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About Hermiston herald. (Hermiston, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 21, 2018)
A8 • HERMISTONHERALD.COM WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 21, 2018 OPINION Flying high with Olympic fever Capitol is cumbersome for a reason I remember the first time I sat in a government meeting, put my head in my hands, and thought, “what is the point of this?” I was new to reporting, and didn’t want to sit until 9 p.m. on an empty stomach and listen to city councilors have the first of what would be many discus- sions about whether to implement a plas- tic bag ban in the city. To me the JAYATI answer seemed obvi- RAMA- ous. All the council- KRISHNAN ors, even, seemed to already know how they wanted to vote. But still they talked, and weary audience mem- bers listened. Surprisingly, I made it out of that meeting, and went on to report several others. But in a few years of covering various forms of gov- ernment, whether school boards, port and county commissions, or city council, I’ve noticed that pat- tern endures: discussion at the local government level can seem long, and delves into minutiae of issues that don’t seem relevant to the public. I observed some of the same things at the state government level last week, when my Leader- ship Hermiston class took a trip to Salem. We were hosted by our State Representative, Greg Smith, and treated to an excellent tour of the statehouse by his legislative assis- tant, Phil Scheuers. The two-day class included meetings with the governor, speaker of the house and house minority leader. We visited the state courthouse and spoke with several lobbyists that work with Eastern Oregon businesses such as dairy farms and power companies. We also spent about an hour on the House floor, listening to open- ing ceremonies and a small amount of discussion. We left, though, during the reading of an individ- ual bill, which lasted more than an hour. As Rep. Smith told us, the senate Republican leader was opposed to the bill, which dealt with end-of-life care, and asked for it to be read in its entirety, 30-plus pages of text. This pushed back several other bills scheduled to be read on the House floor that day. Ultimately, the bill ended up pass- ing, right along party lines. PHOTO CONTRIBUTED BY FRAN RICE Leadership Hermiston Class 21 visits with Oregon Governor Kate Brown at the Oregon State Capitol in Salem. “If you don’t engage in discussion, you become a victim of it.” Lobbyist Craig Campbell It took me back to the days of listening to three hours of discus- sion in which nobody changed their minds, but something Scheuers said after we left gave me pause. “The reason democracy is meant to be a little cumbersome is that you want debate,” he said. “You don’t want quick government. Any time you run something through, you end up spending next session doing cleanup bills, because of unintended consequences.” He’s right, of course, that the process does, and should take time. It’s easy to get annoyed when you end up writing what feels like the same story for months, as legis- lators debate and discuss minor changes that don’t seem to have any obvious impact. But that discourse can mean the difference between good legislation and disastrous legislation. And the fact that we can be privy to those discussions is an under-utilized privilege. What I’d like to see, both as a reporter and a citizen, is mak- ing sure that long debate is worth 0 it. Are constituents going to be better or worse off as a result of your long-term consideration of an issue? I maintain those coun- cilors could have made up their minds about those plastic bags in two months, rather than the six or seven it took. Something like the gun control bill that passed through the Oregon House last week war- rants careful and serious discussion — but I would hope that, too, is important enough to decide in a rel- atively short time. It’s incumbent on citizens, too, to familiarize themselves with the process. My understanding of state legislative procedures was fuzzy at best prior to this trip, but there’s no reason for it to be. If you have a representative like Smith, who makes himself readily available to his constituents, it’s your responsi- bility to take advantage of it. Visit the statehouse, listen in on a com- mittee meeting, learn how local and state government work, and ask questions of your legislators. That’s why they’re there. When lobbyist Craig Campbell came to speak to our class, he said: “If you don’t engage in discussion, you become a victim of it.” As citizens of a government in which we’re all supposed to have a say, we would do well to remem- ber that. ——— Jayati Ramakrishnan is a reporter for the Hermiston Herald and East Oregonian. during the 2018 Olympics — I’m a Winter Olympics that honor (or dishonor) goes junkie, but several things con- nected with things happen- to Elizabeth Swaney, a U.S. ing in PyeongChang have me citizen who represented Hun- gary in the women’s scratching my head. freeski halfpipe. Reminiscent of “the It seems she manip- artist formerly known ulated her way into the as Prince,” the Russian Olympics by grabbing competitors are being onto her grandparent’s referred to as Olympic Hungarian heritage and Athletes from Russia. then traveling around This is the International Tammy the world to compete Olympic Committee’s Malgesini in low-attended com- way of allowing Rus- INSIDE MY petitions. She “earned” sian athletes a chance to SHOES an Olympic berth by compete despite the mis- deeds of their fellow country- placing in the top 30 of the men and widespread cheating required number of competi- tions, which wasn’t hard since through a government doping some contests didn’t even program. They can’t be referred to as draw 15 athletes. She did all this without so much as per- the Russian team, they aren’t forming what competitors con- allowed to wear their coun- try’s colors, they can’t carry sider tricks. The key was to the Russian flag or play the stay upright and finish. national anthem and medals I’m not even bragging won won’t go toward the Rus- when I say I could do better sian medal count total in his- than her. However, I know I tory books. But, evidently, don’t possess the skills of an Olympic athlete — that’s why they can still use banned I’m at home watching from substances. my daybed rather than strap- Even with the vetting pro- cess, an Olympic curler from ping skis on and pretending to Russia tested positive in a pre- be an elite athlete. liminary test for a banned sub- My favorite part of the stance over the weekend. Seri- Olympics is short track speed ously, though, curling? skating. And its relay event — Don’t get me wrong, I they call it organized chaos — is the bomb. My co-workers enjoy watching grown men seem to think that statement and women slide around on resembles the condition of my ice while using a Swiffer to desk area. clear the way. But I question The thing with short track why a curling athlete would is I have to wait four years even need a performance-en- hancing drug. to see it. Unlike many other Over the weekend, I was Olympic events, short track impressed with a seemingly competitions held throughout profound statement by Cammi the year aren’t televised. Granato regarding the United When my head felt like it States women’s hockey team. would explode last Tuesday, I A former Olympian — she’s a decided to stay home. When 1998 gold medal and 2002 sil- I discovered that short track ver medal winner in hockey — was being televised, it made she’s qualified to give an insid- the decision that much easier. er’s view. I said seemingly, I feel a relapse coming on this however, because when a Fol- Thursday. gers commercial came on, I ——— realized she pretty much stole Tammy Malgesini is the the statement from the coffee community editor. Her column, Inside my Shoes, includes mus- company. 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