LOCAL & STATE
BAKER CITY HERALD • SATuRDAY, FEBRuARY 19, 2022 A5
Sparks fly after Oregon Supreme Court
rules Kristof ineligible for governor
BY JIM REDDEN
Oregon Capital Bureau
Sparks continued to fly
Thursday, Feb. 17, in the Or-
egon governor’s race even af-
ter the state Supreme Court
ruled earlier that morning
that former New York Times
columnist Nick Kristof
couldn’t run for governor.
The court unanimously
upheld Oregon Secretary of
State Shemia Fagan’s Janu-
ary decision that Kristof is
not eligible to run for gover-
nor because he will not have
lived three years in the state
by the Nov. 8, 2022, election,
as required by the Oregon
Constitution.
Kristof had been seeking
the Democratic nomination
before Fagan ruled him off
the ballot. Kristof ’s lawyers
argued he was raised in Or-
egon and owns a farm in the
rural community of Yamhill
that he and his family live
on every summer. Fagan
argued his real home was
in New York, where he had
voted as recently as 2020
— an argument the court
found convincing.
Kristof accepted the ruling
during a press conference
two hours after the ruling
was released, but criticized
the state’s “political system”
for not solving the problems
he said motivated him to
enter the race. They include
the lack of affordable hous-
ing, the homeless crisis, the
lack of addiction and mental
health services, and climate
change, he said.
“Oregon is in a moment
of crisis and it affects all of
us. And far too many of our
families and friends are left
to struggle with the impact
of those choices on their
own because our political
system believes their prob-
lems are too difficult to take
on,” Kristof said, adding, “I
believe they’re too difficult
not to take on. And while I
may not get the opportunity
to take them on as your gov-
ernor, I remain deeply com-
mitted to doing everything
in my power to tackle these
issues and build a brighter
future.”
Rally
Continued from Page A1
Shelly Cutler, executive di-
rector of the Baker County
Chamber of Commerce and
Visitor Center, said that al-
though she’s disappointed
that the rally is canceled
again, she’s optimistic that it
will return in 2023.
“It’s a hit to our summer
tourism for sure,” Cutler said
on Thursday, Feb. 17. “It’s an
incredible event that brings a
lot of revenue to the county
and businesses. I do not ex-
pect another summer to go
by without the rally.”
She said she understands
Dukes’ concerns.
Cutler also points out
that even without the rally,
the roads that brought the
event to Baker County
more than 15 years ago re-
main an attraction for rid-
ers, and she expects many
motorcyclists will visit the
county this spring and sum-
mer.
That happened last sum-
mer despite the rally being
canceled, she said.
“They still come to Baker,
just not in the masses that
we would see with the offi-
cial rally,” Cutler said.
Also on the positive side
of the ledger, Cutler said
all other major summer
events are slated to hap-
pen as usual, including the
Kathy Orr/Baker City Herald, File
The Hells Canyon Motorcycle Rally, one of Baker City’s major
summer events, won’t happen in 2022, the third straight year it’s
been canceled. The organizer hopes to resume the event in 2023.
Baker City Cycling Clas-
sic in June, Miners Jubi-
lee and the Bronc and Bull
Riding competition in July,
and the Shrine All-Star
Football Game and Baker
County Fair in August, and
the Sumpter flea markets
energytrust.org
Although Kristof said
he would not challenge the
ruling, Fagan took a shot
at him a short time later
during her own press con-
ference. After praising the
ruling for upholding her
“objective” decision to dis-
qualify Kristof, she accused
him of previously making
the kind of “baseless” accu-
sations that undermine de-
mocracy by calling it politi-
cally motivated.
“Increasing harassment
and attacks on elections
workers here in Oregon and
around the country often
begin with empty allega-
tions of bias or corruption.
We are seeing an increase in
harassment targeting elec-
tion workers and even death
threats toward county clerks
right here in Oregon,” said
Fagan, who is also a Dem-
ocrat.
After Fagan first disqual-
ified him, Kristof said, “As
you all know, I come from
outside the political estab-
lishment and I don’t owe in-
siders anything. They view
my campaign as a threat.”
When pressed by reporters
if she was referring to that
and similar statements by
Kristof, Fagan said yes. But
when pressed again about
whether any of her employ-
ees had been threatened by
anyone because of Kristof’s
statements, Fagan admitted
no one had.
during Memorial Day and
Labor Day weekends.
Moreover, an event that
also was canceled in 2020
and 2021 — the Baker City
Memory Cruise car show —
is back on the schedule for
Aug. 20 in Geiser-Pollman
Park.
A new event planned for
the weekend of May 20 is
the Chautauqua Music Fes-
tival in Richland. The event
will include a variety of live
music at the Eagle Valley
Grange Community Park,
as well as artisans selling
handcrafted items and spe-
cialty foods.
“I think we still have a lot
of good things going on,”
Cutler said.
Cutler said about 40% were
from the East Coast.
“People are still taking
road trips,” she said.
Cutler said very few peo-
ple who call the Chamber’s
Visitor Center ask about
mask or vaccine mandates.
But she’s still pleased that
Oregon’s indoor mask man-
date will end no later than
March 31, according to Or-
egon Gov. Kate Brown.
The Oregon Health &
Science University this
week forecast that the num-
ber of COVID-19 patients
in hospitals would drop be-
low the 400-person thresh-
old for ending the mask
mandate by March 20.
“We always impress upon
people who call that Baker
County is open for business
and we’re excited to have
them back,” Cutler said. “I
think we’re all excited to get
back to normal.”
Ready for influx of visitors
Cutler is optimistic that
the 2022 spring and sum-
mer tourist season will be a
busy one in Baker County,
as people from across the
nation, as well as foreign
travelers, take advantage of
the waning pandemic.
That was the case during
spring break 2021, she said.
“Last spring break was
the busiest traffic I’ve seen
in the six, almost seven,
years I’ve been here,” Cutler
said. “People were so ready
to get out, and I expect that
trend to continue, as people
are feeling safer.”
Among travelers visit-
ing the county this winter,
Staffing challenges
Cutler said that although
some restaurants and other
businesses continue to
struggle to find enough em-
ployees to maintain their
usual schedule, she believes
the situation is improving.
She thinks the tourist
season and its influx of cus-
tomers could be a great op-
portunity for high school
students, including this
year’s graduates, to earn
money for college.
Commissioners
Continued from Page A1
Nichols said all he was asking for
was the legal opinion on whether the
changes he suggested could be made.
Christina Witham, who is a can-
didate to replace Bennett, who is
retiring when his four-term term
concludes at the end of 2022, asked
Nichols why he is proposing, during
a year when two of the three com-
missioner positions are on the bal-
lot, to change commissioners’ duties.
Harvey’s current four-year term
also expires at the end of 2022, and,
like Bennett, Harvey is not seeking
reelection.
Witham and Kody Justus have
filed as candidates for Bennett’s po-
sition.
The three candidates who have
filed so far for Harvey’s position
are Joe Johnson, Dan Garrick and
Shane Alderson.
“Five people have filed for com-
missioner seats so far as of today. I
don’t see how you can change the
seat that they’re running for before
they get in there,” Witham said.
Nichols replied that although he
first broached the topic in Novem-
ber 2021, the commission did not
schedule a work session to continue
the discussion.
“We didn’t get that chance to even
discuss the possibility so everyone
knew what I was attempting to do
and the reason why,” Nichols said.
He said he raised the subject
again because he wants to give vot-
ers a chance to decide whether to
distribute tasks more evenly among
the three commissioners.
He said he has talked with offi-
cials from other counties that use a
similar system and like it.
“They say it works much better.
It puts more transparency in the
hands of the commissioners be-
cause they learn more about the
whole county because they’re shar-
ing duties more equitably,” Nichols
said.
Witham reiterated her concern
that Nichols’ proposal, if it comes to
pass, would mean she and the other
candidates would be vying for a job
different than the one they believed
they were seeking when they filed.
“That should not happen,”
Witham said. “If people are filing
for that position, they should get
that position as it is. Not changed by
the time they get in there.”
That discussion should wait un-
til the two new commissioners are
elected, Witham said.
Nichols emphasized that he be-
lieves the change he has suggested
would improve the relationship
among commissioners.
“I think all three commissioners
will work better together that way,”
he said.