LOCAL & STATE
FRIDAY, AUGUST 30, 2019
BAKER CITY HERALD — 5A
Campaigns seeking to recall
Gov. Kate Brown are optimistic
By Aubrey Wieber and
Claire Withycombe
Oregon income
tax refunds in
2020 to reach
record $1.6 billion
Oregon Capital Bureau
SALEM — Jolly old St.
Nicholas doesn’t care much
for the governor.
Dressed in a stocking
cap, black boots, red velvet
pants and vest, he signed the
petition to recall Gov. Kate
Brown in between proffer-
ing photos with Santa in the
stifl ing August heat at the
Oregon State Fair.
His holiday
booth was next
to one where
people could
sign petitions
to recall the
Brown
governor, who
won re-election
in November.
“The main thing is being
able to have an opinion
when you think something’s
not right,” Santa said. He
declined to fully identify him-
self, saying he fears being
attacked.
Santa had a very specifi c
grievance: He said the gov-
ernor’s offi ce imposed a $400
annual fee on him for having
a water well at his property
east of Salem.
At a time where right-
wing populists from Boris
Johnson and Jair Bolsonaro
to Donald Trump have ac-
crued mainstream appeal
and have secured real politi-
cal power, Brown’s opponents
are fi nding an outlet for their
dissatisfaction by trying to
put her on the ballot through
a recall petition. Two, to be
precise.
The Oregon Capital
Bureau interviewed about
30 people signing petitions
at the fair in Salem over
three days. Most were from
the Willamette Valley, many
from more rural areas such
as Molalla or Monmouth.
Petition signers carried a
variety of grievances to the
two booths offering recall pe-
titions. They named business
taxes, environmental policies,
and legislation allowing
undocumented immigrants
to obtain driver’s licenses.
The state GOP’s petition
outlines its issues on the
back, saying Brown over-
turned the will of the voters
by allowing undocumented
immigrants to get drivers
licenses and approving new
taxes. She attempted to vio-
late peoples’ medical freedom
and impose environmental
regulations, it says. She
failed to fi x an underfunded
pension system or a troubled
foster care system, and sup-
ported use of the emergency
clause on bills to keep policy
from being referred to the
voters, it says.
Brown, they say, is the
person responsible for turn-
ing Oregon into a tax-happy,
gun-hating, business-killing
liberal haven.
At the state GOP’s booth,
the traffi c to sign the peti-
tions ebbed and fl owed.
Salesmen hawking beef
jerky and massage chairs
competed for the attention of
fairgoers streaming through
the pop-up mall.
■ State’s unique tax ‘kicker’ law
requires rebates when personal
income tax revenue exceeds
projections by at least 2%
Claire Withycombe / Oregon Capital Bureau
Volunteers at the Marion County GOP booth at the Oregon State Fair with petitions
seeking the recall of Oregon Gov. Kate Brown.
To the south of the GOP
booth, a woman demonstrat-
ed dirt-repelling welcome
mats. To the north a team of
men pitched people on the
benefi ts of Dish satellite TV.
The massage chair salesmen
aggressively defended their
territory.
But when people saw
the large cardboard cutout
of Trump or the “recall
Kate Brown” banner, many
seemed giddy.
“They can’t sign it fast
enough,” said Sam Sapp, who
was working the booth on a
recent morning.
They rushed over, eagerly
asking where they could
sign, often following up with
“I hate her” or “She’s ter-
rible.”
Disliking politicians is an
American tradition, but the
recall process is generally
reserved as a response to
corruption or scandal, not a
rejection of policy. In fact, no
recall of a state offi cial has
ever made it to the Oregon
ballot.
The Oregon Republican
party claims it is on pace to
get more than 300,000 signa-
tures by the Oct. 14 deadline.
According to volunteers,
the party has reported
averaging a signature per
minute, though the party has
not released how many sig-
natures it’s actually gotten.
To many seasoned political
observers, the prospect of re-
calling Brown is as likely as
Santa Claus and eight tiny
reindeer fl ying around the
world every Christmas Eve.
Thomas Wheatley, Brown’s
campaign adviser, believes
Republicans are juicing the
stats.
“I’m extraordinarily dubi-
ous about this claim, though
they do operate in the world
of alternative facts,” he said.
The majority of those
interviewed at the fair
about signing the petitions
struggled to specify why they
wanted to recall Brown, and
seemed to be doing so based
on a gut feeling.
Most commonly, people
brought up cap and trade —
a failed effort by the Legis-
lature that Brown backed to
curb greenhouse gas emis-
sions.
“My understanding is
GRANITE GULCH
that a lot of people just don’t
think Salem cares about
them right now,” said Linn
County GOP Chair Adam
Keaton, pointing to that
county’s agriculture, timber
and trucking industries.
There was also a hefty
degree of conspiracy monger-
ing. Some affi liated with the
effort say they fear retali-
ation. They shared rumors
that people signing the peti-
tions or volunteering with
the campaigns have been
targeted for arson, beat up or
had their cars vandalized.
Opponents sometimes cite
Brown’s unconventional path
to the governorship: as sec-
retary of state, Brown moved
into the job as directed by
the state constitution with
John Kitzhaber’s resignation
in February 2015.
The next year, 985,000
people voted for Brown, giv-
ing her 139,418 more votes
than Bud Pierce, the Repub-
lican nominee.
Last year, about 934,000
people voted for Brown. She
beat GOP opponent Knute
Buehler by 119,510 votes, ac-
cording to the state Elections
Division.
While the petition signers
often said Brown isn’t follow-
ing the will of the voters, she
won re-election campaigning
heavily for the policies they
oppose, such as greenhouse
gas capping and an educa-
tion funding package.
“We are proud of the ac-
complishments from this
year’s legislative session,”
Wheatley said. “Historic
investments in our schools,
stable health care funding,
bold steps to make housing
more affordable, tackling
dirty diesel, campaign
fi nance reform, and much
more.”
Though some doubted
Brown really did campaign
on such policies.
“You know, I don’t believe
that,” said Lincoln City
resident Dee Right. “I don’t
believe it was in full detail. I
think she lied.”
Right stopped by the
fair booth, but had already
signed the petition.
“She’s only benefi ting the
metropolitan areas and not
the rural cities that make up
Oregon,” Right said.
Alan Miller, a fi sheries biologist for the
Eagle Cap Ranger District, said he believes
Continued from Page 3A
the fi re will benefi t fi sh habitat in the Mi-
“Fire growth was in the direction and
nam River. Burned logs that end up in the
amounts we had expected, with the majority river can slow the water and create refuge
of growth being on the east side,” Wing said. habitat for fi sh, he said.
The fi re’s perimeter is estimated at 5,400
In the interests of public safety, an area
acres.
closure remains in effect for the area
Although the Forest Service has been
between Rock Creek Trail and Trail Creek
employing a “confi nement” strategy with the Trail which drains into the Minam River, ex-
Granite Gulch fi re, which means it’s mainly cluding Elk Meadows. The complete closure
allowed to burn naturally, on several days
order, map and updated fi re information can
earlier this summer offi cials summoned
be found at https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/inci-
helicopters to drop water on the west side of dent/6498/
the fi re to prevent it from spreading farther
The other large fi re in the area, the 204
west, down the Minam River Canyon. They Cow fi re burning on the Malheur National
also want to keep the fi re on the north side of Forest about 17 miles southwest of Unity
the river.
near the Baker-Grant County border, grew
“The east face of the fi re has moved about by about 400 acres Thursday, moving mainly
half a mile in the past week,” fi re behavior
to the northeast and southeast.
analyst Bret Ruby said. “It’s hardly moved at
The fi re, started by lighting on Aug. 9, has
all to the west, at most a quarter mile.”
burned about 5,500 acres.
Right was especially both-
ered by the cap and trade
proposal, which she said
would kill the logging and
trucking industries.
Right said she’s been a
registered Democrat her
whole life, yet when she saw
a recall booth in Lincoln
City, she pulled an illegal
U-turn to sign it. She’s never
been political, she said, but
spoke with passion when
disparaging Brown.
“She’s making a mess,
and she doesn’t listen to the
people,” Right said.
Two months ago, Right
switched her affi liation.
“Sometimes you gotta
do what you gotta do,” she
said, adding she took several
sheets to get friends and
family to sign as well.
SALEM (AP) — Oregon taxpayers will see the
largest-ever state income tax refund next year, thanks
to state revenue coming in at more than 9% above
projections, state economists said Wednesday.
They say the top 1% of taxpayers can expect refunds
of $15,214, while the median refund will be $346.
The average payout to all taxpayers is expected to be
$739.
A total of more than $1.57 billion is expected to fl ow
back to personal income taxpayers after they fi le their
2019 returns.
That compares to a refund projection in May of a
little more than $1.4 billion.
The latest tally given to lawmakers continues a trend
over the past two years, as state tax revenue outpaces
expectations, Oregon Public Broadcasting reported .
Money fl owing into the state’s general and lottery
funds came in $2.6 billion above what offi cials expected
in 2017. That created a situation where Oregon reserve
funds are at an all-time high — at more than $3.7 bil-
lion — even as economists warn of a possible economic
slowdown on the horizon.
Oregon’s unique refund policy also means the state
can’t use all of the unexpected money.
Under state law, a “kicker” is triggered whenever
actual personal income tax receipts come in at least 2%
higher than initial projections. In such cases, any money
collected above initial forecasts fl ows back to taxpayers
in the form of tax credits.
The unprecedented revenues have roots in a num-
ber of factors, including federal tax changes that led
businesses to put off paying taxes until this year and
ratcheting up corporate tax receipts by around 50%.
Economists say those impacts are likely short-term.
“Even without a recession, we’re expecting that it’s
going to be hard to match the revenue we saw in the
last biennium,” state economist Mark McMullen told
lawmakers on the House and Senate revenue commit-
tees.
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