FOUR - Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon Wednesday, April 26,2006
Candidates’ Forum
...continued front page 3
If elected, what is
the b ig g est c h a lle n g e
facing you? Our county’s
methamphetamine problem.
U sers com m only com m it
property crimes to support
th e ir habits o r reso rt to
dealing or attem pting to
manufacture it to feed their
addiction. Many ingredients
used to manufacture meth
are toxic and meth users
aren't always careful in their
handling of these substances.
This creates a hazard not
only for law enforcement but
also for any innocent person
who stumbles upon a meth
lab or its rem ains, not to
m ention the burden of
exorbitant clean up costs.
D om estic violence, child
abuse and o th e r person
crimes are also a concern due
to the ag g re ssiv e states
associated with meth use.
What do you plan
to
do
ab ou t
the
methamphetamine
problem in M orrow
County? I am committed to
aggressively prosecuting
methamphetamine crimes.
There is no quick and easy
solution to this epidemic but
I am encouraged by working
with local law enforcement
including the BENT team
and by the recent addition of
K-9 units to the Sheriff’s
O ffice. R ecently, 1 was
involved in the development
of Drug Endangered Child
protocols so that through a
collaboration of prosecution,
law enforcement and child
p ro te c tiv e serv ice s, our
county’s most vulnerable
victims of meth, will not be
forgotten.
Is there anything
you could do to help crime
victims better have their
day in court? We can take
advantage o f the support
person for Victims of Violent
Crimes law that took effect
at the beginning of the year.
M any victim s fear, with
good cause, being tom apart
on the witness stand by a
defense attorney, and having
a support person available
can be invaluable. Victims’
rights extend farther than
just having their day in court.
It's important for a district
attorney to be accessible and
work in cooperation with the
V ic tim 's
A ssistan ce
D irecto r, as I have
experience doing, to address
q u e stio n s o r co n cern s
th ro u g h o u t the e n tire
process arid help empower
victim.
W hat is you r
opinion of Jessica’s Low
for Oregon? We must do
e v ery th in g p o ssib le to
....
-
.protect our chi dren from
r
.
.
sex u al p re d a to rs. As
M orrow C ounty D eputy
D istric t A tto rn ey , I'v e
worked w ith many child sex
abuse victims, including one
seven year old that had to
testify against her abuser at
tria l. T hat little girl
demonstrated a courage that
most of us can only imagine
and as a result her abuser is
serving two M easure 11
sentences o f 150 months in
prison. Jessica’s Law would
enable law enforcement to
better track the whereabouts
of sex offenders by requiring
those convicted of failing to
register more than, twice to
w ear glo b al track in g
devices.
John L. Ballard, of
H erm iston ,
has
one
daughter, Sarah, who is 15.
He graduated from
high school in Des Moines,
1A.
He
received his
bachelor of
arts degree
(summacum
laude) from
Buena Vista
C o llege in
Iowa and his
juris doctor
w i t h
John Mallard
d is tin c tio n
w as
receiv ed
from
University of North Dakota
School of Law. He has been
practicing since 1997 and
p ra c ticin g in M orrow
County since 1999.
Ballard has had nine
years of handling complex
criminal cases, extensive,
jury trial experience and has
a thorough understanding of
advanced legal concepts
including but not limited to
procedural law, suppression
issues, and evidence. He is a
small business owner and
with that has honed skills of
b u d g etin g ,
em ployee
m anagem en t, b u sin ess
o p e ra tio n s and fin an ce
management.
Why would a voter
select you over your
opponent? I offer a strong
work ethic. I have not had
the o p p o rtu n ity to take,
significant amounts of time
off work to campaign due to
the respo n sib ility to my
clients- I will bring to the
office of District attorney a
no-nonsense approach to
vigorous law enforcement
and community protection
for all of Morrow County. I
will stand up for all citizens.
I will follow-through with
cases su p p o rtin g law
enforcement, victims, and
M orrow C o u n ty ’s best
interests. The dismissal rate
of cases will decline, cases
charged, should be followed
through on appropriate. I am
. • ,
„
\ •„ . ,
a trial attorney, I will take
ELECT
attorney for Umatilla and
M orrow C ounty Public
Defenders from 1985-1995.
In 1995, he became district
attorney for Umatilla County
and currently serves in that
position.
Brauer has been a
member of the Rotary Club
since 1995 and served two
terms as director. He is also
a m em ber of Leadership
Pendleton - Courts, Law
and Public Safety Program
C o o rd in ato r (nine years
1998 - p re sen t); and
Leadership Hermiston and
L ead ersh ip
M ilton-
F reew ater as sp ea k e r/
participant.
B ra u e r’s p o litical
e x p erien ce com es from
serving as district attorney
for Umatilla County for 11
years, being elected and re
elected. He also served as
the
O regon
D istrict
A tto rn ey s A sso ciatio n
President in 2002. He is the
fo rm er S p ecial D eputy
Prosecutor in D eschutes,
Union, Linn and Morrow
counties.
Other qualification
and experiences he has had
include: Local Public Safety
C o o rd in a tin g
C ouncil
(1995-present); U m atilla
C ounty
C om m unity
C o rre c tio n s
A dvisory
C om m ittee (1985-1995);
U m atilla C ounty S enior
Management Team (1995-
present); Umatilla County
Jail Advisory Board ( 1985-
p re sen t); S tate Prison
A dvisory C o m m ittee at
EOCI
(2 0 0 0 -p rese n t);
O regon S tate Board on
Public Safety Standards and
T rain in g (1 9 9 9 -2 0 0 5 );
Oregon Judicial Department
C rim in al
C aseflow
Management Pilot Project
(2006).
Why would a voter
select you over your
opponent? I am a hard
w orking, p rin cip led and
ethical public servant whose
dedication to public safety,
human dignity and the rule
o f law has d ire c ted my
professional life for more
than two decades. 1 bring a
scholar’s approach to legal
issues and a tough, no
n o n sen se, ap p ro ach to
crime.
I am an advocate for
learning
and education who
High
has participated for years in
Sc hool
e d u catin g
O re g o n 's
a n d
lawyers. I am an enthusiastic
received
participant in the leadership
h i s
p
ro g ram s o f several
bachelor
municipalities. I will use my
o f arts
legal acumen and scholastic
d e g re e
a
p titu d e to c arefu lly ,
f r o m
im
p artially ,
and
Willamette
m e tic u lo u sly serve the
University Chris Brauer
and his ju ris d o c to r at Circuit Court as judge.
For m ore than 20
Gonzaga School of Law.
years
I
have
been a respected
He worked as a staff
cases before juries to get
c o n v ic tio n s and tough
sentences. I will begin by
charging cases correctly,
b ecau se
I have the
ex p erien c e and train in g
necessary to understand the
e n tire p ro cess b efo re it
begins.
If elected, what is
the b ig g est ch a lle n g e
fa cin g you? A fter 1 re
vitalize and reinvigorate our
prosecution of criminals in
our county, I will advocate
to our legislature the need
for prison sen ten ces for
repeat drug offenders.
What do you plan
to
do
abou t
the
methamphetamine
problem in M orrow
C ou n ty? I intend to
coordinate our various law
enforcem ent agencies to
c reate
a stream lin ed
approach to rapid and tough
prosecution a meth users. 1
will insist upon an approach
of zero tolerance of repeat
offenders. I will be available
to officers for assistance
when they are at the scene
of potential drug activities
to properly process crime
scenes.
Is there anything
you could do to help crime
victims better have their
day in co u rt? No plea
negotiations should ever be
completed without the full
input o f a crim e victim .
Crim e victim s should be
involved in every aspect of a
criminal prosecution, from
ch arg in g the crim e to
sentencing the defendant.
Communication with victims
is key to providing services
to them th ro u g h o u t the
process.
W hat is your
opinion of Jessica's Law
for Oregon? It is time to get
sexual
p re d a to rs
to
u nderstand that we as a
society promise to protect
our children. Rape and abuse
of children is as serious as
murder. The sentences for
such crimes should be as
serious.
Running for Circuit
Court Judge are Christopher
Brauer, Steven Fogelson and
Annetta Spicer.
C h risto p h er R.
B rauer, o f P en d leto n ,
graduated from Sam Barlow
Taub dirai is/
legal p ra c titio n e r in the
courthouses of Umatilla and
Morrow counties.
1 have emphasized
criminal law for 25 years as
both a p ro se cu to r and
defender with experience as
a partner in a law firm and
as a sole practitioner in civil
practice.
If elected, what is
the b iggest c h a llen g e
facing you? The biggest
challenge facing the courts is
the staggering effect on the
legal system (civil, criminal,
and juvenile) caused by the
use
of
in to x ic a tin g
su b sta n c es, p a rtic u la rly
dru g s
and
alco h o l.
Combinations of strategies
including drug court, social
programming, education and
consequential punishment
m ust be d e v elo p e d to
address this huge issue.
W hat
is your
opinion of Measure 11 and
should judges have more
discretion in sentencing?
M easure
11 req u ires
m andatory
m inim um
sen ten ces for the m ost
heinous criminal offenses
such as m urder, rape,
ro b b ery , sex u al abuse,
kidnapping and so on. The
o rig in al co m p lain t that
ju d ic ia l d isc re tio n in
sentencing is thwarted, has
largely been addressed by
changes in the law (ORS
137.712), w hich restore
judicial discretion in most
second-degree offenses. The
other controversial issue
w ith M easure 11 is its
treatment of 15, 16 and 17
year old offenders as adults.
If M easure 11 is to be
modified further, one line of
thinking could be to afford
these youngest offenders a
“second look” and a hope of
sentence reduction if good
conduct and attention to
programming merit it after a
portion of the sentence has
been served.
Is there anything
you could do to help crime
victims better have their
day in co u rt? V ictim s
deserve to be treated with
dignity and respect and are
now
a ffo rd ed
constitutionally protected
rig h ts. V ictim s are not
second-class citizens to the
o ffen d ers
w ho
have
victim ized them and are
e n title d to be serio u sly
consulted in serious cases.
Every judge should insure
that this consultation has
occurred pursuant to the law
and. further, should allow the
victim every opportunity to
be heard and to be afforded
restitution by the offender.
What would you do
to m ake sure M orrow
C ounty has ad eq u ate
judicial coverage? There is
simply no excuse for lack of
judicial coverage in Morrow
r
Family &. Friends of
'
Brian H oltz are invited
to help celebrate his
30th birthday,
Saturday, A p ril 29 at
the Morrow County Fair
Pavilion. Potluck-style
dinner served at 6 p.m.,
meat provided.
No gifts, please.
J
County whenever needed
and for whatever purpose.
Electronic technology and
dedication of an “on-call’’
judge can help to accomplish
this important requirement.
Steve Fogelson, and
his w ife o f four years,
Teresa, live in Pendleton.
Fogelson has two children,
Reid, 21 and Leslie, 19.
Fogelson graduated
f r o m
South
E u g en e
Seni or
Hi g h
School
a n d
received
h i s
bachelor
O
f
- -
Steve Fogelson
science degree and his juris
doctor from the University
of Oregon. He has been a
member of the Oregon State
Bar since 1983.
C u rren tly , he is
employed as a sole private
practitioner. He has also
worked as a police office in
Oregon City and Reno, NV.
In the law field, he has
worked as a law clerk; as a
student intern for the Lane
County District Attorney’s
O ffice; served as deputy
d istric t
atto rn ey
and
promoted to chief deputy
district attorney for Umatilla
County; and served a tribal
p ublic d efen d er for the
Confederate Tribes of the
Umatilla Indian Reservation
for Oregon.
Fogelson has been a
member of the Pendleton
Lions since 1985 and is a
fundraiser for MDA and was
the top money raiser three
years in a row.
Other experience or
qualification that Fogelson
has includes: taught criminal
law and fire law at Blue
M ountain
C om m unity
College; taught criminal law
in S atu rd ay A cadem y
Program ;
d ev elo p ed
program for high schools on
dangers o f drinking and
driving; was co-chair of the
W est End C hild A buse
P ro tectio n Team ; have
worked with diverse groups
o f p eople and ag en cies
in clu d in g p o lice, DH S,
counselors, child advocates,
domestic violence services
and attorneys in developing
programs and protocols for
handling sexual, physical and
mental child abuse; have
taught law enforcement in
areas of criminal law, search
and seiz u re , te stify in g ,
investigation of child abuse,
and vehicular homicide.
Why would a voter
select you over your
opponent? I have real life
e x p e rie n c e s, w hich are
valuable in a trial court
judge. I have been married,
raised children, divorced and
custodial and non-custodial
parent. Family law is a major
co m p o n en t o f the court
docket. Along with 14 years
of family practice, these are
valuable to understanding of
the needs of the parties and
children. I have been police
o ffic e r and have m ore
criminal law experience than
... continued on page 5
VOTE
LOYAL
BURNS
MORROW COUNTY
COMMISSIONER
"Experience that can work for you!"
STEVEN
One of the most valuable lessons a child can learn is how
to save money. It s a discipline that can be learned at an early
age. Learning the facts of money early on can change a child’s
future. Open a children s savings account today. Get the
grandparents involved too. They will he glad to help.
Having a little money tucked away is a good feeling,
even for a five year old. Open an account today.
Celebrate the spirit o f your hometown !
Bank o f
FDIC
Eastern Oregon
FOGELSON
for
CIRCUIT COURT
JU D G E
Member
Umatilla/Morrow Counties
(Position No. S)