A4
OPINION
Blue Mountain Eagle
Wednesday, March 17, 2021
Across the
aisle in the
Capitol
P
olicy disagreements,
partisanship and the
walkouts can give
Oregonians a distorted picture
of what their Oregon Legisla-
ture is like. Journalists — and
certainly this editorial page —
tend to highlight confl icts, not
the places of accord.
We were struck recently by
what state Rep. Daniel Bon-
ham said during a committee
hearing about a resolution to
honor former state Rep. Mitch
Greenlick. State Sen. Tim
Knopp, R-Bend, is one of the
resolution’s sponsors.
Bonham is a Republican
from The Dalles. His district
includes a large part of Cen-
tral Oregon — Sisters, Culver,
Madras and the Warm Springs
Reservation. Plot Bonham and
Greenlick along an ideological
line and there would be a big
gap between them in how to
solve many of Oregon’s chal-
lenges. Bonham would be on
the right. Greenlick, a Dem-
ocrat who represented Mult-
nomah and Washington coun-
ties beginning in 2002, was on
the left. Greenlick died while
serving in offi ce on May 15,
2020.
They became friends.
Bonham was appointed to
the Legislature in Novem-
ber 2017 to fi ll a vacancy. He
came into the session in 2018
trying to fi nd his way in the
new role.
He happened to stay in the
same hotel for the session as
Greenlick and his wife, Har-
riet. They fell into the habit of
exercising together in the gym
and joining each other in the
pool. And talking.
“I got to know Rep. Green-
lick more on a personal level
than anything else,” Bonham
said. “What really impressed
me was just his care and con-
cern for helping somebody
brand new to this role that
truly was trying to fi nd their
way. And despite the fact that
we were not of the same party
affi liation or shared the same
views on how to solve health
care problems, we had many
wonderful conversations.
“I will say we probably
talked more about the kids,
the grandchildren and the
great-grandchildren than we
did about public policy. But
his care and his compassion
for others was just evident in
his approach to life. And we
saw it come through in very
passionate ways both on the
fl oor and in committee and
even over lunch.
“I wanted to take the
moment to stop by your meet-
ing here today and to off er
my words of just gratitude
to the Greenlicks. Again, I
don’t know how you talk
about Mitch without talking
about Harriet. I don’t know
how, at least from my experi-
ence. They were such a team.
I am grateful for their friend-
ship and for the kindness that
they showed me. I give my
absolute support to SCR (Sen-
ate Concurrent Resolution) 3
and encourage everyone else
to take a moment and read
through it and remember and
honor our good friend Mitch
Greenlick.”
GUEST COMMENT
Let government know who’s boss
W
hen government fails,
it’s the rare public offi -
cial who says, “Oops. My
fault.”
That’s human nature, particularly
for offi cials in the public eye who
may have to run for offi ce again. No
one wants to be held directly respon-
sible for letting the public down.
Case in point is the recent
catastrophe in Texas, when unex-
pected winter storms left 4 mil-
lion homes without power, ruptured
pipes and tainted the water supply
for many.
Texas’ energy grid essentially
collapsed. While Texas Gov. Greg
Abbott was quick to blame frozen
wind turbines, the cause was much
more complex than that. To truly
understand how things went so ter-
ribly wrong will require time, study
and research.
So, too, with the coronavirus
vaccine distribution. In this state and
others, residents are frustrated with
the slow rollout of vaccines. Is it
poor distribution? Politics? A fl awed
strategy? These are literally matters
of life and death.
But how do you get to the truth
when public offi cials so rarely step
up to take direct responsibility for
failures?
The answer is public records.
And public meetings. And access
to the information that taxpayers
deserve.
States throughout the country
have laws that guarantee access to
government records and meetings.
But the details vary
widely and there
are many statu-
tory exceptions.
New challenges
to access emerge
every year in virtu-
Ken Paulson
ally every state.
The need to
fi ght for government transparency
is reaffi rmed each year during Sun-
shine Week, a national awareness
event overseen by the News Leaders
Association and keyed to the March
16 birthday of James Madison. The
fourth president of the United States
drafted the Bill of Rights — includ-
ing the guarantee of a free press —
in 1791.
That journalism connection
refl ects the role news media play
in the free fl ow of information, but
it unfortunately can also leave the
public with a sense that Sunshine
Week refl ects the concerns of a sin-
gle industry.
To the contrary, access to govern-
ment information is critical to every
American who cares about the qual-
ity of his or her community, state
and nation.
It’s important to see govern-
ment employees — including
elected offi cials — as the people we
hire through our tax dollars to do a
good job for all of us. If you run a
business or hire a contractor, you
wouldn’t hesitate to demand a full
understanding of how something
went wrong. That should be exactly
our relationship with government.
Getting that information, though,
requires public meetings where res-
idents can ask questions. It also
means access to the documents that
led to a poor decision. Words on
paper can be much more forthright
than the dissembling of politicians.
It’s critical that we hold gov-
ernment accountable, for bet-
ter or worse. (It’s also important
to acknowledge when government
leaders are doing a good job.)
How can you help? I have two
suggestions.
First, keep doing exactly what
you’re doing at this moment. Read
and support your local newspaper.
Local journalists, more than anyone
else, will stand up for your right to
information. Facebook will not be
going toe-to-toe with your mayor.
Second, when you believe gov-
ernment isn’t doing its job, demand
an explanation. Ask to see the doc-
uments. Attend public meetings.
And above all, support legislative
eff orts to make government more
transparent.
It’s too easy for offi cials who
have failed us to point fi ngers,
blame the media and wait for their
side of the partisan fence to rally to
their defense. We deserve better. We
all pay taxes to support the work
of government. We should get our
money’s worth.
Ken Paulson is the director of the
Free Speech Center at Middle Ten-
nessee State University, a lawyer
and a former editor-in-chief of USA
Today.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Insanity in Salem
WHERE TO WRITE
GRANT COUNTY
• Grant County Courthouse — 201
S. Humbolt St., Suite 280, Canyon City
97820. Phone: 541-575-0059. Fax:
541-575-2248.
• Canyon City — P.O. Box 276, Canyon
City 97820. Phone: 541-575-0509.
Fax: 541-575-0515. Email: tocc1862@
centurylink.net.
• Dayville — P.O. Box 321, Dayville
97825. Phone: 541-987-2188. Fax: 541-
987-2187. Email:dville@ortelco.net
• John Day — 450 E. Main St, John
Day, 97845. Phone: 541-575-0028.
Fax: 541-575-1721. Email: cityjd@
centurytel.net.
• Long Creek — P.O. Box 489, Long
Creek 97856. Phone: 541-421-3601.
Fax: 541-421-3075. Email: info@
cityofl ongcreek.com.
• Monument — P.O. Box 426,
Monument 97864. Phone
and fax: 541-934-2025. Email:
cityofmonument@centurytel.net.
• Mt. Vernon — P.O. Box 647, Mt.
Vernon 97865. Phone: 541-932-4688.
Fax: 541-932-4222. Email: cmtv@
ortelco.net.
• Prairie City — P.O. Box 370, Prairie
City 97869. Phone: 541-820-3605. Fax:
820-3566. Email: pchall@ortelco.net.
• Seneca — P.O. Box 208, Seneca
97873. Phone and fax: 541-542-2161.
Email: senecaoregon@gmail.com.
SALEM
• Gov. Kate Brown, D — 254 State
Capitol, Salem 97310. Phone: 503-378-
3111. Fax: 503-378-6827. Website:
governor.state.or.us/governor.html.
• Oregon Legislature — State
Capitol, Salem, 97310. Phone: (503)
986-1180. Website: leg.state.or.us
(includes Oregon Constitution and
Oregon Revised Statutes).
• Oregon Legislative Information —
(For updates on bills, services, capitol
or messages for legislators) — 800-
332-2313.
• Sen. Cliff Bentz, R-Ontario – 900
Court St. NE, S-301, Salem 97301.
Phone: 503-986-1730. Website:
oregonlegislature.gov/Bentz. Email:
Sen.Cliff Bentz@oregonlegislature.gov.
• Rep. Lynn Findley, R-Vale – 900 Court
St. NE, H-475, Salem 97301. Phone: 503-
986-1460. Website: oregonlegislature.
gov/fi ndley. Email: Rep.LynnFindley@
oregonlegislature.gov.
Blue Mountain
EAGLE
Published every
Wednesday by
To the Editor:
In case you missed it, our Dem-
ocrat brain trust in Salem has intro-
duced HR 3305, which would pro-
hibit the sale of both retail and
wholesale petroleum based diesel
fuel. Has anyone over there thought
what this would do to trucking,
farming, logging and construction?
Hopefully, this will never get out
of committee, but I have seen junk
like this go through committee and
be voted on in the around-the-clock
rush that goes on in the fi nal days of
a session. If you have friends or rel-
atives in the West side, please ask
them to contact their representatives
and senators to stop this insanity.
Ralph Goodwin
John Day
The cancel cops
To the Editor:
Recently I learned a friend of
mine had an opinion stated on
Facebook canceled. It was can-
celed because it was called hate
speech. My friend’s opinion stated
essentially that, “If our people had
not had the back bone to stand up
during our past wars, we may now
be speaking a different national
language.” This is a simple state-
ment of fact. Do you see the hate
in that statement?
The “cancel cops” may see
hate in my friend’s statement, so I
have a couple more opinions they
may be afraid of. But I warn them,
once they’ve been read they are in
your head. So cancel that.
Abe Lincoln said in a speech in
1838, “All the armies of Europe,
Asia, and Africa combined with
all the treasure of the earth in
their military chest, and a Bona-
parte for commander could not by
force take a drink from the Ohio
or make a track on the Blue Ridge
in a trial of a thousand years.”
“At what point then is
the approach of danger to be
expected? I answer, if it ever
reach us, it must spring up
amongst us, it cannot come from
abroad. If destruction be our lot,
we must ourselves be its author
L
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MEMBER OREGON NEWSPAPER PUBLISHERS ASSOCIATION
and fi nisher. As a nation of free-
men, we must live through all time
or die by suicide.”
Here are a few more they might
want to ponder.
“Our lives begin to end the day
we become silent about things that
matter.” — Martin Luther King Jr.
The following are from a cou-
ple of individuals we should never
forget!
“Give me four years to teach
the children and the seed I have
sown will never be uprooted.” —
Vladimir Lenin
“Let me control the textbooks
and I will control the state.” —
Adolf Hitler
The Constitution of the United
States of America is the supreme
law of our land and according to
the First Amendment, “… no law
shall be made abridging the free-
dom of speech, or of the press...”
Oh and here’s one of my own,
“Stand up — don’t be afraid, be
aware. Express yourself. It’s your
right.”
Michael R. Christensen
John Day
Phone: 541-575-0710
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