THURSDAY, JUNE 24, 2021
Baker City, Oregon
4A
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OUR VIEW
State’s
money
mistakes
The Oregon Secretary of State’s Offi ce audits tell
us what we know but need to be reminded about:
State government makes mistakes with money.
Every year there’s a roundup of these mistakes.
And it’s clear it’s necessary. For the fi scal year 2020,
state auditors found $6.4 billion in accounting errors.
That’s right, $6.4 billion.
Those were unintentional mistakes. It’s not like
somebody was trying to abscond with $6.4 billion.
They were mistakes. Basically, numbers were put in
the wrong column and later caught thanks to state
audits. It does make you wonder what wasn’t caught.
What can be more important is when the audits
uncover weaknesses in the policies for handling
money.
For instance, the Department of Consumer and
Business Services is a state agency dedicated to con-
sumer protection and business regulation. It failed
to properly follow new accounting rules required for
fi scal year 2020. Other state agencies got it right.
The department misinterpreted the new rules and
reported about $400 million incorrectly. That depart-
ment also failed to have required documentation
explaining how it made decisions about handling
money in two areas, such as determining what is
uncollectible money.
And there’s more. When state auditors tested some
spending to ensure proper procedures are followed
so federal funds may be used to pay for them, it
found mistakes. The biggest problem was in the child
care and development fund. That is a federal grant
program that helps provide child care services for
low-income families and improve child care overall.
Auditors found $4.2 million in errors. Numbers were
miscalculated, provider copays were off, there was
a lack of documentation to back up payments and
more.
New report. Similar conclusions. Without state
auditors peering over the shoulders of other state
agencies, even more mistakes would be made.
Unsigned editorials are the opinion of the Baker City Herald.
Columns, letters and cartoons on this page express the opinions
of the authors and not necessarily that of the Baker City Herald.
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Mail: To the Editor, Baker City Herald,
P.O. Box 807, Baker City, OR 97814
Email: news@bakercityherald.com
Your views
Governing failures at the
state, city, federal levels
Are you liking your new “governors?”
Living in a democracy we are
privileged to routinely elect those
individuals who are tasked to govern
us. Hmmm, governing. What does that
entail? The primary responsibility
of those who govern is to protect the
safety and livability of its citizenry.
How are they doing in Oregon, and
nationally?
We have a governor who has unilat-
erally decided to continue her emer-
gency powers, although no emergency
presently exists. One who home clois-
ters, pays and protects her “non-essen-
tial public workers” while storekeepers,
restaurateurs, elder care workers etc.
(often without benefi ts) must face
the “pandemic” daily. A governor who
will not release her chokehold on her
constituents, until she coerces enough
citizens to get the vaccine. In doing so
she continues her pattern of economic,
social and spiritual destruction upon
the work, fi nances, and dreams of
many private businesses and entrepre-
neurs who make Oregon what it is.
Portlanders are governed by those
who defund the police, and denigrate
heroes and peacekeepers, while en-
abling roving gangs of “stimulus-fund-
ed” thugs and miscreants who refuse
work, and nightly burn the dreams of
others. In doing so, they have turned
the city into a physical and economic
wasteland, and a pariah for conference
destinations. Homicide is up 800%, as
street gangs compete for turf. A once
beautiful city looks like a Third World
landfi ll, but Ted’s going to “fi x it.” Really
... are you holding your breath?
On the federal level ... hello? Why
work when you get paid for sleep-
ing? Close the borders to law abiders,
open it to aliens. Debt? What’s that?
Indoctrinate our children that they are
oppressors or victims dependent on
skin color, not character. Keep sleeping,
Joe, your path of national destruction is
now spontaneous.
I have defi ned governor. Webster de-
fi nes a despot as: “A ruler with absolute
power and authority and rules tyran-
nically, in a brutal or oppressive way.”
Are we governed by benevolent leaders
or by despots, (whether by ineptitude or
intent?) Have you had enough? Answer
that question at the ballot boxes, (if
they still exist), in 2022.
Don Williams
Baker City
OTHER VIEWS
DeSantis is outtrumping Trump
Editorial from The Miami Herald:
It was Donald Trump who called for
“law and order” following Black Lives
Matter protests last summer.
But it was Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis
who successfully pushed through an
“anti-riot” bill that chills civil disobedi-
ence and that civil liberties groups say is
likely to put peaceful protesters behind
bars.
It was Trump who cast doubts and
told lies about mail-in ballots and the
safety of U.S. elections.
It was DeSantis (with help from the
Republican-controlled Legislature) who
made it harder for Floridians to vote by
mail.
It was Trump who picked a fi ght with
tech companies after he was banned
from Twitter and Facebook for inciting
violence in the wake of the Capitol at-
tacks on Jan. 6.
It was DeSantis who signed a law that
fi nes social-media platforms that ban
political candidates without warning up
to $250,000 per day.
To DeSantis’ unsuspecting critics,
these actions might seem like an at-
tempt to air grievances on behalf of the
former president, whose endorsement
catapulted DeSantis from an unknown
congressman three years ago to governor
of the nation’s third-largest state.
But DeSantis has proven he’s more
than a faithful disciple.
In the 2 1/2 years he’s been in offi ce,
DeSantis has advanced the Trump
brand more successfully than Trump.
That’s largely because DeSantis works
with a Legislature that’s also in lock-
step with his agenda while the former
president dealt with the constraints of a
deadlocked Congress.
The 42-year-old governor fi nished
ahead of Trump himself in a straw poll
of 30 potential 2024 presidential candi-
dates taken at the Western Conservative
Summit in Denver over the weekend.
Respondents were asked to choose all
the candidates of whom they approve
for president. Of the 371 answers, 74%
favored DeSantis and 71% chose Trump.
DeSantis also polled far ahead of third-
place U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (43%), former
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo (39%)
and Donald Trump Jr. (25%).
Straw polls are far from being scien-
tifi c, but these results offer a glimpse at
the effectiveness of DeSantis’ strategy
ever since Trump carried the Sunshine
State in 2020 by a larger margin than
in 2016.
DeSantis has carefully orchestrated
his offi cial actions this year — from
signing the elections law on Fox News
while prohibiting other media outlets
from attending, to his announcement
last week that he will send Florida law
enforcement offi cers to the southern
border — as a dog and pony show for
conservative media.
To the benefi t of DeSantis’ potential
presidential aspirations — and to the
detriment of Florida — it’s working. He
deserves credit for his political astute-
ness but he also reaps the benefi ts from
the lack of an organized Democratic op-
position in a state that’s still considered
“purple” but often acts as deep red.
While Democrats try to fi gure out why
they can’t win statewide elections and
spend energy fi ghting within their own
ranks (as happened in the Florida Sen-
ate when they ousted Minority Leader
Gary Farmer three days before the end
of the legislative session), DeSantis and
the rest of the GOP are in lockstep. They
have been disciplined in fi ghting culture
wars (i.e. the recent ban on Critical Race
Theory at public schools) and pass-
ing laws that don’t address Florida’s
pressing needs, but that play well on
Fox News and far-right online platforms
such as One America News Network
(i.e., the ban on transgender female
athletes). They have also passed laws
that are good sound bites for DeSantis
but haven’t done much. An example is
the bill passed last year that requires
governments and their contractors to
use E-Verify to screen for undocumented
workers but has little teeth and hasn’t
generated penalties, the Orlando Senti-
nel reported last week.
Could DeSantis’ Trump 2.0 brand —
same infl ammatory policies minus the
infl ammatory tweets — be the future
of the Republican Party? We have three
years to fi nd out. Until then, Florida will
continue to be DeSantis’ experimenta-
tion lab.
CONTACT YOUR PUBLIC OFFICIALS
President Joe Biden: The White House, 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.,
Washington, D.C. 20500; 202-456-1111; to send comments, go to
www.whitehouse.gov.
U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley: D.C. offi ce: 313 Hart Senate Offi ce
Building, U.S. Senate, Washington, D.C., 20510; 202-224-3753;
fax 202-228-3997. Portland offi ce: One World Trade Center, 121
S.W. Salmon St. Suite 1250, Portland, OR 97204; 503-326-3386;
fax 503-326-2900. Baker City offi ce, 1705 Main St., Suite 504, 541-
278-1129; merkley.senate.gov.
U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden: D.C. offi ce: 221 Dirksen Senate Offi ce
Building, Washington, D.C., 20510; 202-224-5244; fax 202-228-2717.
La Grande offi ce: 105 Fir St., No. 210, La Grande, OR 97850; 541-
962-7691; fax, 541-963-0885; wyden.senate.gov.
U.S. Rep. Cliff Bentz (2nd District): D.C. offi ce: 2182 Rayburn
Offi ce Building, Washington, D.C., 20515, 202-225-6730; fax 202-
225-5774. La Grande offi ce: 1211 Washington Ave., La Grande, OR
97850; 541-624-2400, fax, 541-624-2402; walden.house.gov.
Oregon Gov. Kate Brown: 254 State Capitol, Salem, OR
97310; 503-378-3111; www.governor.oregon.gov.
Oregon State Treasurer Tobias Read: oregon.treasurer@
ost.state.or.us; 350 Winter St. NE, Suite 100, Salem OR 97301-
3896; 503-378-4000.
Oregon Attorney General Ellen F. Rosenblum: Justice
Building, Salem, OR 97301-4096; 503-378-4400.
Oregon Legislature: Legislative documents and information
are available online at www.leg.state.or.us.
State Sen. Lynn Findley (R-Ontario): Salem offi ce: 900
Court St. N.E., S-403, Salem, OR 97301; 503-986-1730. Email: Sen.
LynnFindley@oregonlegislature.gov
State Rep. Mark Owens (R-Crane): Salem offi ce: 900 Court
St. N.E., H-475, Salem, OR 97301; 503-986-1460. Email: Rep.
MarkOwens@oregonlegislature.gov
Baker City Hall: 1655 First Street, P.O. Box 650, Baker City,
OR 97814; 541-523-6541; fax 541-524-2049. City Council meets
the second and fourth Tuesdays at 7 p.m. in Council Chambers.
Councilors Lynette Perry, Jason Spriet, Kerry McQuisten, Shane
Alderson, Joanna Dixon, Heather Sells and Johnny Waggoner Sr.
Baker City administration: 541-523-6541. Jonathan Cannon,
city manager; Ray Duman, police chief; Sean Lee, fi re chief; Michelle
Owen, public works director.
Baker County Commission: Baker County Courthouse 1995
3rd St., Baker City, OR 97814; 541-523-8200. Meets the fi rst and
third Wednesdays at 9 a.m.; Bill Harvey (chair), Mark Bennett,
Bruce Nichols.
Baker County departments: 541-523-8200. Travis Ash,
sheriff; Noodle Perkins, roadmaster; Greg Baxter, district attorney;
Alice Durfl inger, county treasurer; Stefanie Kirby, county clerk; Kerry
Savage, county assessor.
Baker School District: 2090 4th Street, Baker City, OR 97814;
541-524-2260; fax 541-524-2564. Superintendent: Mark Witty.
Board meets the third Tuesday of the month at 6 p.m. Council
Chambers, Baker City Hall,1655 First St.; Andrew Bryan, Kevin
Cassidy, Chris Hawkins, Katie Lamb and Julie Huntington.