Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Cannon Beach gazette. (Cannon Beach, Or.) 1977-current | View Entire Issue (April 6, 2018)
April 6, 2018 | Cannon Beach Gazette | cannonbeachgazette.com • 3A Johnson, Boone hold Seaside town hall Climate change, emergency preparedness, tax reform addressed By Brenna Visser Cannon Beach Gazette SEASIDE — Climate change, emergency prepared- ness and other topics were on the minds of residents who came to City Hall on Satur- day, March 31, to ask state Sen. Betsy Johnson and Rep. Deborah Boone questions. With retirement on the horizon for Boone, some quizzed her about the future of emergency preparedness, her legacy issue. One of those constituents was Tiffiny Mitchell, a candi- date running for state House District 32 — Boone’s soon- to-be former seat. “I come from Utah, where we have similar issues living on a fault line,” Mitchell said. “Then I moved here and I felt I was moving from one com- munity with emergency plan- ning issues to another facing the same issues. What do you think needs to still happen to make sure this area is pre- pared?” Boone, D-Cannon Beach, mostly reflected on progress the state has made, includ- ing legislation that created the Oregon Resilience Plan following the 2011 Japanese tsunami, as well as a bill that allows retired medical profes- sionals to practice in Medical Reserve Corps like the ones in Cannon Beach and Manzani- ta. Most of the success Boone said she has seen has been on a local level with neighbor- hood mapping efforts and pre- paredness groups. “They’ve taken the wand in the relay here and are put- ting these ideas into place,” Boone said. Johnson, D-Scappoose, emphasized a need for clear messaging when it comes to responding to a disaster, after a tsunami watch issued for the Oregon Coast in January caused local confusion. In a separate interview, Boone said she sees the fu- ture of emergency planning in promoting relocation proj- ects like the Seaside School District is embarking upon, as well as supporting more du- al-purpose, resiliency-based development. BRENNA VISSER/EO MEDIA GROUP State Rep. Deborah Boone and state Sen. Betsy Johnson talk at a town hall at Seaside City Hall. While there is more to be done, Boone said she feels confident in the progress she has seen since taking office in 2004. “I’m comfortable leaving now. (Emergency planning) has taken on a life of its own,” Boone said. “I’m sure every- one in this room knows some- one connected to the resilien- cy world.” What the state is doing to address climate change was also on the audience’s mind at the town hall, including Oregon’s cap-and-trade bill, which failed to move forward in the last session. The proposal was modeled on programs in California, as well as Ontario and Que- bec, Canada, that set a cap on greenhouse-gas emissions and force large polluters to buy allowances if their emis- sions exceed the cap. Clatsop County Com- missioner Lianne Thompson asked Johnson what it would take to balance making a cleaner environment with the interests of the timber indus- try, which could be adversely affected. Progress passing cap-and- trade in Oregon is stop-and- go due to larger unanswered questions about how a law would be implemented after an audit of the state Depart- ment of Environmental Quali- ty showed there is inadequate staffing to carry out a pro- gram, Johnson said. How money would be ap- propriated and to what types of projects also needs to be refined, Johnson said, but she still believes it will be the “sig- nature bill of the next session.” “We don’t want to acci- dentally do damage like rais- ing gasoline prices, or put an older mill like Wauna Mill, which employs hundreds of people and invests heavily to reduce pollution footprint, that it’s not regulated out of business,” she said. Other topics included tax reform, options for an over- crowded Clatsop County Jail, and issues with the Oregon Department of Transportation having enough staff to carry out projects listed in the $5.3 billion transportation package passed last year. Candidates talk job creation, county housing shortage Eight candidates vying for three seats By Jack Heffernan EDWARD STRATTON/THE DAILY ASTORIAN Tiffiny Mitchell, center, stands with supporters during a kickoff to her state House campaign at Buoy Beer Co. Local activist, advocate begins state House run Mitchell running for Boone’s seat By Edward Stratton The Daily Astorian When Melissa Ousley dropped out of the state House race to replace re- tiring state Rep. Deborah Boone, Tiffiny Mitchell said she felt like there was no longer a candidate quite representing her views. So Mitchell became the third to file in the Democrat- ic primary in May for state House District 32, along with Tillamook County Commissioner Tim Josi and local attorney John Orr. She kicked her campaign off Monday amid a packed tap- room at Buoy Beer Co. “When she dropped out of the race, I felt this void that really needed to be rep- resented,” Mitchell said of Ousley. “I listened to the other two candidates, and it’s not that they’re not good people. They just didn’t rep- resent my values or the val- ues of so many other people that I had talked to that had also expressed that same regret that Melissa dropped out.” Mitchell is a case man- agement coordinator for the state Department of Human Services who moved to Ore- gon from Utah in 2015 with her husband, who works for Pacific Power. She is an organizer with progressive activist group Indivisible North Coast Oregon and has focused her campaign on broader social policies such as affordable housing, health care, reproductive health, stable education funding and equal pay. She has received endorsements from a variety of labor, ed- ucation, women’s and con- servation groups. “I believe that my vote will always fall on the side of the working-class person, because that’s who I am,” she said. “I have believed for a long time that we all deserve fairness in the way that we’re treated. We all deserve health care. We all deserve the things that are supposed to make our na- tion great.” When she withdrew, Ousley said she was con- cerned about splitting the vote among three Demo- cratic candidates and that her base was not strong enough to prevail. Both Mitchell and Orr, running more grassroots campaigns, face an uphill battle against Josi. The former state repre- sentative has broader name recognition and more polit- ical contributions, including from a multitude of large companies, Boone, D-Can- non Beach, and state Sen. Betsy Johnson, D-Scap- poose. Seaside teacher Vineeta Lower has filed as a Repub- lican, and Brian Halvorsen as an Independent. Patient-Centered Primary Care on the North Oregon Coast 230 Rowe Street Wheeler, Oregon 1-800-368-5182 WHEELER, OR www.rinehartclinic.org Nonprofit 501(c)(3) Federally Qualified Health Center EO Media Group At a forum that covered a range of Clatsop County issues, a few seemed to be a priority for candidates and spectators alike: job creation, emergency preparedness, a November jail bond, housing and the environment. Eight candidates for three seats on the county Board of Commissioners in the May election gathered Tuesday night for a forum at Astoria High School sponsored by the American Association of University Women and The Daily Astorian. Commissioner Lianne Thompson is facing chal- lenger Susana Gladwin — a Jewell farmer — in the race for the District 5 seat, which encompasses Cannon Beach and much of the South Coun- ty. Both discussed housing, economic development and emergency preparedness — three topics Thompson has often highlighted at commis- sion meetings, as well. The most specific proposals from each candidate came in a dis- cussion about preparedness for a Cascadia Subduction Zone earthquake and tsuna- mi. Thompson said it is crit- ical to train residents in di- saster preparation, build up supplies and establish rela- tionships with other at-risk counties. She mentioned her attendance at statewide con- ferences, which has drawn criticism from other com- missioners due to her travel expenses, as useful in this context. “We have friends all over the state to help us,” Thomp- son said. Gladwin said she was isolated for four days on her Jewell farm in 1996 due to flooding on the Nehalem Riv- er. She said Seaside needs bi- cycle evacuation drills, bridg- es and more truck routes out of cities. “We plan constantly about how as a community we will survive because we know we’ll be isolated after a bad earthquake and the bridges are down,” she said. Both Thompson and Gladwin largely avoided ad- dressing a question about the upcoming bond measure that would relocate and expand the county jail at a cost of more than $20 million. Most of the other candidates sup- ported the need for a new jail with the exception of McCa- rtin, who questioned whether such an expense is justified. Candidates to replace Commissioner Lisa Clement in District 3 are Peter Ros- coe — a former restaurateur and Astoria city councilor — Doug Thompson — a proper- ty manager and also a former Astoria city councilor — and Pamela Wev — an Astoria land use planning consultant. In District 1, Mark Ku- jala — owner of Skipanon Brand Seafood and a former Warrenton mayor — George McCartin — a retired attor- ney and regular presence at public meetings — and Andy Davis — a medical data ana- lyst — are vying for the seat being vacated by Scott Lee, the board’s chairman. While each candidate listed some specific points of interest, they all agreed on one area in need of change: the commis- sion’s functionality. Clatsop Democrats elect Larry Taylor as chairman ber. The Clatsop Taylor is retired County Democratic and served as coun- Central Committee ty chair from 2006- elected Larry Taylor 2016. He is active to lead the party as with the progres- chairperson, follow- sive movement in ing the resignation of Oregon, having led Doug Thompson. The vote came during the Larry Taylor the fight against the LNG facility within March 26 meeting of the state Democratic the committee. Taylor will fill Thompson’s unex- Party. He is also president of pired term until the party’s the broadcast nonprofit Up- regular elections in Novem- hill Media. You Are Invited! 239 N. Hemlock • Cannon Beach • 503.436.0208 Dining on the North Coast NORMA’S SEAFOOD & STEAK 20 N. Columbia, Seaside 503-738-4331 George Vetter/Cannon-Beach.net CELEBRATING 35 YEARS OF COMMUNITY RADIO! April 14, 2018 • 6–10 pm “The Ruins” Astor Hotel • 1423 Commercial Street D.J. Joey Altruda • Food • No-Host Bar Admission Free • Donations Accepted KMUN 91.9 KTCB 89.5 KPCB 90.9 coastradio.org Since 1976 discriminating diners have sought out this Seaside landmark. There’s a chalkboard fresh catchlist, exclusively natural Angus beef and a great regional wine list as well as local microbrews. From Steak & Lobster to Fish & Chips (and Chowder to die for) - this is worth the drive! 11am-10pm daily. Visit www.normasseaside.com Excellence in family dining found from a family that has been serving the North Coast for the past 52 years Great Great Great Homemade Breakfast, lunch and pasta, Clam but that’s dinner steaks & Chowder, not all... menu,too! seafood! Salads! Seaside • 323 Broadway • 738-7234 (Open 7 Days) Cannon Beach • 223 S. Hemlock 436-2851 (7am-3pm Daily) Astoria • 146 W. Bond • 325-3144