A4 • HERMISTONHERALD.COM
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 20, 2022
OPINION READER’S FORUM
Founded in 1906
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 20, 2022
A4
OUR VIEW
Houston is receiving our best robot heroes
A
t this moment, Umatilla
High School robotics team
members, along with a hand-
ful of teachers and administrators, are
in Houston, Texas. The students are
representing their school for a com-
petition that pits them against schools
from across the country and around
the world.
For anyone who lives in Umatilla,
or who has even passed through the
town, this does not come as news.
Not only has the Hermiston Herald
published stories on the team, dubbed
Confi dential, signs throughout Uma-
tilla have announced the recent suc-
cess and the following trip.
Confi dential won a regional
competition in Cheney, Washing-
ton. Earning the Chairman’s Award
on April 9, the team qualifi ed for
worlds in Houston. This contest starts
Wednesday, April 20.
The team has been the subject of
chatter around town. People have
been talking about the tough com-
petition and the very real possibil-
ity that, by this time next week, our
Umatilla School District/Contributed photo
The Umatilla High School robotics team poses for a photo April 9, 2022, at a regional robotics
competition in Cheney, Washington, after winning the Chairman’s Award.
kids will be returning with a title that
names them as the best in the world.
On Saturday, April 16, many of
these team members were in Uma-
tilla hosting a yard sale to help fund
their journey. This gave the public the
chance to meet the kids, talk to them
and toss money into their cash box.
For some of the students, this
trip to worlds is not new. The team
is widely known in the robotics
world, and high-level competition is
expected. Some of the kids, who are
fresh to the team, will be taking their
fi rst trip.
Regardless, whether they had been
to Houston before or if this was their
fi rst trip, each of the students at the
Saturday yard sale were beaming
with excitement. They spoke of their
enthusiasm for the outing and their
hopes of not letting anyone down.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
COLUMN
Oregonians don’t want party
hack in governor’s offi ce
or some Oregonians, the
race for governor isn’t
about who can raise the
most money.
And these voters aren’t inter-
ested in who can parrot party
platforms without flaw.
Instead, they seek a new gov-
ernor who is somewhat blind to
party affiliation.
Such a governor, they think,
can unite the state. That gov-
ernor would energize more
Oregonians.
Beneath those feelings is a
sense that Oregon can do better.
In recent weeks, I gath-
ered by Zoom with voters from
around the state. Our partners
were Rural Development Initia-
tives and the Agora Journalism
Center.
I was eager for voters — they
were from all parts of the state
— to share two points. One was
to share what they wanted to
learn about those running for
governor. The other was to learn
how the Oregon press can more
effectively serve up information
about the candidates.
This wasn’t a scientific poll.
I’m not going to suggest the
views of three dozen people per-
fectly mirror Oregon attitudes.
But the messages they deliv-
ered are well worth considering.
That’s especially true for the 30
or so people running to succeed
Gov. Kate Brown. She is in her
final year and by law can’t run
again.
Let’s take what they want
in the next governor. An ear-
lier column described the hope
for a governor who blurs the
urban-rural line in Oregon.
But equally important to the
people I talked with was the
idea that party politics must be
tamed.
These citizens are worn out
by the focus on party over per-
F
LES
ZAITZ
ANOTHER VIEW
formance. They recognize the
impact — in Oregon and across
the U.S. — of Republicans and
Democrats treating each other
like the enemy. For these vot-
ers, those party affiliations
seem to be more about who has
power, not who is doing best for
Oregon.
There’s no getting away from
party dominance, at least in the
primary election. Candidates
with a “D” or an “R” as part
of their credentials campaign
through the spring to their polit-
ical tribes.
But the two main political
parties are watching a deep ero-
sion in voter ranks. That’s influ-
enced in part by automatic voter
registration and the “non-affil-
iated voter” who doesn’t pick a
party.
But the declining party repre-
sentation may reflect what these
voters had to say. They are hun-
gry for a governor who can lead
all of Oregon. They don’t want
someone who comes into office
waving their party banner.
And these voters generally
recognized that the governor is
not just a political animal. They
want a governor who has some
record of managing large enter-
prises. They don’t want a green-
horn attempting to manage mul-
tibillion-dollar budgets and a
workforce in the thousands. Too
much is at stake in Oregon, they
believe, to turn the keys over to
a management rookie.
Along that line, a couple of
the voters said it’d be helpful to
know what kind of team the next
governor will take to Salem.
Printed on
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Of course, they will not let us down.
By working hard and doing their
best, they have already made us
proud. Confi dential members have
spent nights and weekends honing
their skills, preparing for whatever
would come next.
And when they reached higher
and higher levels, they stuck with
the team. Many of them braved
the unknown, traveling outside our
region to explore a wider world.
Taking such a trip, at such young
ages, is thrilling, but it also can be
frightening. The students boarded a
bus Sunday afternoon, April 17, to
travel across multiple states.
Following this departure, the team
took a trip that ended on Wednesday
in Houston. They will return to us the
following week.
However the competition turns
out, they have made us proud. We are
beside ourselves whenever such trips
are made, and we will greet them
with hugs and cheers.
Congratulations, Confi dential. You
are our champions.
Periodical postage paid at Hermiston, OR.
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Hermiston Herald, 333 E. Main St.,
Hermiston, OR 97838.
Member of EO Media Group Copyright ©2022
Governors set the tone for state
government in large measure
by the people named to direct
state agencies, from the massive
Department of Human Services
to the Corrections Department to
the Oregon Health Authority.
That’s an interesting idea,
for most governors wait until
they are elected to start nam-
ing names.And one voter had
another idea to make the next
governor more effective —
remote office hours.
This rural resident thought
the next governor could learn
a great deal by setting up shop
and working for two weeks at
a stretch from someplace other
than Salem.
Imagine a governor working
from Pendleton or Klamath Falls
or Astoria. That could provide a
useful and real world perspec-
tive that a factory tour just can’t
provide.
No matter the details, the vot-
ers I listened to are hoping the
next governor will moderate the
political tensions in the state.
They hope the next gover-
nor will be — and be perceived
as — a generalist interested in
helping the entire state.
No doubt, Kate Brown or
John Kitzhaber or Ted Kulon-
goski would push back on some
aspects. They did travel the
state. They didn’t remain crea-
tures of Portland. Yet they also
know better than most that how
the governor is perceived is as
essential as how they work.
These voters are giving can-
didates valuable clues about
how to weld a coalition of Ore-
gonians. They should heed the
message — and demonstrate
they are listening.
█
Les Zaitz is a veteran editor and investigative
reporter, serving Oregon for more than
45 years.
Marc Thielman is the fi ghter we need
Kate Brown has been boasting about her “Future Oregon” bill.
Oregon doesn’t need a $200 million government bailout. It needs a
Governor who doesn’t shackle farmers, ranchers, loggers and fi shers
so we can all benefi t from Oregon’s natural resources. Marc Thielman
is that candidate. Oregon’s potential is being ignored because politi-
cians and courts have caved to radical special interest groups. Marc
will revitalize Oregon’s deep water ports. He understands the needs of
farmers because he has worked the land, grown trees and grew up in a
farming community. Marc Thielman is the kind of fi ghter we need in
Salem to rebuild our economy and bring back this state.
Jeff rey Lawton
Tigard
I’m voting for Melissa Lindsay
When I cast my vote in May, I will be voting Melissa Lindsay
for Morrow County commissioner.
Melissa’s grandfather, Gar Swanson, was one of the founding
members and a visionary for the Port of Morrow and the Bank of
Eastern Oregon. He was committed to Morrow County agricul-
ture and economic development. Her father, Ken Turner, a descen-
dant of Irish immigrants, expanded the farm that she and her hus-
band have been on for 28 years. Her son will be the fi fth generation
to run the business. The Turner family has been farming as well as
promoting growth in Morrow County for more than 135 years.
Melissa is a graduate of Mt. Hood Community College and San
Diego State University with degrees in social science and business
administration. Melissa was instrumental in initiating the formation
phase of the Bank of Eastern Oregon’s mortgage lending depart-
ment and headed up the profi table mortgage division as a vice pres-
ident for 15 years.
Her roots run deep and have instilled the desire to serve Morrow
County and its residents. Over the past six years, while serving as
county judge and commissioner, she has learned about government
business and serves on boards and committees to the great benefi t
of the residents of Morrow County.
The example her forefathers set, generations before her, have
instilled a desire to work diligently representing all of Morrow
County, and with our support, Melissa will continue doing so.
Please join me in support of Melissa Lindsay as Morrow
County commissioner.
Donna Rietmann
Ione
CONTACT YOUR REPRESENTATIVES
STATE REP. GREG SMITH,
DISTRICT 57
STATE SEN. BILL HANSELL,
DISTRICT 29
900 Court St. NE, H-482
Salem, OR 97301
503-986-1457
Email: Rep.GregSmith@state.or.us
———
900 Court St. NE, S-423
Salem, OR 97301
503-986-1729
Email: Sen.BillHansell@state.or.us
———
CORRECTIONS
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