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About Hermiston herald. (Hermiston, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (June 12, 2019)
FROM PAGE ONE A10 • HERMISTONHERALD.COM WEDNESDAY, JUNE 12, 2019 Smith: Responds to scrutiny of perceived confl icts of interest Continued from Page A1 moved a government call center and its associated jobs to Wheeler County, which contracts with Smith’s com- pany to provide economic development services. Smith voted on all of them in the House of Rep- resentatives, because the Oregon Constitution dic- tates that its citizen legisla- tors should publicly declare their confl icts of interest but are not allowed to recuse themselves. The East Oregonian and other media outlets have reported on such awards and Smith’s role in them in the past, but recent inves- tigations by the Malheur Enterprise and Willamette Week pulling them together into one place have set off renewed chatter about whether such arrangements should be legal. Smith knows how it looks. “To the unaware citi- zen, it would be very easy to assume I pick a project without scrutiny and it hap- pens,” he said. He pointed out that he is in the minority party, and any bill or project he would want to see happen must get the help of commit- tee co-chairs, the Speaker of the House, a majority of representatives, the Sen- ate President, a majority of senators and the governor before becoming law. Smith does carry more infl uence in Salem than many legislators, however. He has the most seniority of any state representative after voters in District 57 sent him to the legislature 10 terms in a row, and the connections around Salem that go with that longevity. He has noted multiple times in previous interviews with the East Oregonian that he holds some of the best committee seats in the leg- islature, including co-vice chair of the Joint Commit- tee on Ways and Means, co-chair of the committee’s general government com- mittee and a seat on the committee’s capital con- struction committee. He holds up that, along with the many millions of dollars that have built proj- ects around his district, as evidence that he has “worked his tail off” for his constituents. As for questions for how he can hold several sup- posedly “full-time” jobs at once and give each their due while also serving Dis- trict 57, he credited a “phe- nomenal” staff and hard work. “There are just certain people out there who can multitask at a high level The many hats of Greg Smith Greg Smith juggles various jobs and economic development contracts in addition to his work as a state representative. State Representative* District 57 *Direct salary to Greg Smith instead of a contract with Gregory Smith & Company, LLC Executive Director* Columbia Development Authority Source: Hermiston Herald research EO Media Group graphic County economic development • Malheur County • Baker County • Harney County • Wheeler County Small Business Development Center Eastern Oregon University Staff photo by E.J. Harris, File Rep. Greg Smith, R-Heppner, has always been very careful to try and separate his private roles from his public service as a state legislator. He can often be seen at public meetings around the state letting people know which “hat” he is appearing before them with today. But for some people, the perception is that the hat is a red herring for the fact that they are all worn on the same head. and I’m blessed with that,” he said. The East Oregonian reached out to several orga- nizations that have contracts with Smith or his com- pany. One was the Colum- bia Development Authority, which hired Smith directly as their executive director. The CDA is a partner- ship of Umatilla and Mor- row counties, the Port of Morrow, Port of Umatilla and the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Res- ervation. They are working with the U.S. Army to return the former Umatilla Chem- ical Depot to local control, and they hired Smith with federal grant money to help with that process and to market the industrial-zoned land for economic devel- opment once the transfer is complete. Don Russell, chair of the CDA board, said the board was aware of Smith’s other obligations throughout the state and never expected Smith’s position with the CDA to be a typical 9-to-5 full-time job. He said Smith is “one of the hardest work- ers I have ever seen.” “I don’t have any qualms about him being our man- ager,” he said. “Having him sit in an offi ce for us just to put in his 40 hours a week wouldn’t be productive. ... If I thought we weren’t get- ting what we needed out of Greg Smith I would say it was time to make a change.” Pete Runnels, county court judge for Harney County, said the county was satisfi ed with the work Smith and his staff, who keep an offi ce open in Burns three days a week, were doing. Smith’s work would be considered a violation of ethics laws if he used his position as legislator to obtain the contract. Runnels denied that Smith’s position as a legislator was the rea- son Smith had been chosen over two other candidates who submitted applications during a request for propos- als process — it was Smith’s high level of economic development experience in Eastern Oregon that tipped the scale, he said. “He was always very clear, very upfront that we have our own legislators in Sen. (Cliff) Bentz and Rep. (Lynn) Findley, and any leg- islative concerns we have need to go through them, and he wouldn’t be doing that for us,” Runnel said. Tim Seydel, vice presi- dent of university advance- ment for Eastern Oregon University, said the univer- sity works hard to keep any lobbying to the legislature “very separate” from its con- tract with Smith’s personal company. He said EOU has been pleased with Smith’s work and found him and his staff to be responsive, accessi- ble and good at meeting the metrics set forth for small business development cen- ters to receive the grants that fund the EOU SBDC. “We certainly have not fi elded any complaints,” he said. Other agencies continue to retain Smith’s services but have voiced some concerns. Baker County commission- ers did not respond to a request for comment, but in a recent Malheur Enterprise story, commissioner Mark Bennett said that he thought being both a representa- tive and a contractor was “entirely problematic” and would probably test anyone in that position. The county’s economic development commit- tee made a formal recom- mendation last week that the county end its contract with Smith’s company, and the commission followed through. They told the Baker City Herald that the decision Private economic development • Morrow Development Corporation • Linn Economic Development Group Private contracts Details unknown was made for fi nancial rea- sons due to declining reve- nue from the county’s tran- sient lodging tax, which funds the position. Fred Warner Jr., Baker City’s city manager, is on the economic development committee and was on the county commission when Smith was fi rst hired. He told the East Oregonian that over the years some citizens had complained they felt the county was not getting its money’s worth out of the contract, and recent report- ing on Smith had renewed those “grumblings.” But he said the timing of the recom- mendation to end the con- tract was coincidental. He said when the county hired Smith in about 2007 he was not juggling the num- ber of contracts that he does today. “Through the years, he picked up numerous other contracts including Malheur and Harney counties as well as the chemical depot,” War- ner wrote. “We had many discussions over this time period about his other activ- ities and we worried about how he would prioritize leads that came to Eastern Oregon.” At one point those con- cerns drove the commission to put the contract up for bid again in 2011, Warner said, but in the end of the process the commission chose Smith once again. Smith admitted the sud- den controversy surround- ing his line of work has been frustrating during a busy legislative session, and says he takes strong exception to what he feels are implica- tions that he is corrupt when he takes so many steps to stay in line with current Ore- gon law. “I don’t know how much more I can do,” he said. He said he bids on the contracts through an open request for proposals and declares confl icts of interest in the legislature. He has vet- ted each public and private contract with the Oregon Ethics Commission before taking it and gotten the com- mission’s blessing before moving forward. Those let- ters are documented on the commission’s website. A let- ter dated Aug. 29, 2018, for example, addresses a private contract between Tidewa- ter Barge Lines and Gregory Smith & Company. “On review of the infor- mation provided, noth- ing appears to indicate you were awarded this oppor- tunity as a result of being a member of the Oregon Leg- islative assembly, nor does it appear that you used or attempted to use your public position,” the letter reads. “However, keep in mind that as a member of the Legislative Assembly you must take particular care to ensure that the offi ce is not used in any manner related to private income producing activities.” The same language is repeated in other letters to Smith from the commission concerning other contracts. Government watch- dogs believe Oregon’s con- fl ict of interest laws need an upgrade, however. Oregon’s rule about legislators voting no matter their confl ict is an unusual one. Washington law states that “a member who has a private interest in any bill or measure proposed or pending before the legisla- ture, shall disclose the fact to the house of which he is a member, and shall not vote thereon.” Most states have some provision where a legislator can ask to be excused — Idaho states that a declared confl ict doesn’t require a legislator to recuse themselves but they can ask to do so “at his or her discretion.” Former Gov. John Kitzhaber resigned in 2015 after news media uncovered evidence that his fi ancee, Cylvia Hayes, was using her access to the governor to drum up business for her environmental consulting fi rm. The incident sparked a push for tighter ethics laws. Some passed, increasing the number of members on the ethics commission and banning speaking fees for certain offi cials. A broader reform of the system, how- ever, fell by the wayside. More options for more productivity. RDO does that. 6 PACKAGES UNDER 250 $ PER MONTH * HHS: Class of 2019 bids farewell Continued from Page A1 According to Spoo, the Class of 2019 is in part com- prised of three valedictorians with 4.0 GPAs, 19 National Honors Society students, and nine military enlistees. One hundred and fi fty stu- dents completed Postsec- ondary Career and Training Education programs, from visual arts to engineering. Spoo praised the Class of 2019 for their extracurricu- lar accomplishments, hailing this school year as “ground- breaking” in athletics. This is HSD’s fi rst year moving to the Washington Interscho- lastic Activities Association. “We still have some work to do though,” Spoo joked, “like continuing to inform some other schools that we did not actually move the city of Hermiston into the state of Washington.” Collectively, the students earned over $4,570,000 in scholarships. Around $250,000 of those dollars came from organizations within Hermiston. The class history pro- vided a pop-cultural debrief that encapsulated the child- hood of the Class of 2019, from the Jonas Brothers to Silly Bandz, but ended on a Staff photo by E.J. Harris/East Oregonian Graduate Naxely Jaime shakes hands with Hermiston Schools superintendent Tricia Mooney after receiving her diploma at the l commencement ceremony in Kennewick. serious note. “From our history, we can learn to reach for the future, but remember to honor our losses,” said Senior Adriann Stewart. Senior Moanamarie Peterson delivered the class prophecy with a few quips. “Some of us will become doctors, others lawyers. Maybe a few architects, and maybe a few prison inmates too,” she said. Umatilla County Chief Deputy District Attorney and HHS alumnus, Jac- lyn Jenkins was the guest speaker and 2019 Distin- guished Alumnus this year. After the turning of the tassels and a farewell speech, led by Senior Kea- li’imanaole Hamilton, grad- uates and families poured into the Toyota Center Court- yard to take pictures and dole out gifts before seniors boarded a bus to their Proj- ect Graduation afterparty at the Tri-City Court Club. This year’s graduation is the second to take place at the Toyota Center since the Hermiston School Board voted to relocate graduation from the high school gym due to overcrowding. at RDOequipment.com HERMISTON | 844-551-5594 *Offer valid on new Compact Tractor purchases made between 6/1/19 and 8/30/19. Subject to approved installment credit with John Deere Financial. Up to a 20% down payment may be required. Taxes, freight, set up and delivery charges could increase the monthly payment. Price and model availability vary by dealer. RDP5X100612THH-4C
