Wallowa County Chieftain
A16
STATE
Wednesday, June 22, 2022
Yasser Marte/East Oregonian
Oregon legislators take to the stage Friday, June 17, 2022, at the Eastern Oregon Economic Summit in Hermiston.
Legislators at the Eastern Oregon Economic Summit praise bipartisanship
By ERICK PETERSON
East Oregonian
HERMISTON — Unity
became a common theme
at the 2022 Eastern Ore-
gon Economic Summit in
Hermiston.
Participants, especially
speakers, mentioned the
value of togetherness and
praised past examples of
people joining forces.
The summit was Thurs-
day and Friday, June 16-17,
in Hermiston.
“I’m happy,” Rep. Bobby
Levy of Echo said when it
was her turn to speak.
This moment came
during the state legislator
panel on June 17. While the
event promoted the panel
as a wrap-up of the legisla-
tive session, lawmakers dis-
cussed little policy. Instead,
11 state senators and repre-
sentatives spoke of some-
thing else on their mind: the
importance of friendly rela-
tionships in government.
Levy is the president of
the Eastern Oregon Wom-
en’s Coalition, which orga-
nized the summit. The
panel was a mix of Repub-
licans and Democrats. Levy,
a Republican, declared she
was glad to be working with,
and spending time with, all
her colleagues on the panel.
Sen. Michael Dembrow,
D-Portland, joked that Levy
“made it impossible not to
show up.” Others laughed,
and this is how the panel dis-
cussion went.
Levy; Dembrow; Rep.
Greg Smith, R-Heppner;
Sen. Jama Kayse, D-Port-
land; Sen. Bill Hansell,
R-Athena; Sen. Lynn Find-
ley, R-Vale; Rep. Ken Helm,
D-Beaverton; Rep. David
Gomberg, D-Otis; Sen.
Janeen Sollman, D-Hills-
boro; Sen. Lew Frederick,
D-Portland; and Sen. Eliz-
abeth Steiner Hayward,
D-Beaverton; all were on
the panel — up on stage, at
the same time.
Yasser Marte/East Oregonian
Local offi cials and business owners gather Friday morning,
June 17, 2022, at the Eastern Oregon Economic Summit in
Hermiston.
“One side can’t do it on
its own,” said Kayse, chair-
woman of the Senate Com-
mittee on Housing and
Development. Kayse said
we must come together to
solve our shared problems.
Others agreed, with
Dembrow stating we must
see one another as people,
beyond the bumper stickers
on our vehicles.
Senate
Republicans
during the 2019 Legislature
skipped fl oor sessions in
protest of House Bill 3427,
the big tax on businesses
that helped fund K-12 edu-
cation. Later that same ses-
sion, 11 Republican sena-
tors — including Hansell
— walked out to deny a quo-
rum and protest a sweep-
ing Democratic proposal to
address climate change.
Findley said opposing
people were not enemies,
and Frederick expressed the
sentiment that there are no
“good guys” and “bad guys”
in the Legislature. Instead,
there are people with vary-
ing opinions, who all want
to improve the lives of
Oregonians.
“People want to do the
best they can,” he said.
Gomberg echoed this
statement, as he said mem-
bers have diff erences in
party, experience, geog-
raphy and more, but they
have an “aff ection” for one
another.
Legislators,
including
Hayward and Findley, made
a point of saying they have
a duty to represent the entire
state, not just their own par-
ticular district. Also, part
of their job includes reach-
ing out to people outside
their districts, learning what
they can from them and then
returning home to tell their
neighbors.
According to Dem-
brow, legislators must edu-
cate their constituents on the
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“bigger picture.”
This education, accord-
ing to the Portland Dem-
ocrat, includes telling the
people of his district about
Hermiston.
Other panelists shared
similar feelings, adding dis-
tant communities, places
and people have a lot more
in common than often
thought. Sollman said she
relates to people in Eastern
Oregon because she, too,
comes from a farming area.
Frederick also shared his
farming background.
Hayward said educa-
tion goes the other way, too.
She said Portland is not as
bad as the media says. This
was something she could
tell audiences in Eastern
Oregon.
They pointed out that
many decisions aren’t con-
tentious. Republicans and
Democrats actually fi nd
common ground on most
issues, according to panel
members. They are able to
push forward on issues like
improving sewer systems
and resolving many water
issues, without partisan
complaints, Gomberg and
Helm said.
Gomberg added, though,
that there is a change hap-
pening in state government.
Much turnover is taking
place, he said. This means
many friendships are lost,
too. And legislators must
work hard to create new rela-
tionships; those connections
help to advance legislation.
Speaking at the end,
Smith expressed confi dence
in the ability of new leg-
islators to work with one
another.
Smith praised the intel-
ligence and integrity of the
three major candidates for
governor — Democrat Tina
Kotek, unaffi liated Betsy
Johnson and Republican
Christine Drazan — and
said he would be able to
work with any of them.
Levy said she would be
happy to invite legislators
back for the next summit.
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