Letters: Election-related letters

Published 9:15 pm Wednesday, October 21, 2020

The Bulletin egregiously missed the mark by not endorsing Melanie Kebler and Megan Perkins for Bend City Council along with Anthony Broadman and Rita Schenkelberg. Melanie and Megan represent a truly progressive, intelligent and compassionate point of view. They would add much -needed hard working and fresh perspectives to the council that would represent the majority of residents in Bend who desire a more affordable, inclusive and responsive city. Melanie and Megan have both worked hard to learn as much as possible about solutions to our affordability crisis along with many other critical issues. Their insight and ideas are what we need on the Bend City Council. By contrast, Justin Livingston and Chris Piper along with the rest of the council voted against a type of innovative affordable housing in part by increasing regulations and adding limitations on microunits. They caved in to baseless fears of neighborhood associations that purport to want affordability — just not near their homes. We need leaders willing to make the hard decisions to move us forward, leaders that after doing all the research and deliberation vote in the best interests of all the citizens of Bend. Follow the money to see who has the ear of Livingston and Piper vs. Kebler and Perkins. For a better future, vote for Melanie Kebler and Megan Perkins along with Anthony Broadman and Rita Schenkelberg for Bend City Council.

— Kathy Austin, Bend

I’ve seen some vicious and flat out wrong attacks against a great public servant, state Sen. Tim Knopp. His opponent would have you believe that he won’t stand for women, but one look at his record shows the truth. Sen. Knopp was instrumental in creating and passing paid family leave, an important resource for working moms like myself. The senator also was a leader in passing pay equity — ensuring everyone, regardless of gender, race, or orientation, receives equal pay for equal work. He again rose to the occasion by creating and passing harsher penalties against sexual harassment and required government agencies to adopt policies on how to protect survivor’s privacy and achieve justice. These are issues that make our communities safer and more equal to women. While others talk in generic empty platitudes, our state Sen. Tim Knopp shows us a record that we can trust. I won’t be fooled by the slander of those desperate to besmirch the name of someone who has stood up for me, and all the women of Central Oregon. The results speak for themselves. I know that I can trust Tim Knopp to fight for me, so Tim Knopp can trust in my vote for him.

— Jonna Pahlisch, Bend

I am saddened and dismayed by Deputy District Attorney Jason Kropf’s distortion of state Rep. Cheri Helt’s record in his negative attack ads. After serving 8 six years on the Bend-La Pine School Board, Cheri has continued to be a tireless advocate for students and education. From teenage mental health to school safety, from voting for the largest K-12 education budget to voting for state rainy day funds to help schools operate online learning during COVID-19, and more. You would be hard -pressed to find anyone doing more for students and education in Oregon than Cheri Helt. But no matter her real record, Jason Kropf and partisan extremists will disregard these facts for their own version of so-called reality. They tweet “But, but, but, Cheri voted against the Corporate Activities Tax.” But, but, but, do you know why Cheri did not vote for the CAT? Just a moment of research and you’ll find her quotes in media articles. Or you can email her and receive a reasoned and thoughtful response from someone who knows how public education funding works and the unbearable burden this particularly flawed tax policy would have placed on local businesses.

I realize it’s hard for extremists who obsess about national politics to get their head out of the clouds and put in the work to understand local issues before repeating the lines they were given. But I challenge fellow Bulletin readers and Bend voters to look beyond the games of politics and fringe activists.

— David Coutin, Bend

Your endorsement of Cliff Bentz for Congress is ill-considered and misinformed. Your assertion that “Bentz has real experience in the Legislature working across party lines” fails to take into account some of his recent actions. When the GOP in Salem was poised to lose on a cap -and -trade bill, Bentz led a walkout by Republicans that shut down the session. They didn’t just leave the room or the building, they ran and hid in Idaho, which totally sabotaged the session. This is not acceptable behavior; it’s a disgrace. They should have stayed and done “the people’s work.” Is that how he’ll behave in Congress? Is that what we want? No way! If Bentz were working for a private company and did that, he’d be fired. Well, he works for us, the voters, and it’s our duty to fire him. Vote “NO” on Bentz — we need a congressman who will stick around and get the job done!

— Dave Stalker, Bend

Owning a small business in Bend is a rewarding and challenging feat. Our vast tourist attractions bring economic opportunity and a vibrant atmosphere to our community, but also presents challenges for our residents. Balancing the needs of the community must be done in a thoughtful manner to make Bend welcoming and livable.

That’s why I commend Councilor Chris Piper for his diligent work to strike that balance. I’ve owned a dental practice near McKay Park for over 20 years. As Bend grew and became more popular, parking became scarcer for residents and employees in the area. At one point, all nearby parking was full of campers for weeks at a time. People were nude in front of our businesses and a preschool, siphoning power and water and leaving trash and human excrement. My employees and patrons had nowhere to park and didn’t feel safe.

I reached out to the city to see what they could do on the matter and promptly received a reply from Councilor Piper. The next day, he was at my business and assessing the situation. He quickly took action, partnering with Bend parks, the neighborhood association and other local businesses. Before long, a four-hour parking limit had been implemented, which enhanced access to the park but prevented the illegal camping that had been occurring. Now, my employees and clients feel safe and can park with ease.

Councilor Piper’s actions made our area more livable. That’s the type of action Bend needs and why he has my support.

— Phillippe Freeman, Bend

How ridiculous. These people who don’t want to call the flu by its real name. I have a hard time understanding people that everything is going to hurt someone else’s feelings being politically correct. They don’t want us to call this current COVID-19 by it’s real name: the China flu. Going back as far as the early 1700s everything else has been called by its real name. There was the Spain plague, the South American malaria epidemic , the Egyptian plague, the London plague, the China plague, the Amsterdam plague, the Russian plague and the Hong Kong flu. I honestly believe that the people who are dictating to us how we should speak and what we should say should really get a job and quit trying to tell everybody else what’s right and what’s wrong. In my opinion, political correctness is tearing down our country.

— Charlie Thompson, Bend

Phil Chang is a skilled and experienced leader with a history of dedication to Deschutes County. He’s raised his family here, served nine years at Central Oregon Intergovernmental Council , three years as Central Oregon field representative for U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley, managed Oregon’s Federal Forest Restoration Program, served on the Bend 2030 Vision Task Force and also served on the boards of his neighborhood association and of Trout Unlimited Deschutes chapter. His experience, values, work ethic and collaborative skills will greatly benefit Deschutes County.

Our rapid growth is placing a strain on the resources we have available to address the rising demands of our communities. Finding solutions will require partnership and collaboration with other agencies and public-private partnerships. Phil will be proactive in seeking these partnerships. Opportunities include investing in more behavioral health services including a team of mental health specialists to send on certain emergency calls, working with schools addressing youth suicide and substance abuse and helping to address some of the root causes of homelessness. Other opportunities include playing a more active role in regional transit, collaboration in forest management and water resource issues and better waste management through more recycling and food waste management.

The bottom line is that Phil will provide the leadership needed and be a strong advocate for livability in Deschutes County. We need new leadership. Please vote for Phil Chang.

— Peter Geiser, Bend

Early in my career, my manager commented in a meeting. She said “we are no better than the way we treat the least of our employees.” In some ways, our children are those members of our society. Small and without voice, they depend on us to provide them with so much. We have an opportunity to do just that by voting to support the Redmond schools bond measure.

We pass on most of this work when it comes to educating our children. Thank goodness for boards, administrators, teachers, coaches, committees and a variety of staff who make sure our youth get the education they need and deserve. Now that so many parents and kids are struggling with remote learning, it is clear just how important “going to school” really is.

This measure addresses needs related to the buildings where education happens. It secures school entrances, updates systems to support changing technologies, adds classrooms, provides healthier environments, keeping our facilities up to the task ahead.

Our communities are growing, the number of kids are increasing, and their educational needs cannot be pushed aside for someone else to deal with. Today’s youth will provide tomorrows’ leadership and manage the good and the bad my generation leaves behind. The fact that others have provided us a way to address this without increasing our tax rates shows commitment and creative solutions. Did I mention the matching grant of $7.6 million from the state if we pass the measure?

—Carl Harbour, Crooked River Ranch

I am writing to urge support of the Bend transportation bond on the upcoming ballot, Measure 9-135.

This is surely a contentious and difficult political season, but one thing almost everyone can agree on is that traffic in Bend is difficult, slow and sometimes dangerous. The transportation bond will help. Not only will it reduce congestion and improve city connector roads, it also provides funds for bicycle routes, safe routes for schools and other improvements. The bond will help the city plan better for our continued growth and will also provide needed new jobs. And with no payments before 2022, property owners won’t have to pay anything until the pandemic passes and the economy improves.

The city and many devoted residents worked for 2 years to create the list of projects to be funded by this bond (with lots of input from all over Bend). Please join me and vote “yes” on this important improvement for getting around Bend more quickly and safely!

—Kathy Schroeder, Bend