OPINION
A4 HERMISTONHERALD.COM
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2015
EDITORIAL • COMMENTARY • LETTERS
HermistonHerald
VOLUME 109 ɿ NUMBER 13
JESSICA KELLER
EDITOR
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541-564-4533
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newsprint
Valentine humbug
A
h, the holidays
are upon us. Of
course, the holidays
are always upon us, as
it seems there’s always
something just in the rear
view mirror or coming up
on the road ahead. Just past
is Groundhog Day. There’s
something indescribably
amazing about living in the
only industrialized nation
with a holiday dedicated
to a large ground-dwelling
rodent. Makes us kind of
special, it does.
Ahead is the ever
popular Valentine’s Day. A
holiday like many others,
where the spiritual side has
long since vanished into
the commercial. Originally
— and still celebrated as
— SAINT Valentine’s Day
in some churches, most
Americans (other than
maybe those churchgoers
who celebrate it) couldn’t
tell you who St. Valentine
was, what he did or why
he was a saint. Saintly
WUDGLWLRQVRIVDFUL¿FHDQG
service have passed away,
WXUQHGLQWRFDUGVÀRZHUV
and chocolate. However,
the commercialization has
not yet risen to the point of
sales of hollow chocolate
St. Valentines, which is a
good thing since biting the
ears off those would be
GLI¿FXOW
Urban legend to
the contrary — that
Valentine’s Day is a made
up holiday foisted on
an unwary public by the
FDUGÀRZHUDQGFKRFRODWH
industries, the celebration
of Valentine’s Day as a
festival of love dates back
to the 15th century, long
before chocolate had been
discovered or greeting
cards invented. There were
wars about roses, though.
Though l’amour was part
of the holiday through
the centuries, the modern
heavy involvement of
WKHFKRFRODWHÀRZHU
and card industries
began around the end of
the 18th and early 19th
centuries. That slippery
commercial slope is then
where we are today, with
aisles and aisles of love
waiting to happen, with
everything from dollar
cards to gadjillion-dollar
diamonds waiting to
help you express your
love and affection to
your sweetheart. Or your
would-be sweetheart.
Or the person who’d be
your sweetheart if the
restraining order ever
Letters Policy
THOMAS CREASING
OFF THE BENCH
Herald columnist
expires.
Other nations are not
immune to the romance of
Valentine’s Day, though
Asian countries have a
unique spin on the process.
In Korea, it was traditional
on Valentine’s Day for
women to give chocolates
or other candies to men.
March 14 was then “White
Day,” where men would
then give chocolates or
other candies to the women
in their lives. Finally,
April 14 was Black Day
(appropriately close to Tax
Day here) where, in theory,
everyone who had not
received any chocolates
on Valentine’s Day or
White Day gathered at
their favorite restaurants
and ordered jajangmyeon,
a tasty Korean noodle
dish made with black
bean sauce. Presumably
this would allow those
suffering from a romance-
free lifestyle to notice
each other and plan the
exchange of chocolates the
next year.
On the other hand,
according to that font of
all knowledge and wisdom
in the modern world —
Wikipedia — Valentine’s
Day is illegal in Saudi
Arabia. I don’t know
whether their February
calendar goes straight
from 13 to 15, or if there’s
simply a booming black
market trade in hollow
chocolate St. Valentines
there. Given the medieval
methods of punishment
in that part of the world,
visitors should avoid
having a rose in their
possession on or about the
14th, just to be on the safe
side.
So where’s the opinion
in all this? Nothing
particular, though maybe
it’d be worth trying to
market hollow chocolate
St. Valentines for the
romantic holiday, even if
biting off the ears would
be a nightmare. Share
your romantic opinions
in response with letters
to the editor or by email
to hermistonherald
offthebench@gmail.com.
Names of the terminally
shy will be withheld on
request.
— Thomas Creasing is
a Hermiston resident and
Herald columnist
The Hermiston Herald welcomes original letters for
publication on public issues and public policies. Submitted
letters must be signed by the author and include the city of
residence and a daytime phone number. Phone numbers
will not be published. Letters may be mailed to the
Hermiston Herald, 333 E. Main, Hermiston, OR, 97838;
or emailed to editor@hermistonherald.com
Mayor: Judge appointment well thought out
BY DAVE DROTZMANN
SPECIAL TO THE
HERMISTON HERALD
Editor,
The City Council’s
proposal for a new char-
ter has been well covered
by the local news media.
I would like to offer my
thoughts and perspective
to this issue.
The City Council
recognized that the city
charter had been in place
for almost 60 years. They
found many provisions
needed to be removed
or modified as they no
longer served the needs
of our community and/
or were contradictory
to state and federal law.
Just by way of example,
our current charter re-
quires that any person
who seeks to run for
council must be a “free-
holder upon property lo-
cated within the city of
Hermiston,” which is no
longer a valid require-
ment under state and fed-
eral law.
The council took on
the project of a thorough
review of this important
document to update the
language and to provide
a document that will last
many years into the fu-
ture. Our charter is our
city’s constitution, and it
shouldn’t need frequent
adjustments in order to
function properly.
Because of the coun-
cil’s recognition of this
project’s importance, the
city hired the law firm of
Beery, Elsner and Ham-
mond to guide them.
The firm worked closely
with the League of Or-
egon Cities to develop
the Model Charter for
Oregon Cities. Chad Ja-
cobs, the specific attor-
ney the council worked
with, has extensive local
government experience.
The Model Charter for
Oregon Cities was used
as a guide due to its use
by many cities and its
provision of a solid legal
framework for municipal
organizations in Oregon.
With these factors
forming the background
of the charter review pro-
cess, the council drafted
an updated charter that is
more concise, easier to
use and understand and is
consistent with state and
federal law. In short, the
council worked diligent-
ly to craft a new charter
that will better meet the
present and future needs
of the city.
One particular issue
in the draft charter has
risen to the forefront of
discussion. As your read-
ers are likely well aware,
the council has discussed
changing the municipal
judge from an elected
position to an appointed
position. There is at least
a segment of our commu-
nity that has caught hold
of this issue. I want to of-
fer my perspective on the
reason for proposing this
change.
At the outset, it is im-
portant we are all clear
that this discussion was
not about the current
judge or about con-
trolling the rulings that
come from the court or
taking away anyone’s
right to vote. The current
judge may very well be
the appointee under the
newly proposed scenario,
and, under the new pro-
posed scenario, neither
the council nor the city
manager would have any
control over the judge’s
rulings. Rather, the pro-
posal is an attempt to
align Hermiston with the
overwhelming majority
of other cities in Ore-
gon (according to data
compiled by the League
of Oregon Cities only
approximately four of
Oregon’s 133 municipal
court judges are elected)
and provide a mechanism
for the council and city
manager to control the
administrative affairs of
the court such as budget-
ing and personnel.
The proposed change
also reflects a desire to
make sure the communi-
ty has an opportunity to
fully discuss the qualifi-
cations of the municipal
court judge.
At this point
in our history,
election-turn-
out percent-
ages are not
Drotzmann very
high
for munici-
pal elections
held off-cycle of state-
wide and national elec-
tions. This lack of par-
ticipation in the electoral
process gives many peo-
ple concern. Selecting a
judge with an appoint-
ment process will allow
a more thorough and de-
liberate discussion of the
qualifications, skills and
abilities of those inter-
ested in the job. Having a
thorough and transparent
hiring process will allow
the community, through
the council, to select the
most qualified candidate.
In reality, the position
of municipal court judge
is that of a department
head of a very special-
ized department of the
city. It is not typically a
political position, and it
shouldn’t be treated as
one. The proposal to ap-
point a judge provides
the option for a process
much more similar to
the selection of other
department heads with-
in the city. This process
provides an opportunity
to select a judge based
on demonstrated knowl-
edge, skills and abilities.
Having an appointed
judge relieves the judge
of the need to worry
about re-election and the
need to seek votes from
those whom he or she
must rule in favor of or
against on a daily basis.
Taking the politics out of
the process will hopeful-
ly create the perception,
if not reality, of a more
neutral tribunal.
An elected judge can
also cause a lot of prob-
lems from a management
perspective.
Elected
judges can get cities into
trouble through mis-
management of city
funds and not following
applicable labor laws.
Because removal of an
elected judge relies al-
most entirely on the re-
call process, there is very
little ability to control an
elected judge who cre-
ates liability for a city by
violating these laws. It
is widely acknowledged
in cities across Oregon
that an elected judge is
much more difficult to
discipline. It is also rec-
ognized that there really
is not any mechanism
available to provide a
means to correct prob-
lems of this nature with
an elected judge. The
proposal to move to an
appointed judge seeks to
remedy this problem.
Finally, it is the mayor
and council’s most im-
portant task to oversee
the funds of the city. For
them and the city man-
ager to keep a separate-
ly elected department
head within established
budgetary requirements
can be a difficult job.
Depending on the per-
sonality of the separately
elected official, this can
become a contentious
task at best. As I stated
earlier, there has never
been intent to manage or
control the way the judge
rules but simply the way
the operation of the de-
partment is managed.
The issue of an elect-
ed or appointed judge
should not take away
from the need for a new
and modern city charter.
To that end, the council
has proposed two sepa-
rate ballot measures. One
will be for the commu-
nity to decide if they ap-
prove of the changes to
the charter as suggested
with our current elected
judge position. The sec-
ond measure, if the com-
munity agrees with the
council, is an immediate
amendment to appoint
the judge. By having two
separate measures, the
voters can decide the is-
sue of an elected or ap-
pointed municipal court
judge on its own merits,
separate and apart from
the adoption of a new
charter.
ELECTED OFFICIALS
STATE
District 29: Sen. Bill Hansell,
R-Umatilla Co., 900 Court St. N.E.,
S-423, Salem, OR 97301, 503-986-
1729. 101 S.W. Third St., Pendleton,
OR 97801 (541) 278-1396. E-mail:
ssen.billhansell@state.or.us.
District 30: Sen. Ted Ferrio-
li, R-John Day; 900 Court St. N.E.,
S-223 Salem, OR 97301, 503-986-
1950. 750 W. Main, John Day, OR
97845, (541) 575-2321. E-mail: ferr-
ioli.sen@state.or.us.
District 58: Rep. Bob Jenson,
R-Pendleton; 900 Court St. N.E.,
H-480, Salem, OR 97301, 503-986-
1458. 2126 N.W. 21st., Pendleton,
OR 97801, (541) 276-2707. E-mail:
rep.bobjenson@state.or.us.
District 57: Rep. Greg Smith,
R-Morrow, 900 Court St. N.E.,
H-280, Salem, OR 97301, 503-986-
1457. P.O. Box 215, Heppner, OR
97836, (541) 676-5154. E-mail:
smith.g.rep@state.or.us.
FEDERAL
U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden
Sac Annex Building, 105 Fir St.,
No. 201, La Grande, OR 97850;
(541) 962-7691. E-mail: kath-
leen_cathey@wyden.senate.gov;
(Kathleen Cathey, community repre-
sentative); 717 Hart Building, Wash-
ington, D.C. 20510, (202) 224-5244.
U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley
One World Trade Center, 121 SW
Salmon Street, Suite 1250, Portland,
OR 97204; (503) 326-3386; Dirksen
6HQDWH 2I¿FH %XLOGLQJ 6'%%
Washington, D.C. 20510. (202) 224-
3753.
U.S. Rep. Greg Walden (2nd
District)
843 E. Main St., Suite 400, Med-
ford, OR 97504, (541) 776-4646,
(800) 533-3303; 2352 Rayburn
+RXVH2I¿FH%XLOGLQJ:DVKLQJWRQ
D.C. 20515, (202) 225-6730