NEWS
WEDNESDAY, JULY 15, 2020
HERMISTONHERALD.COM • A9
Lopez now says he regrets writing racist letter
By JADE MCDOWELL
NEWS EDITOR
After confessing to police
that he penned a racist let-
ter he originally claimed to
have received anonymously,
Jonathan Lopez now has a
more direct message to any-
one the letter harmed: He is
sorry.
“I wanted to apologize
and take responsibility,” he
said.
The letter in question was
full of racist slurs, anti-im-
migrant
language
9, Lopez said as the
and violent threats,
days went by he
stating that there is
“wasn’t feeling too
no room for “people
good” about it and
like you” in Amer-
decided to confess.
ica. He originally
Hermiston Police
posted it to social
Chief Jason Edmis-
Lopez
media and gave a
ton said Lopez had
copy to the Herm-
volunteered
the
iston Police Department, confession and police had
claiming he had found it in not previously found any
his mailbox on June 24. But proof that he had written
on July 6, he confessed to the letter himself. He also
writing it himself.
expressed frustration that
In a discussion with the the investigation into the let-
Hermiston Herald on July ter had taken up department
resources during a time
when Umatilla County was
dealing with multiple homi-
cide investigations.
Lopez said the experience
has been a painful process,
but he knows he brought it
upon himself.
“It hasn’t been easy,” he
said. “I’ve been harassed by
a lot of people, more than
anything, which I under-
stand. I don’t expect pity.”
He said as he had
reached out to apologize to
groups, such as the Uma-
tilla County Board of Com-
missioners, where he had
recently run for election,
there were also people
who had told him that they
hoped he was able to learn
from his mistakes.
He said he hoped that no
one would use the incident
to discount instances of real
racism, a problem which he
said he was attempting to
highlight when he wrote the
letter.
On July 8, he sent out
another letter, this time
signed by him and addressed
to “esteemed Umatilla
county commissioners, lead-
ers, representatives, law
enforcement,
community
members and all residents”
apologizing for his actions
and any hurt caused.
“With the most deepest
sincerity of what’s left of my
heart and life. I would like to
apologize for my wrongful
doings,” he wrote. “The let-
ter written by me came from
a dark low place. It should
have never been written.”
Greg Smith reviews special session in virtual town hall
He was a yes vote on
House Bill 4207, which
would maintain a public
Protests and COVID-19 records database on police
were at the forefront of the discipline and require law
conversation during a virtual enforcement agencies to
town hall hosted by Rep. check it during the hiring
Greg Smith, R-Heppner, on process. Smith said while
July 9.
he believes most
Smith started the
police offi cers do
town hall by pro-
a “fabulous job,”
viding a recap of
he also believes
some of his votes
that when an offi -
on bills relating to
cer does not do their
both issues during
job appropriately,
the Oregon Legisla-
there should be a
Smith
ture’s recent special
transparent process
session, before ask-
for the public and
ing for questions and feed- the media to access those
back from the audience par- records.
ticipating by video.
He also voted yes for Sen-
“I know there’s a lot of ate Bill 1604, which restricts
frustration in the state of arbitrators from overturn-
Oregon and in the commu- ing discipline meted out to
nity right now, and if I’m police offi cers, if the arbi-
going to serve you appropri- trator also fi nds that miscon-
ately in the legislature I need duct did occur.
to know what you’re think-
Smith voted no on House
ing,” he said.
Bill 4208, which restricts use
On police reform bills of tear gas only to incidents
introduced during the special that have been declared a
session, Smith explained his riot. Smith said he wanted to
thinking in supporting some make sure law enforcement
but not others.
had the tools they needed.
By JADE MCDOWELL
NEWS EDITOR
“While I fully believe all
citizens have a right to First
Amendment rights — pub-
lic speech, open speech,
free speech and the right to
assemble — I don’t believe
they have the right to riot, to
loot, to have criminal mis-
conduct, to be thieves and
break into stores,” he said.
He was also one of only
fi ve no votes in the House
on House Bill 4203, which
bans police use of choke-
holds except in cases where
use of deadly force would be
authorized.
Smith referenced an inci-
dent in 2014 when a drunk
driver hit his family’s vehi-
cle while they were traveling
home from a state wrestling
tournament.
When the driver fl ed the
scene, Smith chased him
down and held him until
police arrived. He said he
had to use “every ounce of
physical assistance I had to
control this person.”
“It really left an impres-
sion on me of what our
law enforcement folks go
through every day, and so
in no way did I want to sec-
ond guess those hard work-
ing men and women who
protect us in how they han-
dle those most diffi cult situ-
ations,” he said.
Smith said he voted in
favor of Senate Bill 1603
expanding rural broadband,
despite the fact that many
Republicans voted against
it because it included a
new cellphone tax. He said
a statewide cellphone tax
would generate most of
its revenue from residents
of the metro area and then
spend that money in the
rural parts of the state.
“If we can allow Portland
and Beaverton and Gresham
to assist in developing rural
broadband in Condon or
Heppner or Umatilla or Irri-
gon I’m in favor of that,” he
said.
Smith also discussed
the economic impacts of
COVID-19. He said he was
greatly concerned about the
projected $2.7 billion defi -
cit for the biennium, and
the state will have diffi cult
choices ahead about where
to make cuts.
He addressed the local
projects that have been put
on hold after a steep drop
in lottery revenue stopped
the sale of $237 million in
bonds to pay for capital proj-
ects. Two of those projects
include the $1 million men-
tal health-focused renova-
tion of the Umatilla County
Jail, expansion of the Port
of Morrow’s early learning
center and Blue Mountain
Community College’s Farm
II, which will include an
indoor arena and classrooms
in Pendleton.
“What we don’t know is
how long they will remain
on the shelf,” Smith said.
He said the funding could
merely be delayed while
the state waited to achieve
the required debt-to-reve-
nue ratio for the bond sale
to proceed. He said the
governor could also choose
to prioritize fi nding fund-
ing for the projects that are
farthest along, or state lead-
ership could simply “wipe
their hands” of the projects
and make everyone start
over on lobbying for fund-
ing in the future.
When
constituents
brought up concerns about
help for small businesses
and individuals affected by
COVID-19, Smith said he
had initially felt understand-
ing as the Oregon Employ-
ment Department struggled
to process the initial wave
of unemployment applica-
tions from a pandemic they
hadn’t foreseen, but the time
for being understanding has
passed.
“After four months, the
fact that we still have folks
here in District 57 that have
still not seen their bene-
fi ts, that’s unacceptable,” he
said.
When asked his posi-
tion on mandating vaccines
for COVID-19 when one is
available, Smith said that
he and his wife have vac-
cinated their children and
would strongly encourage
everyone to vaccinate their
own children. But when it
came down to a vote, he
said, he would vote to pro-
tect “parental rights.”
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