —
and submit their resignation letter.
LETTER to the EDITOR
What you can do for
your country
Nowadays, I hear employers talking
about being unable to hire workers for
the jobs they have. I am told that some
people are not taking responsibility for
their bills and rent, because the govern-
ment’s stimulus package is providing
extended unemployment and because
renters believe that their landlords are
not able to evict them. I would rather not
believe this is true.
When the pandemic hit the United
States, people lost their jobs, making
it difficult to pay rent and buy grocer-
ies. The economy of the country was in
danger of tanking and something had
to be done. The administration with
the approval of the majority of vot-
ers decided to provide a stimulus for the
economy by putting almost $2 trillion in
the hands of lower-income families, state
and local government agencies and small
businesses.
The idea is to stimulate the econ-
omy by giving dollars to those in the
most need to be spent on necessities, and
those dollars will “trickle-up” to bene-
fit the economy of the country. This is the
opposite of past efforts to boost the econ-
omy by providing huge tax breaks to cor-
porations with the expectation that the
tax breaks will “trickle-down” to benefit
everyone.
Whether the “trickle-up” or “trick-
le-down” method is used to stimulate the
economy, neither plan can succeed with-
out the cooperation of those who receive
the boost. If the corporations use their
tax cuts to benefit only their sharehold-
ers and their top management, the low-
er-wage earners and the unemployed
are no better off. Similarly, if the stimu-
CONTACT your REPRESENTATIVES
U.S. PRESIDENT
Joe Biden
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Washington, DC 20510
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La Grande office: 541-962-7691
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Salem, OR 97301
503-986-1458
Rep.BobbyLevy@state.or.us
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SENATOR
Greg Smith, District 57
900 Court St. NE, H-482
Salem, OR 97301
503-986-1457
Rep.GregSmith@state.or.us
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Cliff Bentz
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Washington, DC 20515
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REPRESENTATIVES
GOVERNOR
Kate Brown
160 State Capitol
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Salem, OR 97301-4047
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Pendleton office: 541-278-1129
Wallowa County’s Newspaper Since 1884
VOLUME 134
lus to benefit low-wage workers and the
unemployed is not used to get jobs or to
improve an opportunity to get better jobs,
pay bills and rent, there will be no benefit
to the economy.
The United States of America is a free
country only as long as all of its citizens
accept their responsibilities to make its
systems work. This includes responsibil-
ity for our capitalistic economy, our sys-
tems of education and health care, and
voting for and keeping in touch with
those who operate our government. Abra-
ham Lincoln said that the U.S. is “gov-
ernment of the people, by the people, and
for the people.” President John F. Ken-
nedy said, “Ask not what your country
can do for you; ask what you can do for
your country.”
Freedom is not free. Let’s do our part.
Evelyn Swart
Joseph
Bill Hansell, District 29
900 Court St. NE, S-423
Salem, OR 97301
503-986-1729
Sen.BillHansell@state.or.us
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