SPECIAL ELECTION EDITION | MEET THE CITY COUNCIL CANDIDATES » PAGE A16
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 18, 2018
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HermistonHerald.com
INSIDE
JUDICIAL RACE
Two Pendleton attorneys
square off for circuit
court judge
PAGE A8
THE RACE IS ON
City councilors discuss
housing, economic
development
TAXING DISTRICT
Voters faced with
choice on tax increase
to support extension
service
PAGE A8
By JADE MCDOWELL
STAFF WRITER
H
ousing, economic devel-
opment and the East-
ern Oregon Trade and
Event Center were all
topics of concern during a forum
for Hermiston City Council candi-
dates Wednesday night.
The seven candidates took ques-
tions presented by the Greater
Hermiston Area Chamber of Com-
merce. Michael Engelbrecht (Ward
4) was not at the forum after
announcing to the Hermiston Her-
ald that he is in the process of sub-
mitting paperwork to formally
withdraw from the race due to a
changing employment situation
that means he may not be living in
Hermiston next year. Incumbent
Jackie Myers (Ward 3) was also
absent from the council portion.
Questions covered a variety of
problems facing Hermiston, giving
candidates one minute each to pres-
ent a solution.
STATE RACES
A large crop of
Republicans vie for
an opportunity to
challenge Governor
Kate Brown, while a
field of Democrats eyes
Rep. Greg Walden’s
Congressional seat.
PAGE A8, A11
STAFF PHOTO BY E.J. HARRIS
State routes/highways
Rural routes
Train tracks
Metro area
Urban Growth Boundary
395
W. Punkin Center Road
N.W. 11th Street
Ward III
E. Theater Lane
N.
River
a
207
395
ad
Ro
go
Dia
W. Hermiston Avenue
S. Townsend Road
W. Ridgeway Avenue
nal
E. Main Street
W. Orchard Avenue
E. Highland Avenue
S.E. 10th Street
h
S.W. 1 7t
S.W. 11th Street
W. Highland Avenue
W. Moore Avenue
St.
W. Joseph Avenue
Riv
Hermiston
Municipal
Airport
ay
rt W
po
Air
Eastern Oregon
Trade & Event
Center
S. Ott Road
Uma
til
W. Gettman Road
S. First Street
Ward II
S. Ott Road
Uma
N.E. Fourth Street
p
oo
207
E. Elm Avenue
207
N. First Street
L
le
till
nd
Pri
e
W. Elm Avenue
lac
st P
Fir
Ward I
E. Punkin Center Road
N. Ott Road
Ward Candidate
I
Jackie Linton
Lori Davis
Mark Gomolski
II
Roy Barron
Shean Fitzgerald
III
Jackie Myers
Kyran Miller
IV
Doug Smith
la
Minnehaha
S.E. Airport Road
Ward IV
395
Raod
A team of robotics stu-
dents from Umatilla High
School are in Houston,
Texas, this week for the
world finals FRC robotics
championship.
Team 4125 Confi-
dential had a strong sea-
son, according to super-
intendent Heidi Sipe,
that included winning the
prestigous Chairman’s
Award during the quar-
terfinals in Clackamas,
semi-finals in Yakima
and another Chairman’s
Award at the Pacific
Northwest Championship.
The team will be
updating their Facebook
page during the trip and
when they return will host
a baked potato feed to
share stories and pictures
from the trip and raise
start-up money for next
year’s season.
• • •
The state legislature’s
new Joint Committee on
Student Success will be
holding a public hearing
on Wednesday, April 25 at
7 p.m. at Hermiston High
School. The committee is
holding a listening tour
Map legend
Voters will be asked on May 15 to vote for one city council candidate from each ward.
er
Robotics team
at world finals
Hermiston City Council wards
Road
BY THE WAY
Hermiston City Council candidate Jackie Linton answers a question during a candidate forum at Armand
Larive Middle School in Hermiston.
1,000 feet
207
Source: City of Hermiston
Jade McDowell and Alan
Kenaga/E.O. Media Group
Feedville Road
Feedville Road
See BTW, A11
EOTEC
A hot topic for the city recently
has been how to make the new
$17 million Eastern Oregon Trade
and Event Center financially
self-sustainable.
Several candidates mentioned
keeping VenuWorks, which was
recently contracted to run the
center’s day to day operations,
accountable and making sure the
professional venue management
company is yielding good results.
“We need to keep their feet to
the flame,” Mark Gomolski (Ward
1) said.
Roy Barron (Ward 2) said he
believed that EOTEC’s current
rental fee structure is unafford-
able for most prospective clients,
and that hurts the center’s ability
to attract events. He cited EOTEC
being passed up by the Hermis-
ton School District as a graduation
venue as an example. He also said
the facility needs to expand the ser-
vices it provides to people renting
the event center.
Shean Fitzgerald (Ward 2) said
he thought the city should also seek
private donations and volunteer
work to help supplement the city’s
support for EOTEC.
Housing
One of the council’s current
goals is tackling a shortage of
affordable housing for families
moving to Hermiston. Jackie Lin-
ton (Ward 1) said she believes the
See CITY RACE, A16
Opposite stances in
contested county races
By PHIL WRIGHT
STAFF WRITER
STAFF PHOTO BY E.J. HARRIS
Umatilla County Commissioner George Murdock answers a question about
the county budget during a candidate forum on Wednesday at Armand
Larive Middle School in Hermiston. Murdock is running against Tom Bailor
and Rick Pullen.
Umatilla County commissioner
candidates managed to take some
shots at each other last week in
spite of rules banning exchanges
during a forum on April 11.
Rick Pullen and Tom Bailor
are challenging Commissioner
George Murdock for Position 1 on
the county’s three-member board.
All three live in Pendleton. And
Athena Mayor John Shafer aims
to unseat Commissioner Larry
Givens of Umapine from Position
2. The five men sat at the same
table last Wednesday night for a
forum at Armand Larive Middle
School, Hermiston.
The Hermiston Chamber of
Commerce helped sponsor the
event, which attracted about 50
people. Under the rules, a modera-
tor asked each candidate the same
question, but the candidates were
not allowed to debate each other.
The topics ranged from economic
development and housing to men-
tal health, from law enforcement
to balancing the county budget.
Givens led off with economic
See COUNTY RACE, PAGE A11