WINNER OF THE 2020 ONPA GENERAL EXCELLENCE AWARD
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 28, 2021
HermistonHerald.com
EasternOregonMarketplace.com
Race is on for school board
Six candidates make
their case for election
to four open seats
MORE ELECTION
COVERAGE
INSIDE THIS EDITION
Page A3: Umatilla County Fire
District #1 bond
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•Umatilla County Library Special
District
•Video of Hermiston School
Board candidate interview
•Blue Mountain Community
College Board
By JADE MCDOWELL
NEWS EDITOR
As decision-making about stu-
dents returning to the classroom
during the pandemic has ele-
vated interest in school boards
across Oregon, the race for Herm-
iston’s Board of Education is no
exception.
Hermiston voters will see seven
names on the May ballot for four
school board positions.
Liliana Gomez
Liliana “Lili” Gomez, running
for Position No. 3, is a Hermis-
ton native and a records specialist
for the Hermiston Police Depart-
ment. She said she has always had
an interest in education, including
serving as a tutor during her teen-
age years and teaching English
overseas. She is on the Herm-
iston School District budget
committee.
Now that students have
returned to school full time,
Gomez said she believes it is
important for the district to focus
on students’ mental health and be
proactive about having resources
available for students as they
return.
“We all know that this took a
toll on every single person, adults
included, and no doubt this took a
toll on students,” she said.
Gomez said if elected, one of
her goals would be to help break
down barriers to student success
and parent involvement, includ-
ing linguistic and cultural barri-
ers. Another would be to help the
district stay on sound fi nancial
footing.
While more than half of Herm-
iston students are Hispanic or
Ben Lonergan/Hermiston Herald
Students eat lunch in front of Hermiston High School on Tuesday, April 27, 2021.
Anderson Hansell
Gardner
Gomez
Latino, Hispanic students as a
group have still seen lower aver-
age test scores and graduation
rates than the student body as
a whole. When asked how the
district can close the achieve-
ment gap, Gomez — who was in
the district’s English Language
Learner program herself in ele-
mentary school — said it must
look at getting the best return on
investment for programs to help
Medelez
any group of students that may be
struggling.
“I know that these programs
are in place, and I know that they
work,” she said. “But can we do
better? Yes, we can always do
better.”
Dain Gardner
Dain Gardner is also running
for Position No. 3 on the school
board, against Gomez. The
Pitney
Sherman
incumbent, Mark Gomolski, is
not seeking another term.
Gardner, an Air Force vet-
eran who says he attended multi-
ple schools “all over,” is a senior
trooper for the Oregon State
Police’s Fish and Wildlife Divi-
sion. He said he decided to run
for school board because of his
two children in the district, and
the diffi cult experience they have
had during the pandemic.
He said he is glad students
are back in school full time, but
thought the district should have
“pushed back” against state reg-
ulations sooner. He would like
to see the district fi ght for more
local control in the future, not
only over what school looks like
during the pandemic, but also
over curriculum and other aspects
of students’ education.
“There are some things being
shoved around the country that
really don’t apply necessarily to
Hermiston like they do, maybe,
in some of these other places,” he
said.
Gardner said it is important for
the school district to do all it can
to get parents involved in their
children’s education.
“When it comes down to it,
schools are extremely import-
ant, but so are the parents,” he
said. “And I think they need to be
involved as much as we can get
them involved.”
Sally Anderson Hansell
Sally Anderson Hansell is run-
ning for Position No. 4 against
incumbent Brent Pitney. Anderson
Hansell is an attorney at Anderson
Hansell PC and an owner of TCH
See School Board, Page A9
Port of Morrow commission races contested
By JADE MCDOWELL
NEWS EDITOR
CANDIDATE FORUMS
Boardman Chamber of Commerce held a virtual candidate forum for Port
of Morrow Commissioner Position #3 candidates on April 13, and the vid-
eo is available on the Boardman Chamber of Commerce Facebook page.
The chamber held a virtual candidate forum on its Facebook page for
Position No. 1 candidates on Tuesday, April 27.
Voters in the May 18 elec-
tion will have plenty of choices
in the race for Port of Morrow
commissioners.
Two of the seats up for election
feature a three-way race, while a
third seat has one candidate. Those
elected will take their seats on July
1 for a four-year term.
Rick Stokoe
For Commissioner Position 1,
current chair Rick Stokoe is run-
ning for another term.
Stokoe has worked in law
enforcement for more than 31 years
and has been Boardman Police
Department Chief since 2011. He
was appointed as a port commis-
sioner in 2015 and reelected in
2017.
Stokoe said he has always been
involved in the community, and on
regional and state boards. Some of
his local volunteer work includes
the Morrow Education Founda-
tion, coaching youth sports and as
a volunteer ambulance driver for
the Morrow County Ambulance
District. He said he sees his service
on the Port of Morrow Commis-
INSIDE
Ben Lonergan/Hermiston Herald, File
A sign marks the entrance to the Port of Morrow’s East Beach Industrial
Park on July 17, 2020.
sion as another opportunity to help
Morrow County.
“It’s extremely satisfying to me
to give back to the community,” he
said.
Stokoe said if reelected, one
of his biggest areas of focus will
be on helping the port create and
retain family wage jobs for the
region. Part of that is making sure
the infrastructure is in place to sup-
A3  Supply is outstripping de-
mand for the COVID-19 vaccine in
Umatilla and Morrow counties
port development, he said, and
being fi scally responsible.
He said he is proud of the work
the port commission has done so
far.
“We’re the second largest port
in the state, and that comes with a
lot of hard work,” he said.
Jonathan Tallman
Jonathan Tallman is one of two
A8  Domestic Violence Services
brings awareness to diffi cult choices
survivors make
challengers running against Stokoe
for position 1.
Tallman is an owner of the
local, family-owned Boardman
coff ee shop The Farmer’s Cup.
He said the business has seen “tri-
ple digit growth” but managed to
avoid the waste that often comes
with such fast growth. He said he
can bring similar skills to the Port
of Morrow, which has also seen
rapid growth.
Tallman has been at odds with
the Port of Morrow Commission
and other local offi cials for more
than a year now, as Umatilla Elec-
tric Cooperative has pursued an
easement to build a transmission
line through the Tallmans’ property
to accommodate new growth, and
threatened to use eminent domain
if the family doesn’t sign an agree-
ment voluntarily. Tallman said he
feels there has been a lack of com-
A9  City of Hermiston’s plan to
provide property for senior housing
project hits a snag
munication throughout the entire
process from the port and others.
“This is the only way I can be
part of the conversation,” he said.
Tallman also has criticisms
about the way the port commission
operates in general, and said he
feels current commission members
have too many confl icts of inter-
est and are fi nding ways to use the
position for their own gain (Com-
mission members interviewed for
the article denied this allegation
and said they recuse themselves
from any decisions that may have
even an appearance of confl ict).
He said he feels there is “a
lot of waste” in what the port is
doing, and as a commission mem-
ber he would focus on reducing
that waste. He also wants the port
See Port, Page A10
A10  Umatilla County goes
back to high risk restrictions for
COVID-19 earlier than expected