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About The Siuslaw news. (Florence, Lane County, Or.) 1960-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 24, 2018)
SIUSLAW NEWS | WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 24, 2018 | 9A POLITICS from page 8A “They can put stickers on their car,” Henry continued. “We’re certainly welcome to go to rallies to support candidates, post on social media and do the things that any average citizen would do. But I don’t think it’s fair for a sitting city councilor to make a decision for the city of Florence. There’s nobody in town that doesn’t know that Joshua Greene [and Susy Lac- er] are city councilors. Implic- it, therein, is the perception — whether it’s stated or in fact exists — that, ‘Oh gosh, the city council doesn’t want me on the city council.’” When told of the mayor’s re- sponse, Lacer disagreed. “I’m very intentional about what email address I’m using when I send messages,” she said. “So, this message was sent from my personal work email to Geraldine. It was not sent from my city council email. In my mind, I was not speaking as a city councilor, but as a resident of Florence, a fellow citizen, an acquaintance of Geraldine’s ... I obviously didn’t intend for my email to Geraldine to become public record, as it has become. It was a private communication. I think people communicate differently in private than they do in official campaign litera- ture.” In Henry’s view, this wasn’t about a councilor giving advice to a candidate. This was about a sitting councilor’s attempting to get a candidate to drop out of the race. “If you read the words in that letter, ‘there’s no shame in step- ping down…’ Well, to me, that infers that there’s shame in stay- ing in the race. In effect, if Ms. Lucio steps down, that makes it an uncontested race where their candidate gets elected by de- fault,” he said. Henry’s use of the phrase “their candidate” was just one of several indicators that prompt- ed the Siuslaw News to delve deeper into the possible parti- sanship nature of the current Stocks. Bonds. CDs. IRAs. Mutual funds. Andy Baber, AAMS® Financial Advisor . 1010 Highway 101 Florence, OR 97439 541-997-8755 www.edwardjones.com Member SIPC KRAB KETTLE 280 Hwy. 101 M 541-997-8996 Fresh Seafood Market Open Daily 10-6 With Miltenberger cast as the liberal and Lucio cast as the conservative, this council race “All politics is local” Theories regarding the “po- could be seen as a fight for the litical makeup” of the non-par- ideological makeup of the city tisan council abound. Which council itself, i.e., if Lucio wins, city council race. “I just feel that the total story isn’t being told. And it’s being jaded by these ‘gotcha’ politics — Maureen vs. Geraldine, the Republicans vs. the Democrats, and Joe being so focused on thinking he needs a partisan council — is to me distracting. I don’t want to look at it like ‘I got one Democrat, or two Democrats or three Democrats.’ I haven’t thought about our council, in that way, until lately. ” — Joshua Greene, Florence City Councilor explains why some in the com- munity have come to place particular importance on this year’s race. The general consen- sus goes like this: As it stands right now, councilors Greene, Lacer and Ron Preisler make up a “liberal” voting bloc in the council while Woodbury and Henry make up a “conservative” voting bloc. With Lacer leaving the council, that would leave a 2/2 split between conservatives and liberals (should Woodbury be reelected.) Therefore, who wins this election could theo- retically tip the direction of the council. This leads to questions of the political leanings of candidates Miltenberger and Lucio. Miltenberger is a self-pro- fessed champion for the Flor- ence Democratic Club. Her political views, as well as some of the legal and political issues that have revolved around her campaign, will be looked at in part two of this series in the Saturday, Oct. 27, edition of the Siuslaw News. For Lucio, she generally speaks in nonpartisan terms, defining her politics as inde- pendent, though that is an as- sumption that may be in doubt. Lucio has a strong conserva- tive base, is financially backed by Republican donors and, as the Siuslaw News has found, is receiving help from a conser- vative campaign manager and treasurer — both of whom live and operate outside the Siuslaw region. More of that will also be covered in Saturday’s edition. the council tips conservative; if Miltenberger wins, it swings liberal. In his initial interview, Henry framed the argument in a way that closely mirrors what many agree has been a breakdown of bipartisanship in the country. “Just from what I’ve observed, and I’m not a political expert, but we have chaos going on at a national level and, to some de- gree, at the state level,” he said. “It’s either one bashing the oth- er, or another bashing them. As I say, the 20 or 19 years I’ve been here, we’ve never had this in our community, but all of a sudden, we do. I believe [the email is] politically motivated.” But when pressed on the sug- gestion from his earlier com- ment that Miltenberger was Greene and Lacer’s “their can- didate,” he backtracked. “I won’t get into that,” he said. “I think there’s clearly. … No, I can’t answer that question. I wouldn’t say that. I would just say that the results of them shaming [Lucio] into stepping down would, in effect, get the other candidate elected.” There is little evidence that Miltenberger, Greene and Lacer are actively working together. The councilors names don’t ap- pear on the candidate’s adver- tisements, and they are rarely seen in the same circles. “I seriously don’t know Susy,” Miltenberger said. “She’s our liaison to EMAC (the Environ- mental Management Advisory Committee), and I know her through that, but I don’t know OREGON COAST A NO-KILL SHELTER See Jim for your auto sales needs! 80 Harbor Street at the Port in Florence, Oregon formerly known as the Vintage Blue Warehouse 2150 Hwy. 101 • Florence (541) 997-3475 • 1-800-348-3475 Nov. 1 st - Nov. 30 th *except Thanksgiving! Monday - Saturday, 10 AM - 4 PM Sundays, 12 - 4 PM Special Thanks to: Florence Mini Storage, Boat House Brew Pub and Grocery Outlet. her politics. I don’t know Josh- ua, either. I really don’t know them really well.” Miltenberger is openly active in the Democratic community, taking part in many political V O I C E YO U R O P I N I O N ! Write a Letter to the Editor today. Email E DITOR @T HE S IUSLAW N EWS . COM demonstrations in town. Lac- er, on the other hand, general- ly stays out of such endeavors, listing herself as “unaffiliated.” “They used to call unaffiliat- ed ‘independent,’ but then they formed the Independent Party, so I’m clear to say ‘unaffiliated,’” Lacer said. “In some areas, I’m probably considered liberal. In some areas, I believe I would be considered conservative. “… I don’t believe city council elections should be partisan; it is a non-partisan position for city councilors and mayors. I will say, recently, partisanship is becoming an issue in this election, and I find that unfor- tunate.” As to the suggestion that the more liberal councilors vote in a bloc together, Greene was emphatic with his response: “I swear to God, I don’t call Ron or Suzy up.” He stated he was moder- ate-left in his political beliefs, but tries not to make it an issue. “Twenty-three years I’ve seen this community, I’ve nev- er seen partisan politics enter this election. Not once. I’m sure people say it under their voice, ‘Oh they’re a Republican or a Democrat,’ but I have friends on both sides. It’s about knowing each other and working togeth- er,” Greene said. Even Henry stated that, be- fore the email, politics did not yet dampen the council’s ability to work together. “Well, obviously the people who sit on the council have var- ious viewpoints, backgrounds, political affiliations,” he said. “I have my own. To this point, we have kept them pret- ty much out of our feelings. We’ve worked pretty well as a team moving ahead.” If there is one councilor that would be considered liberal, it’s Preisler, who began his in- terview for this article with the following statement: “I need to say upfront, that I am a registered Democrat, I’m blue through and through, with the exception of a few years where I voted for Ronald Reagan. All politics is local, but the council has managed to work together to find a balance.” But as a Democrat who is actively part of the Florence Democrat Club, Preisler can see how people think there’s a partisan divide to the council. “When I sit in consideration on the council, I don’t consid- er it as a Democrat,” he said. “I consider it with my values, and my thinking. You can say that I’m a liberal, or progressive. I would hope people would rec- ognize that. But on the same to- Overhead Door Company of Th e Oregon Coast™ Now serving the entire Oregon Coast. Staff ed locally with factory trained professionals. Residential and Commercial Garage Door Installation. 541.997.5008 • OverheadDoor.com CCB# 50460 ken, I look at what we’re doing and try and look at my justifica- tions.” Preisler does not always agree with Lacer and Greene, pointing out that they often disagree on major decisions. For example, when voting on the remodeling City Hall, Preisler was the only council member to vote against it. “My concern was cost,” said Preisler, who has also voted unanimously with the rest of the council and at odds with his political leanings. One in- stance occurred last January, when Miltenberger applied for a vacant city council position to replace outgoing councilor Lyddon, Preisler — the only council member openly endors- ing Miltenberger in this elec- tion — voted with the rest of the council to temporarily appoint Woodbury instead. Preisler said he was not aware of any of the issues surrounding Lucio, Greene and Lacer when the email situation was occur- ring, and that he found out about the incident when reading Henry’s email. “I didn’t think it was the ap- propriate step [to release the email],” he said. “It’s kind of washing your laundry in public. If it were me, I would not have done that.” When Preisler was asked if Lacer suggesting to Lucio that she step down was inappropri- ate, he stated “no.” “If Susy was staying on the board, then it could possibly be construed that way,” he said. “Knowing that she is not going to be on the board, then I think she’s looking for the best person to take her place. … Susy did not go out and run a campaign against Geraldine. Susy was talking directly to Geraldine.” Based on the premise that Greene was trying to help Lucio, and that Lacer was expressing an opinion — with neither one looking to influence the elec- tion politically — then where did politics come in? As part of its reporting, the Siuslaw News has obtained and utilized pub- lic records including candidate files, court records and financial statements in an effort to answer that question. Unfortunately, however, the representation of one side of this discussion will still be limited. After speaking with Henry at the beginning of this report, the Siuslaw News began receiving questions from the public about his involvement with the Lucio and Woodbury campaigns. Af- ter gathering information from multiple sources, the Siuslaw News asked to speak with Henry on that subject and others, but he declined to comment. So too did Katie Prosser, Lucio’s cam- paign press agent, when asked questions about the campaign. Woodbury has yet to respond to emails, and Lucio has not agreed to be interviewed. Which leaves Preisler to spec- ulate where the partisanship came in. “Somehow, or another, the [email] went from Geraldine to the mayor,” he said. “That’s where the partisanship, in my mind, comes in.” “I just feel that the total sto- ry isn’t being told,” Greene said. “And it’s being jaded by these ‘gotcha’ politics — Maureen vs. Geraldine, the Republicans vs. the Democrats, and Joe be- ing so focused on thinking he needs a partisan council — is to me distracting. I don’t want to look at it like ‘I got one Democrat, or two Democrats or three Democrats.’ I haven’t thought about our council, in that way, until lately. The last eight to 10 months, I start- ed seeing it that way, because that’s what Joe keeps present- ing to me. I’ve just been blind to it.” At that point, he paused. “I know I’m giving you a lot of stuff to think about,” he said. “You have any questions here?” In Part II of this series: The campaigns of Lucio and Miltenberger, and the poten- tial precedent being set for the future of local, non-partisan elections.
