The Bulletin last year published my letter, which read, “… I think the women who represent me in my city, state and Congress will bring a distinct new energy and skills.”

Our issues — affordable housing, homeless crises and mental health needs, haven’t disappeared.

But Gov. Tina Kotek toured our state, met with residents and listened. And she said, regarding the effort to address Portland’s crime, homeless camps, residents’ leaving, and boarded storefronts:

“Over … the last four months, members of the task force, the broader Portland community, and people across Oregon who know Portland’s success is a bellwether for the entire state have contributed to this effort in ways large and small, and I am incredibly grateful.”

For me those aren’t words. I didn’t vote for Gov. Kotek. But she motivated the Legislature to focus tax money on affordable housing and the homeless problems. She partnered with business to clean up Portland and rebuild its urban economy.

In Central Oregon, county/city government officials and elected representatives, nonprofits and oversight entities — Homeless Leadership Coalition and Coordinated Houseless Response Office — are incrementally creating transitional housing, accessible drug treatment centers and mental heath services, job training and placement into more permanent housing and employment.

This new year as I walk Bend’s downtown sidewalks, I will still encounter bedraggled men with backpacks talking to themselves out loud. But if they seek health treatment, a shelter and food, I am more confident a year after my letter their needs will be met.

— Tim Conlon, Bend

The Bulletin has reported that Cliff Bentz has made an early endorsement of Donald Trump for president in 2024. Cliff’s vision of the resume requirements for that office seems to differ from mine.

Apparently, his preferences include the following: court-declared sexual predator and defamer, court-declared business fraudster, liar of ridiculous proportions, anti-constitutionalist, oath-breaker, insurrectionist, election fraudster, hedonistic narcissist, not to mention a track record of incompetence, inaction, regressive policies and the inability to appoint and retain a Cabinet of competence and expertise relevant to their roles. Maybe 90 criminal indictments pending for trial and a couple Congressional impeachments also help Cliff’s opinion.

Cliff, forgive me if I don’t follow your endorsement this time. In fact, it is so far out of the ballpark that your own judgement and qualifications important for your role of representing the 2nd Congressional District of Oregon should be in doubt. Another term would seem to be wrong for you.

— Donald Fisher, Powell Butte

Republican representatives Lori Chavez-DeRemer and Cliff Bentz voted last month for an “impeachment inquiry” against President Biden. Like all the other House Republicans, they voted “Yes” even though there’s no evidence that President Biden has committed constitutionally impeachable “high crimes and misdemeanors.” After months of Republican-led investigations, they have only empty insinuations that Biden is corrupted by his son’s business dealings.

But wait. Here’s evidence of actual corruption: Ex-president Trump accepted “more than $7.8 million in payments from foreign states and their leaders” for his private businesses, according to a blistering expose by the Democrats on the House Oversight Committee, dated Jan. 4. China and Saudi Arabia are among the unsavory regimes that spent lavishly at Trump’s private properties — all while he was president, making foreign policy decisions for us.

Trump’s alleged use of the presidency to enrich himself is the kind of behavior our constitutional framers condemned. They declared, “no Person holding any Office of Profit or Trust … shall, without the Consent of the Congress, accept of any present [or] Emolument of any kind whatever, from any King, Prince, or foreign State.”

The Republicans’ “impeachment inquiry” against President Biden is unjustified and a waste of time and resources.

Yet, Bentz and Chavez-DeRemer support it. And instead of repudiating the twice-impeached, self-dealing seditionist Trump, Bentz has endorsed him. Presumably, Chavez-DeRemer will do the same.

Oregonians deserve representatives with more consistency and constitutional integrity than these two.

— Dorothy Leman, Bend

Editor’s Note

Do you have a point you’d like to make or an issue you feel strongly about? Submit a letter to the editor.