WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 15, 2018
HERMISTONHERALD.COM • A3
LOCAL
Democrat McLeod-Skinner includes
Hermiston on campaign trail stop
By JADE MCDOWELL
STAFF WRITER
R
ep. Greg Walden’s
challenger in the
November election
spent time in Hermiston last
week, including a visit to
the county fair.
Jamie McLeod-Skinner,
running against the incum-
bent for U.S. Congressio-
nal District 2, said partway
through the visit that she was
enjoying the opportunities to
get to know the area better
and meet with local farmers.
McLeod-Skinner
describes herself a “rural
Democrat” who spent her
time as a teenager outside
Ashland riding horses, herd-
ing sheep and bucking hay
(her family moved to Ore-
gon when she was a teen).
She worked on water-re-
lated humanitarian proj-
ects in post-war Kosovo and
Bosnia and later returned to
the United States to work
for the same organization’s
refugee resettlement pro-
gram. She used her civil
engineering degree to work
on water systems projects
in the Santa Clara, Califor-
nia area, served on a variety
of water-related boards and
later went back to school for
a law degree, specializing in
water, natural resource and
Indian law.
“I’ve got a real interest in
water,” she said.
She said if she repre-
sented Eastern Oregon in
Washington, D.C. she would
be interested in encouraging
compacts to allow area farm-
STAFF PHOTO BY KATHY ANEY
Democratic Congressional candidate Jamie McLeod-Skinner
talks to people at a recent Pendleton Farmers Market.
ers to draw more water from
the Columbia River while
still balancing the need to
protect fish.
McLeod-Skinner
has
some experience in politics
at the local level, including
years on the Santa Clara city
council and a four month-
long stint as city manager
of Phoenix, Oregon. She
said she was the eighth city
manager in seven years and
blames the city council’s
dysfunction as the reason
she didn’t last long either
before being fired.
She said she believes in
“people over party” — a
philosophy that she argues
Walden has moved far-
ther away from the lon-
ger he stays in Washington,
D.C. She said it won’t mat-
ter to her which side of the
aisle good ideas come from,
as long as she can help the
government
implement
common-sense solutions or
“know when to get out of the
way.”
McLeod-Skinner is a
believer in renewable energy
and said the government
should be investing there.
After spending time in East-
ern Oregon on the campaign
trail she has some ideas for
economic development that
could also help the environ-
ment, such as a recycling
center that would help pro-
cess some of the plastics that
China is no longer taking.
“It would ultimately need
to be a private venture, of
course, but I could see a
major investment of pub-
lic-sector funds,” she said.
McLeod-Skinner
said
Republicans “gave too
much away” to corpora-
tions during last year’s tax
cut package and she believes
they are now going to use
the resulting deficit increase
as an excuse to cut Medi-
care and Social Security —
something she plans to fight.
She also said she believes
the Affordable Care Act
must be improved, but not in
a way that will make people
lose coverage.
“We need to be helping to
move it forward and not con-
tinually undermining it,” she
said.
She said she is concerned
with rising college costs as
well, and would like to see
a sort of “civilian GI bill”
where young people could
get their education paid
for in exchange for public
service.
She discussed a middle-
of-the-road vision for immi-
gration. She does not believe
in open borders, but does
believe that those who are
already here illegally should
have some sort of path to
legal residency without leav-
ing the country, if they pay
a fine for breaking the law
and haven’t committed other
crimes. She also believes that
instead of “terrorizing fami-
lies” ICE should be focused
on protecting the country
from legitimately dangerous
people and fighting human
trafficking related to illegal
immigration.
“I believe there is a com-
mon-sense way to move
forward, that’s fair to
hard-working folks trying to
put food on their table, that
respects our laws but also
helps the agricultural sys-
tem,” she said.
Lacrosse program asks for fields at EOTEC
By JADE MCDOWELL
STAFF WRITER
The city of Hermiston
is looking at developing 20
acres of lacrosse fields at the
Eastern Oregon Trade and
Event Center.
The proposed sports
fields would be created in
the undeveloped acres near
EOTEC’s main entrance,
currently used for overflow
parking during the Umatilla
County Fair.
According to a news
release from the city, “the
intention would be to design
the grass fields in a way to
allow that temporary (park-
ing) use to take place each
August and return them to
playing condition for the
remainder of the year.”
Hermiston
Youth
Lacrosse approached the
city, which took over full
ownership of EOTEC this
spring, and VenuWorks, the
professional management
company running EOTEC
on behalf of the city, with
the proposal.
Under their proposal, the
lacrosse organization would
contribute about $95,000
in monetary and in-kind
donations it has secured
to develop the multi-sport
fields, with the understand-
ing that lacrosse would take
first priority.
As
Hermiston
has
grown, the community
has struggled to keep up
with demand for sports
fields. In 2012, the city
invested
approximately
$180,000 toward develop-
ing two soccer fields near
Rocky Heights Elementary
School.
“The sport of lacrosse
has been growing rapidly in
the Hermiston area, but the
growth causes field avail-
Hermiston
August 31,
September 1 & 2,
2018
Class of 1958
For information call
High School
Reunion
Rita J. Walker
541-567-5356
ability shortages when other
sports seasons overlap,” the
news release states.
The proposal was briefly
discussed at Monday’s
council meeting, but the
council unanimously voted
to wait for further review
before making a decision.
The city has appointed an
EOTEC advisory board
made up of representa-
tives from the city, Umatilla
County Fair, Farm-City Pro
Rodeo, hospitality indus-
try and community at large,
but major decisions such as
the lacrosse fields are still
brought before the council
for a vote.
The committee and Venu-
Works are also working on a
written long-term plan for
EOTEC, which opened its
event center in the spring of
2016 and hosted the its first
fair last year.
Neal to succeed
father as Port of
Morrow manager
a wealth of things — eco-
nomic development, ship-
ping, helping businesses.
We need someone who
The Port of Morrow has understands our port.”
He said the
a new helmsman.
commission has
Ryan Neal, the
not yet given Neal
current
general
a start date, but
manager of ware-
housing for the
estimated it will
Port of Morrow,
be sometime in
October.
was selected unan-
imously by the port
Neal was one
of four finalists
commission, and
the
commission
will fill the role to Ryan Neal
interviewed. All
be vacated by his
four appeared at a pub-
father, Gary, this fall.
Neal said he was excited lic meeting at the port on
for the opportunity to con- Monday, for which Stokoe
tinue building on the suc- said more than 100 people
cesses of the current port showed up. They shared a
staff.
little about themselves and
“I’d like to continue our their vision for the port.
The other candidates
strategic plan, and drive
economic development,” were Dean Gardner, a
he said. “I think we always longtime financial offi-
try to find solutions to cer and businessman of
whatever problems we run Selah, Washington; Steph-
into, whether permitting or anie Seamans, a CPA from
financial issues. We try to Kennewick; and Peter Wil-
find ways to accomplish helm, a businessman who
has worked for paper mills
our goals.”
Commissioner
Rick in Wallula, Washington
Stokoe said the commis- and Zeachem.
sion has given Neal a con-
The candidates went
ditional offer of employ- through four sets of inter-
ment, which is contingent views on Tuesday. They
on his passing a back- sat before three panels
ground check and going — one consisting of peo-
through contract negoti- ple familiar with the tech-
ations. His salary will be nical aspects of ports and
between $175,000 and industry, one of commu-
nity members, and one of
$225,000 annually.
“We decided Ryan was people in the business and
the best fit,” Stokoe said. finance world. The pan-
“He’s well-informed with elists were selected from
what’s going on at the throughout the region, said
George Dunkel, the Spe-
port.”
He said Neal is also cial Districts Association
involved with the com- of Oregon employee who
munity, which was one conducted the candidate
of the commission’s top search.
“I feel honored that
priorities.
“All our applicants were the commission selected
highly qualified,” he said. someone that I know
“But some were from big well,” said Gary Neal.
shipping ports, that only do “It’s a pretty exciting
container shipping. We do opportunity for him.”
By JAYATI
RAMAKRISHNAN
STAFF WRITER
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