NEWS
A10 • HERMISTONHERALD.COM
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 2021
Ex-Morrow prosecutor becomes Hermiston’s first in-house city attorney
Tovey says he has
received a warm
welcome from the city
By ERICK PETERSON
Hermiston Herald
Hermiston’s first in-house city
attorney begins working Thursday,
Sept. 30.
The Hermiston City Council
at its Sept. 13 meeting approved
Richard Tovey as the successor
to Gary Luisi, who retires after 23
years from his role as the city’s
attorney the day Tovey starts.
Luisi, however, is a private
attorney with his own local office.
As city attorney, Luisi was under
contract but was not working in
city hall, so he was not at the “beck
and call” of city employees, Tovey
said. For city staff to reach Tovey,
all they will need to do is stop into
his office, call or email.
Tovey said he is looking for-
ward to serving Hermiston, and
he is earning high
praise from both
his future and his
past employers.
“We are very
excited to have
Richard start his
Tovey
service as our
in-house city attor-
ney,” Hermiston City Manager
Byron Smith, said. “It is a great
time in our growth and movement
forward as a community.”
Tovey leaves his position as
the deputy prosecutor in Morrow
County Sept. 28. His former boss,
Morrow County District Attorney
Justin Nelson, said he was pleased
with Tovey.
“We’re greatly going to miss
Richard,” Nelson said. “That’s not
just me, as district attorney, but all
my staff.”
Tovey became deputy district
attorney to Nelson shortly after
Nelson took office in 2010. Nel-
son called him a close colleague,
an equal and a friend. Tovey’s
departure, according to Nelson, is
a loss for the county, but a gain for
Hermiston.
Nelson said he wants Hermis-
ton to know it is lucky to have him.
Tovey: past, present and future
Tovey, who grew up in Irrigon,
went to Riverside High School in
Boardman. After graduating high
school, he went to Linn-Ben-
ton Community College and later
Oregon State University. While
there, he majored in history and
anthropology.
“I thought I would become a
history teacher,” he said. Instead,
he decided to attend the Univer-
sity of Montana School of Law to
become a lawyer.
He took the bar exam in 2004
and passed. This began his career
in law. He worked for the district
attorney’s office in Coos County,
starting in 2004 and lasting until
his employment for Morrow
County more than five years later.
“It was a good opportunity to
come back to the area,” Tovey said
about returning to Eastern Oregon.
He liked being the deputy district
attorney, and he admitted his latest
move is a bit unconventional.
“It’s not the most common
career move,” he said.
Becoming city attorney involves
a pay cut, according to Tovey. Still,
there are benefits and the city job
is attractive. One plus to the new
work, his new office is only a few
miles from his Hermiston house.
He said the city council and oth-
ers in Hermiston have been very
warm in welcoming him. Through-
out the interview process, he felt
accepted and appreciated. It made
him feel comfortable with this job.
Tovey, like Luisi before him,
will represent the city council at
meetings and assist the policy
body when needed. He also will
work with the city manager and
city departments in reviewing con-
tracts and providing legal advice.
He will have an office in the
Hermiston Public Library for now,
which is serving as the temporary
location of Hermiston City Hall.
When the new city hall is com-
plete, Tovey said he believes he
will move into that building.
He will have no other jobs
while serving as Hermiston’s city
attorney, he said.
Tovey is married and has four
children. His oldest child, a boy,
graduated from Hermiston High
School in 2020. He has three
daughters — a high school student,
a middle school student and an ele-
mentary school student.
Describing himself as “boring,”
he said he is a 46-year-old family
man without many hobbies. His
main interests, he said, are helping
his children in their sports. Some-
times, he serves as assistant coach.
He also is an active and
involved member of The Church
of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
in Hermiston.
Tovey said he is happy about
working for Hermiston. He said
he expects to stay in the position
throughout the time his children
are in school. He may even con-
tinue as the Hermiston city attor-
ney until his eventual retirement.
New deputy trial court administrator excited to serve
By ERICK PETERSON
Hermiston Herald
Irma Solis, former clinic
manager for Mirasol Fam-
ily Health Center, recently
stepped into a new position
as deputy trial court adminis-
trator. She began this role with
the Oregon Justice Depart-
ment’s 6th Judicial District
Sept. 20.
Solis said the position
piqued her interest and she
took this job to be involved
in the “complex operational
functions” that take place
in courts.
“I am excited for the oppor-
tunity to utilize my skills in
my new position and learn
from each of my new peers,”
she said. “I am thrilled at this
new challenge of learning my
role and the trial court system
from those with so many years
of experience.”
She works under Roy
Blaine, trial court administra-
tor, and helps with the over-
sight and managing of non-ju-
dicial aspects of the trial court.
“I am thrilled Irma Solis
has joined the court family in
Umatilla and Morrow coun-
ties as my deputy trial court
administrator,” Blaine said.
“Ms. Solis brings added depth
to our leadership team with
her experience in customer
service and human relations
management. Court staff and
judges, and I, look forward to
introducing her to the court
environment and to her help-
ing us better serve our com-
munity in both counties.”
Blaine said Solis’ new
position is important as it
extends the court’s pres-
ence and functions further
across Umatilla and Morrow
counties.
“With court facilities in
Hermiston and Pendleton, as
well as Heppner, we must be
flexible to meet unique local
circumstances while assuring
that in each location our poli-
cies, procedures and functions
are consistent and accurate,”
he said.
He credited the Umatilla
and Morrow County Circuit
Courts with having “a mul-
titalented leadership team to
achieve the goals of building
public trust and confidence
in government and the law,
ensure the courts are open
and available to all who need
our services regardless of their
situation or status, and to par-
ticipate with other branches of
government in improving ser-
vices in our communities.”
Solis, with her background
in customer service and staff
development, fits in well
with the court’s team of legal
experts, according to Blaine.
He also thinks she she brings
a new perspective from her
experience in Hermiston.
“In many ways we look
forward to her rounding out
our team and the larger court
team with the services we
bring to all the neighborhoods
of our two counties,” he said.
Solis, who grew up in the
Stanfield-Hermiston area,
attended Stanfield schools
Kathy Aney/Hermiston Herald
Irma Solis poses for a photo Sept. 22, 2021. She is the new
deputy trial court administrator helping oversee non-judicial
aspects of trial court for the 6th Judicial District.
through the eighth grade, after
which she attended school in
Hermiston. She graduated
with honors from Hermiston
High School.
Following high school,
Solis graduated from Blue
Mountain Community Col-
lege, then earned a bachelor’s
degree in business administra-
tion, with a leadership, orga-
nization and management
concentration, from East-
ern Oregon University, La
Grande.
Prior to serving as Mira-
sol’s clinic manager, she was
the office manager at a den-
tal office.
Solis maintains a busy life
outside of work. Married to
Eric Solis, her marriage is into
its 17th year. She has three
children, two daughters, ages
2 and 9; and a son, 5.
“I enjoy spending time with
my loved ones,” she said.
She also said she enjoys
cooking, baking, crafting
and jogging. Life, though,
has been busy over the last
few years, she said, and she
has not jogged as much as she
would have liked.
Though she does not
belong to any clubs, Solis said
she tries to do her best to help
others when she can.
“Most recently, I was able
to help out with a free bilin-
gual basketball camp co-ar-
ranged by a good friend,”
she said.
She said she hopes to
become even more active
in her community, and she
believes her current role as
court administrator will help
her achieve this goal.
“I love this area, it’s my
home. I love the growth and
diversity we have and continue
to see,” she said. “I love that
it still has a small town, close-
knit feel to it.”
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