NEWS
MyEagleNews.com
Betsy Johnson visits John Day
Campaign event
with free beer and
freewheeling talk
from the unaffi liated
gubernatorial candidate
A3
Meet the fourth
woman in the race
tion of their state. “We want to get back to
where Oregonians have a say in their own
life and they get to sit at the table, not just
JOHN DAY — Constitution Party the people who are in Portland, Salem,
gubernatorial candidate Donice Smith Eugene and Medford,” she said.
Smith wants to relay to Oregon voters
would like to remind you all that there are
that she won’t take a paycheck if
more than three women vying for
elected to the offi ce of governor.
the offi ce of Oregon governor in
“It has been put in writing,” she
the Nov. 8 election.
said. “When I get home I’ll put it
Smith stopped by John Day on
in writing again and have it nota-
Thursday, Oct. 26, to discuss her
rized and publicized.”
platform and views with Grant
Smith said the funds that
County residents.
would make up her pay as gov-
The Constitution Party stands
Smith
ernor will be donated to various
for “life, liberty and limited gov-
nonprofi ts across Oregon. “(That
ernment,” according to Smith.
“We believe in God, family and country. money) needs to go back to Oregonians,”
I think it is important for people to know Smith said.
The challenges in running a third party
that the platform of the Constitution Party
is very similar, if not almost identical, campaign are numerous, according to
to the Republican Party,” she said in an Smith. “It has been very, very diffi cult.
This party was started over 22 years ago
interview.
Smith said the fi rst thing she would and people came forward by the thousands
do if elected Oregon’s next governor is and registered to vote Constitution Party,”
to review all of the mandates and execu- Smith said.
Smith said that over the course of time,
tive orders issued by Kate Brown’s admin-
istration. “Many of them were unconsti- those people failed to build the base of the
tutional under Oregon’s Constitution and Constitution Party within their own coun-
also under the U.S. Constitution, and I ties. “In order try to grow the Constitu-
want us to review those with a group of tion Party, people need to know we’re out
experts and fi nd out which of those exec- there,” she said.
Another diffi culty, according to Smith,
utive orders we need to toss out the win-
is the reluctance of the leading candidates
dow,” Smith said.
The second thing she said she would and the news media to acknowledge that
do is gather all the sheriff s from across the she is also running for governor of Oregon.
state and make sure that they have an oath “We hear Fox News and New York City
of offi ce fi led. “Every sheriff and every saying Oregon is on the map for a historic
judge has to do an oath of offi ce within the race between three women running for
fi rst 30 days of taking their offi ce or posi- governor. No folks, there are four women.
I’m the fourth woman,” Smith added.
tion,” Smith added.
“What is happening is that Tina Kotek,
Smith said she wants Oregon sheriff s
to understand that, as far as she’s con- Betsy Johnson and Christine Drazan do
cerned, they are basically the law of their not want me to be out there. … There is an
county. “They’re even higher in many association of all the newspapers in Ore-
ways than your judges are. Many sheriff s gon. They’ve all banded together and said,
don’t understand that, they don’t realize ‘Mrs. Smith isn’t bringing in the millions
that or they don’t want to accept it,” Smith of dollars from Pfi zer, Moderna or Phil
Knight, so therefore, because she doesn’t
said.
One of the causes Smith is most pas- have a million dollars or more in her PAC,
sionate about is making sure that residents we aren’t going to give her a voice,” Smith
of rural Oregon have a voice as to the direc- said.
By JUSTIN DAVIS
Blue Mountain Eagle
By TONY CHIOTTI
Blue Mountain Eagle
JOHN DAY — “Come on in.
We’re just shooting the bull and
having a beer,” said Betsy John-
son, the unaffi liated candidate
for governor, as she welcomed
a new arrival to the “Beers with
Betsy” event at the Grant County
Regional Airport on Tuesday,
Oct. 25.
The event was part of an
ambitious two-day tour by air-
plane that would take Johnson to
10 stops around Oregon, and in
doing so tick off the last boxes of
her pledge to visit all 36 counties
as part of her campaign. On Tues-
day, after starting out in Scap-
poose, she’d already visited Inde-
pendence, Newport, Gold Beach
and Madras before touching
down in John Day. As the event
kicked off , her team was watch-
ing the weather, “making a game
time call on Joseph,” the fi rst stop
on Wednesday’s leg.
“This is an incredible airport!”
Johnson exclaimed, perched in
front of the terminal’s grand fi re-
place as she held court and threw
back complimentary nuts. The
beer was free, the talk was loose
and the language was salty. For-
get the old line about watching
sausage being made; here, the
freewheeling conversation ranged
from the inner workings of the
Legislature to the mechanics of
“breaking down a beef.”
“I ain’t going anywhere,”
Johnson said in response to an
early question about her inten-
tions as Election Day draws near.
“I don’t believe the polls. It ain’t
over till the fat lady sings, and I
haven’t even tuned up yet.”
Wednesday, November 2, 2022
Tony Chiotti/Blue Mountain Eagle
Unaffi liated gubernatorial candidate Betsy Johnson visits with voters
during a campaign stop at the Grant County Regional Airport on Tues-
day, Oct. 25, 2022, as part of a two-day, 10-stop tour of Oregon.
She seemed to relish her role
as gadfl y and fl inch at the idea
that her candidacy could lead to
a victory for Republican Chris-
tine Drazan by taking votes away
from Democrat Tina Kotek. She
explained that she was proud to
bring a credible third party choice
to Oregonians and emphasized
her potential to bring divided
sides together.
“The farther south and the far-
ther east you go, the angrier peo-
ple are,” Johnson said. She noted
that eight counties are saying they
want to cleave from Oregon and
join Idaho as evidence of just how
deep the divisions go. “I’ve never
seen us so divided politically.”
She said that as governor she
wouldn’t sign any major bill or
budget without evidence of bipar-
tisan support: “Not to give veto to
the minority, but you ought to be
able to bring a couple of the other
party along.”
She touched on such top-
ics as wolf predation, economic
development and the need for
the state to be seen as more busi-
ness-friendly. When asked about
her take on the lottery, she was
quick to answer: “I’ve never won,
and I’m pissed!” She went on to
lay out her plans for a detailed
audit of where lottery spend-
ing goes and to lament Oregon’s
addiction to “booze, cannabis and
the lottery.”
One moment that stood out
among the familiar campaign
talking points came when John-
son was asked about an article
that mentioned some land in Cen-
tral Oregon from which the head-
waters of the Metolious River
emerge. Johnson’s family owned
the land before donating it to the
U.S. Forest service. (Johnson
was born in Bend and raised in
Redmond.)
She mentioned that nobody
knows the origin of that water.
At that point an audience mem-
ber explained that the source was
in fact the meadows near Black
Butte Ranch and that the water
then fl ows straight underneath
Black Butte, which arose after
the river was established. John-
son was visibly astonished to
learn this and seemed genuinely
appreciative for the new informa-
tion, saying, “Here I had to fl y all
the way over to John Day to fi nd
out!”
At one point her pilot fl agged
her attention from the back of the
room with news. “What’s the go/
no-go decision on Joseph?” John-
son asked.
“I was just gonna grab a beer,”
the pilot said.
“We’re staying all night!”
Johnson said. “Cool. Have a
beer!”
WHAT’S HAPPENING
THURSDAY, NOV. 3
Community Action Team
• 6 p.m., Dayville Com-
munity Hall, Highway 26 in
Dayville
The Grant County Com-
munity Action Team will
meet in Dayville. Agenda top-
ics will include the childcare
committee and the housing
needs analysis program. If a
Wi-Fi connection is available,
the meeting will be accessi-
ble online and by phone. To
join the meeting online via
Zoom, go to https://us02web.
zoom.us/j/4414141847. To
join by phone, dial 1-253-
215-8782 and use meeting ID
4414141847# and participant
ID #.
SUNDAY, NOV. 6
Trap and skeet shooting
• 9:30 a.m. at the Sen-
eca Range, one mile west
of Highway 395 on Shirttail
Creek Road, Seneca
The Grant County Shoot-
ing Sports Club will open its
skeet and trap ranges for prac-
tice shooting. The cost is $6
for 25 clay targets or $20 per
100 targets. The range will
stay open as long as there are
shooters. For more informa-
tion, call 541-620-2516.
TUESDAY, NOV. 8
Blood drive
• 1-6 p.m., Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter-day Saints,
944 E. Main St., John Day
To schedule an appoint-
ment, call 1-800-733-2767 or
visit redcrossblodd.org and
enter the sponsor code JOHN-
DAYCOMMUNITY. Due to
Oregon Health Authority reg-
ulations, masks must be worn.
WEDNESDAY, NOV. 9
Blood drive
• 9 a.m.-2 p.m., Church
of Jesus Christ of Latter-day
Saints, 944 E. Main St., John
Day
To schedule an appoint-
ment, call 1-800-733-2767 or
visit redcrossblodd.org and
enter the sponsor code JOHN-
DAYCOMMUNITY. Due to
Oregon Health Authority reg-
ulations, masks must be worn.
Highway 26, Mt. Vernon
Mt. Vernon Grange No.
659 will host a Christmas
bazaar in the Grange Hall.
Tables are available at a cost
of $20, with proceeds to ben-
efi t the Grange. To reserve a
table, call Shannon Winegar at
541-620-0493, Frances Pres-
ton at 907-723-7613 or Leslie
Traylor at 651-620-4032.
Deck the Halls gala
• 6 p.m., Grant County
Fairgrounds, 411 NW Bridge
St., John Day
This fi rst annual fundraiser
for the Painted Sky Center for
the Arts will feature a roast
beef dinner, festive cocktails,
a children’s performance and
auctions of artwork, desserts
and holiday decor. Dress is
black tie optional. Tickets are
$25 per person or $45 per cou-
ple and are available at Painted
Sky, Earthly Home Natural
Market and the Grant County
Chamber of Commerce. They
can also be purchased online at
https://tinyurl.com/5dwv43s8.
SATURDAY, NOV. 12
Mt. Vernon Christmas
Bazaar
• 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Mt.
Vernon Grange Hall, 59491
SATURDAY, DEC. 10
Ugly Sweater Christmas
Bazaar
• Monument Senior
REELECT
RON LUNDBOM
JOHN DAY MAYOR
“I love John Day; it is my home.
I want to continue to be your mayor.”
• Committed to sensible growth and
continued progress
• #1 priority is the wastewater
treatment facility completion
• Continue to work with the
county on policing options that
make sense for John Day
• Experienced–running 2 businesses
• Experienced–elected 2 terms
councilor and 2 terms mayor
• Leadership, Experience, Integrity,
Accountability
• Leadership and experience do
matter
• The council and I have positioned John Day to be the
model of success for years to come
• I support family values and traditions
• Stability, sensibility and success
Paid for by Ron Lundbom
Center, 269 Main St.,
Monument
Wear an ugly sweater
to be entered into a draw-
ing. Tables are available at
a cost of $15. To reserve a
table, call Jeanne Strange at
541-934-2001.
Do you have a commu-
nity event you’d like to
publicize? Email informa-
tion to editor@bmeagle.
com. The deadline is noon
Friday for publication the
following Wednesday.
DID YOU KNOW:
In 2010 the Oregon governor’s race was
decided by 22,238 votes.
The election that could have changed the
course of Oregon’s history was decided by
just 1.5% of the vote.
This year, Oregonians have that
opportunity again, but we need YOU,
rural Oregon, to be the change.
VOTE!
Learn more about OFB at www.oregonfb.org