The Bend, Oregon City Council plans to declare a vacancy on the Council on Jan. 4, 2023, when Melanie Kebler becomes Mayor. Because Kebler was elected as Mayor in the middle of her four-year Council term, her move to the Mayor’s seat vacates the remaining two years of her seat on the Council (Position 1). The Council Position 1 term expires in December 2024.

  The Bend Charter requires that a vacancy on the Council be filled within 30 days of declaring the vacancy by a Council appointment. Council Rules describe the process for filling a vacancy.

In consideration of the timeline, Council started accepting applications on Dec. 2, 2022.  

Applicants can complete an online application and submit a letter of interest which may address such areas as reasons for wanting to serve on the Council, working as a part of a team and representing various areas of the community. A description of the application process and application will be available on the “Council vacancy” tab on the Bend City Council webpage.  

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Applicants can also come to City Hall, 710 NW Wall Street, Monday through Friday between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. to fill out an application. Please contact Melissa Mitsch to set up an appointment at 541-388-5505 or by email.

  Completed applications are due by 5 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 6, 2023. The Council will review the applications then can select candidates for interviews. The Council anticipates conducting interviews the week of January 9 and expects to make an appointment at the regular Council meeting on Wednesday, January 18.

  The Council aims to have the appointment made prior to the start of its goal-setting process, which takes place in late January. Dates, times and locations for all meetings will be available on the City Calendar once scheduled.


--Ben Fisher

Post Date: 2022-12-05 17:15:19

Last Update: 2022-12-05 17:44:26

According to the Secretary of State’s office, counties have until December 15 to turn in their certified election results. As of this writing, six counties, Crook, Curry, Gilliam, Grant, Lake, Malheur and Wallowa, have submitted certified election results.

The Secretary of State Vote by Mail Procedures Manual includes a schedule for county clerks.

• The first item after the election is to date stamp and forward any returned ballot envelopes misdelivered to the correct Oregon county within 8 days.
• Within 21 days, resolve all signature challenged ballots.
• Before certification, resolve all provisional ballots, and reconcile totals by comparing the number of ballots processed to the return identification ballot envelope counts or computer voter history log for the precinct or batch.
• Within 27 days, file an abstract of votes.
• Within 35 days, electronically transmit to the Secretary of State the results for each contest by precinct, and ballot count report.
• Within 45 days, notify voters of the reason their ballot was not counted including not signed and the ballot postmarked to late or postmarked on time but received too late.

The voter manual timeline gives the county 21 days to notify the elector, and the elector has the same 21 days after election day to make corrections or they will be inactive. How does making a non-responsive elector "inactive" coordinate with not cleaning voter rolls?

• ORS 254.431(b) If the elector does not provide evidence sufficient to disprove a challenge alleging that the signature of the elector on a return identification envelope does not match the signature in the voter registration record for the elector by the 21st calendar day after the date of the election, the registration of the elector shall be considered inactive.

The manual does not include requirements for opening and scanning returned envelopes where the public is allowed to monitor the process. ORS 254.478 allows county clerks to begin opening returned ballots and begin scanning seven days prior to election day. Secretary Fagan took it upon her own authority to bypass statute and extended the law to allow county clerks to begin opening 14 days prior to election day. As she did when she sent out 7,767 ballots to non-registered voters.

Secretary of State Shemia Fagan testified in favor of SB 249, which didn’t pass. She wants to allow ballots to be opened and counted when they are received rather than forcing County Clerks to wait until 7 days before the day of the election. She claims the flexibility will allow County Clerks to avoid a backlog of ballots on election day. Added time after the election day has increased nefarious activities in ballot harvesting. Added count time prior to election day will allow unscrupulous people to direct their activities. This proposal is certain to return in the 2023 legislative session.

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ORS 254.470 (6) requires a ballot to have a “postal indicator showing that the ballot was mailed not later than the date of the election.” The manual suggested the county use a fluorescent scanner, if available. The postmaster at the Airport Distribution Center said their ballots are sprayed with a date code that can be tracked every place it goes. Eugene also uses spray codes, but experienced smudging. Lacking a postal indicator on a returned ballot, the county election clerk is allowed to decide whether it is counted or not. There doesn’t seem to be uniform treatment across the state on the use of spray coding or if counties have fluorescent scanners, or how they treat late returns with no postmark or unreadable postmarks.

General opinion on social media is that Secretary Fagan has created a crisis of confidence. She admits that people received two or more ballots, and she says counties issuing duplicate ballots cross-check with other counties. However, several counties, including Lane County, admit they don’t check with other counties for duplicate votes. Marion and Lane Counties have admitted they can print ballots at will without change of custody.

Secretary Fagan also claims that the ballots involved in lawsuits are held separately, however, county clerks knew nothing about needing to separate ballots. In one county, litigation is being used as an excuse for not releasing counts that also gives opportunity to add ballots. Further, it is an option of the county clerk if a secrecy envelope is included.

Oregon is one of 31 states that allows some kind of ballot harvesting. Most states have restrictions for family members, but there are several like Oregon that have no restriction except they must be turned in within two days, and an election official may not collect ballots. In this 2022 election, Tina Kotek hired 400 ballot harvesters that targeted the Gen-Z generation. Some would say that Oregon is grooming a generation of 30 and under that are activists, but not thinkers.

There is no limit to how imaginative politics can be. For some, Oregon seems to draw on the worst ideas and has been very good at selling them to voters. We can look to other states for their inspiration. Oregon has tried to expand voters to include 16-year-olds and prisoners. Now, a new idea, the Public Interest Legal Foundation is suing Howard County, Maryland to block its law allowing a member of the school board to be elected by sixth through 11th-grade students, typically 11- or 12-year-olds. If Oregon voters don’t pay attention to election processes, the state will end up in a more oppressive government.


--Donna Bleiler

Post Date: 2022-12-03 06:04:07

Last Update: 2022-12-04 18:39:27

In 2012 the Electronic Registration Information Center (ERIC) was formed as a membership organization by the Soros Open Society to clean voter rolls. Oregon is one of 33 states that reports to ERIC.

In order to run cross checks on voters, ERIC collects details on inactive and active voters every 60 days, including the states Motor Vehicle licensed and ID databases. ERIC’s database provides a wide base source to influence an election and generate voter registrations by providing states with a list of people that are not registered to vote. In 2020 they located 17 million new voters. The ERIC membership bylaws require the state to solicit at least 95% of these people to register. It has been called a “left wing voter registration drive all paid for by the States.” Their rules further explain that “Under no circumstances shall the members transmit any record indicating an individual is a non-citizen of the U.S.”

You ask, how many voters were removed in the last four years? Oregon has fourteen counties that removed five or fewer voter registrations.

Deborah Scroggin, Oregon Director of Elections, serves on the ERIC Board for Oregon. She was appointed after nearly a decade with the Portland City Auditor’s Office where she oversaw city elections. Her office had close ties with Multnomah County Elections Division orchestrating an Intergovernmental Agreement between the City of Portland and the Multnomah County Elections Division. The Director Tim Scott, is also the president of the Oregon Association of County Clerks (OACC). The association is not transparent with meetings or records, and it appears the president does not agree with their lawyer. OACC lawyer stated to Secretary Fagan that the clerks are “very concerned” about the centralized voter registration system and the software used that is no longer supported. Bids for a new system didn’t take place as scheduled.

Dr. Frank, speaking at Gathering of the Eagles in Oregon, said most County Clerks are not qualified for the job they are elected or appointed to do. Clerks are elected or appointed with clerical/administrative skills and that may do for their day-to-day function, but they don’t have the skills to recognize insecure election data, faulty technology or out-of-line algorithms.

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Kat Stansell, Grassroots Outreach Director for the American Policy Center, said “I now believe that the ERIC system was part of the coup; hardly anyone, myself included, had heard of ERIC then (prior to the 2020 election). Now, teams of investigators have unearthed reams of evidence, of irrefutable proof of irregularities, of dark money, of hired ballot runners and poll workers, of thousands of cartons of ballots brought in from ineligible sources, et. al. A lot of the highest profile cheating occurred in ERIC member states. All of this has created blow back from those states.”

There is ample evidence that ERIC, who purports to clean Oregon’s voter registrations, does not. The passing of HB 2681 in 2021, which changed retention of voter registration to indefinitely, appears to be a calculated part of ERIC adding new members to their database. Legislation that ignores purging voter rolls is a form of purging voters of their voice, and evidence of collusive activity. The state of Louisiana has cut its ties with ERIC for similar reasons.

U.S. Census Bureau shows that in 2021 26.4 million people moved in the U.S.. ERIC reported in-state movers in the ERIC system showed 4,911,198, in-state duplicate ballots for 281,996, and another 111,923 for deceased voters. Oregon reported that more people moved out than in with a population decline of approximately 10% according to PSU Population Research Center. Portland lost 11,000 residents for the year ending July 2021, and Multnomah County had their greatest decline of -2,321 in 2022.

Secretary Fagan recently announced voter registrations reaching an all-time high of 3 million. The decline in population doesn’t coordinate with the increase of voter registrations as those moving out-of-state remain as registered voters unless they take individual action to have their name removed. Until the voter rolls are cleaned, there isn't a chance for honest elections.


--Donna Bleiler

Post Date: 2022-12-02 16:56:47

Last Update: 2022-12-02 18:07:42

Oregon’s Ballot Measure 110, which reduced some drug possession charges from felonies to misdemeanors and offered counseling as an alternative to jail time, also created unintended consequences when it comes to dealing with juveniles, Commissioners Roger Nyquist and Will Tucker were told Tuesday morning.

Linn County Juvenile Director Torri Linn said the law does not provide any differentiation between adults and juveniles, so it makes it difficult if not impossible to get services to young people when their drug offenses are in their early stages.

During the recent gubernatorial campaign, all three candidates said Measure 110 was not working and two — Republican Christine Drazan and independent Betsy Johnson — wanted to see it repealed. Incoming Gov. Tina Kotek said she wants to keep it in place, but with fixes. 

Ballot Measure 110 provides funding for such things as subsidizing housing for drug offenders or needle exchanges, but those measures are directed at people who are well into their addictions, not early on like teenagers, Lynn said.

Oregon voters passed Ballot Measure 110 by 58% to 42% in November 2020. It decriminalized possession of consumption amounts of cocaine and heroin among other hard drugs. The new law went into effect in February 2021.

Lynn pointed out that teenagers can be charged with Minor In Possession if found with alcohol, but not if they have cocaine or heroin on them.

Both Nyquist and Tucker — who was participating by telephone — voiced strong concerns about the new law, seeing it as flawed and unsuccessful in decreasing drug use statewide. Commissioner Sprenger did not attend Tuesday’s meeting.

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The commissioners plan to engage members of the Legislature addressing several key issues, especially on how the new law is affecting juvenile offenders and the county’s ability to help them early on.

Nyquist said, “We will go full-court press on this if we have to.”

“At the very least, they need to address the MIP discrepancy issue, a kid getting an MIP for alcohol but not hard drugs” Nyquist said. “It should include federal Class I drugs that the state just legalized.”

Commissioner Tucker said he is, “Adamantly against Measure 110.

“There is no stick and no carrot,” Tucker added.

He said Oregon voters had only one choice to deal with a “horrible problem” when the measure was on the ballot.

Nyquist said he supports the will of the voters, but he emphasized the measure is filled with gaping holes.


--Ben Fisher

Post Date: 2022-11-30 21:09:59

Last Update: 2022-12-01 17:45:30

An Oregon Government Ethics Commission complaint was filed today against Yamhill County Commissioner Casey Kulla alleging that he used county resources for personal, financial gain in his new role as lobbyist for the activist group Oregon Wild.

The complaint shows how Kulla registered on November 29, 2022 as a lobbyist using his county email, office and phone number. The use of resources that are paid for by the public is prohibited for personal, financial gain by a public official. The complaint also alleges that Commissioner Kulla received the paid gig because he’s a commissioner.

Oregon Wild’s website features Casey Kulla under the Staff directory and lists him as the “State Forest Policy Coordinator”. It also refers to his position as a county commissioner as being in the past, despite the fact that Kulla is still an active, paid commissioner until December 31, 2022.

Kulla is no stranger to controversy, unseating an incumbent commissioner in 2018 by convincing the majority of voters that he represented the Yamhill County farming community and shared their values. Once in office, he defied the farming community and orchestrated the reckless push for the Yamhelas Westsider Trail. The YWT was a controversial and illegal bicycle/pedestrian path that cut through active farmland and violated the property rights of numerous farmers. After a lengthy legal battle, the farmers prevailed against the county and Commissioners Mary Starrett and Lindsay Berschauer voted to withdraw the trail’s land use application in 2021.

Commissioner Kulla earned a reputation as the lone Progressive on the Board of Commissioners, regularly voting against Starrett and Berschauer on big issues like protecting the Second Amendment with a county SASO (Second Amendment Sanctuary Ordinance) and pushing back against the Governor’s restrictive and punitive COVID emergency orders. He also openly supported the progressive recall attempt of Commissioner Lindsay Berschauer, his colleague, for her vote to end the Yamhelas Trail project. Not only did Commissioner Berschauer prevail in the recall election, she received more votes of support than in the May 2020 Primary election when she won outright.

Yamhill County voters replaced Kulla with Kit Johnston in the November 2022 election. Kit is a businessman and farmer who opposed the Yamhelas Westsider Trail and shares the traditional agricultural values that have historically defined Yamhill County.


--Staff Reports

Post Date: 2022-11-30 17:13:54

After five years of analyzing, planning and a feasibility study, adjoining cities of Monmouth and Independence saw results by the arrival of the first of the three Trolleys to their community. The project is scheduled to begin service early in 2023 as a pilot project. Representative Paul Evans (D-Monmouth) provided $3 million in American Rescue Plan grant funds through the state budget to support the local transit service that will link downtown Independence, downtown Monmouth and the Western Oregon University campus. The plan is to start operating with transit fares and then find long-term funding to keep ridership free.

The trolley is intended to be fun for all ages. It will be a novelty attracting tourists, visitors, and locals. Planners modeled the pilot after the King Street Trolley in Alexandria, VA, that operates in the historic district, providing mobility for visitors, as well as supporting business. Other trolleys have revitalized downtowns playing a significant role in promoting community identity and economic development, while keeping the traditional urban values alive. That is the hope for Monmouth and Independence.

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Community surveys found favorable support for the trolley service over other options. Eventually, the vision is that the trolleys will become a daily transit service for people living in the cities of Independence and Monmouth. This new service will be managed and operated by Cherriots and will link CARTS (Chemeketa Area Regional Transit System) with the Cherriots system in Salem.

The pilot will operate for two years to provide evidence of long-term viability of the service. The trolleys will be a hybrid gas-electric vehicle with plans to move to a 100 percent battery electric vehicle in the future. Two vehicles will operate each service day with a third to serve as a spare and used as rotation. The main route will travel along Main Street in Monmouth, and Monmouth Street in Independence with three trips per hour. The City of Monmouth has a complete schedule on their webpage. It is also possible to make reservations for off-route pickups and drop-offs if it is within 0.75 miles of the main route.

There is some discussion to have special trips for events. Might want to put one of the Independence City events in Riverview Park on your schedule and ride the trolley for free and see your tax-dollars at work.


--Donna Bleiler

Post Date: 2022-11-30 00:08:20

Last Update: 2022-11-30 20:06:46

The Department of Administrative Services alongside commissioned BBC Research & Consulting, will be hosting six stakeholder engagement sessions in early December to provide information about Oregon’s disparity study, to seek feedback and be available for questions. These meetings will provide information about the project team, the purpose of the study, the project approach, and how business owners and stakeholders can participate directly in the study. The project team will also answer any questions attendees have regarding the study. In addition, attendees will have an opportunity to share any comments or insights about working with the state. This feedback will be integrated into the analysis and report.

BBC Research itself, does not appear to have any blacks or Hispanics among its own directors or employees.

The disparity study, which will examine contracting by state government agencies. The study will seek information about businesses that are owned by people of color, women and service-disabled veterans. The project team will assess whether there are disparities between contracts and procurements awarded and the availability of those types of businesses for the work requested. The study will also assess marketplace conditions for businesses owned by people of color, women and service-disabled veterans throughout Oregon to determine whether any barriers make it more difficult for those businesses to compete for or perform state work.

Public Comment Zoom Meetings

December 6, 11:30 a.m.

December 6, 5:30 p.m.

December 7, 11:30 a.m.

December 7, 5:30 p.m.

December 8, 11:30 a.m.

December 8, 5:30 p.m.

Stakeholder engagement sessions will take place in early December, with two sessions a day over the course of three days. Public participation and feedback are crucial to a successful study, please join any of the following sessions:

“We highly encourage anyone interested in state contracting or procurement to participate in these engagement sessions,” said Christopher D. Wilson, Disparity Study Manager. “We hope to hear about all experiences, your insights will help the state better encourage the participation of small businesses, service-disabled veteran-owned businesses, person of color-owned businesses, and woman-owned businesses in state work.”

The disparity study began in October 2022, and the project team expects to submit a draft report to the state in June 2023 and a final report in August 2023.


--Staff Reports

Post Date: 2022-11-25 06:28:05

Last Update: 2022-11-26 09:34:04

Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum, along with 39 other state attorney generals, announced a historic $391.5 million settlement with Google over its location tracking practices. The settlement, which was led by Oregon AG Rosenblum and Nebraska AG Doug Peterson, is the largest attorney general-led consumer privacy settlement ever. Because of Oregon’s leadership role in the bipartisan investigation and settlement, Oregon will receive $14,800,563.

The settlement outlined that Google misled its users into thinking they had turned off location tracking in their account settings, when, in fact, Google continued to collect their location information. In addition to the multimillion-dollar settlement, as part of the negotiations, Google has agreed to significantly improve its location tracking disclosures and user controls starting in 2023.

“For years Google has prioritized profit over their users’ privacy,” said Attorney General Rosenblum. “They have been crafty and deceptive. Consumers thought they had turned off their location tracking features on Google, but the company continued to secretly record their movements and use that information for advertisers.”

Location data is a key part of Google’s digital advertising business. Google uses the personal and behavioral data it collects to build detailed user profiles and target ads. In fact, location data is among the most sensitive and valuable personal information Google collects. Even a limited amount of location data can expose a person’s identity and routines and can be used to infer personal details. Specifically, Google confused its users about the extent to which they could limit Google’s location tracking by adjusting their account and device settings

The attorneys general opened the Google investigation following a 2018 Associated Press article that revealed Google “records your movements even when you explicitly tell it not to.” The article focused on two Google account settings: Location History and Web & App Activity. Location History is “off” unless a user turns on the setting, but Web & App Activity, a separate account setting, is automatically “on” when users set up a Google account, including all Android users.

“Consumer privacy is one of my office’s top priorities. That’s why it’s so important to me that Oregon played a key role in this settlement. Until we have comprehensive privacy laws, companies will continue to compile large amounts of our personal data for marketing purposes with few controls,” continued AG Rosenblum.

The settlement requires Google to be more transparent about its practices. In particular, Google must:

1. Show additional information to users whenever they turn a location-related account setting “on” or “off”;
2. Make key information about location tracking unavoidable for users (i.e., not hidden); and
3. Give users detailed information about the types of location data Google collects and how it’s used at an enhanced “Location Technologies” webpage.

In 2019, Attorney General Rosenblum formed the Oregon Consumer Privacy Task Force to answer the growing calls for legislation that would give consumers more control over their online privacy and require businesses to adhere to basic standards when handling personal information. The task force has now grown into more than 150 participants from a variety of perspectives.

The task force will introduce comprehensive consumer data privacy legislation in the upcoming 2023 legislative session. If the bill is successful, consumers will have more control over their personal data. They will have the right to know what personal information a company is collecting, to whom or where their data was disclosed, and they will receive a copy of all the data a company has about them. Companies would also need to correct inaccuracies in personal data or delete their information. In addition, the task force plans to introduce companion legislation to create a state registry of data brokers, companies that often operate under the radar but make billions selling personal consumer data.

Blocking Google from collecting personal data may spoil their artificial intelligence robot called LaMDA (Language Model for Dialog Applications). This is the product for which Google has been collecting personal information and habits. Google has been in the news as to whether this AI robot is sentient having thoughts and feelings, and they have fired those claiming it possess those self-aware algorithms.

Elon Musk said in a speech at the 2017 National Governors Association, “Robots will be able to do everything better than us. I have exposure to the most cutting-edge AI, and I think people should be really concerned by it.”


--Donna Bleiler

Post Date: 2022-11-25 06:24:37

Last Update: 2022-11-24 21:15:24

Thanksgiving week Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum reminded us that the biggest shopping days of the year are also packed with scams. Black Friday and Cyber Monday and the holidays draw millions of buyers every year looking to score deals, compete for hot products, and cross names off their shopping lists. She says, be ready – and safe!

“With all these deals, unfortunately, fraudsters are also looking to cash in,” said Rosenblum. “Let’s not give scammers any gifts, credit card information, or new identities this year,” said AG Rosenblum. “Before you open your wallet, review this list carefully to ensure you can shop confidently and make the most of all the great holiday deals. Be sure to review our ten practical tips as well!”

1. Non-delivery scam

If a deal seems too good to be true on Black Friday or Cyber Monday, it probably is. When making online purchases, you should always receive an order confirmation with a tracking number. But in this scam, you won’t. And surprise, surprise, the package never arrives. When you attempt to contact the seller for help, you learn they have disappeared.

2. Gift card scam

In this scam, an online store will ask that you pay using a gift card. If this happens, it should raise big red flags. Gift cards are often utilized by cybercriminals to steal your money because these types of purchases cannot be tracked, and it is impossible to get your money back.

Treat gift cards like cash, never giving out your gift card number or PIN, and using them only with the issuing merchant. For example, you’d use a Target gift card at a Target store or Target.com.

3. Fake order scam

Phishing is one of the oldest tricks in the book, but modern-day phishing attacks have become more sophisticated. In the fake order scam, con artists will send cryptic text messages or unsolicited emails to notify you of a "problem" with your online order.

But you never ordered anything! They want you to click the link in the phishing email, which leads to a website asking for your banking credentials or other sensitive information, which they can use to commit other frauds.

These emails are designed to appear like they came from a legitimate sender, like Amazon or Walmart. Please look out for these and don’t fall for them!

4. Fake delivery scam

Phishing attacks go a step further in this scheme, as criminals will send fake delivery notifications by text or email. Usually, these notifications are disguised to be from FedEx, UPS, or the U.S. Postal Service.

Just like the fake order phishing scam, you’ll be invited to click a link to accept your delivery, where they’ll steal your personally identifying information.

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5. Fake website scam

Cybercriminals are setting up imitation websites of popular online stores. These copycat websites look exactly like the official retailer, and the untrained eyes of an average consumer can easily fall for the trap.

If you have unsuspectingly made an online purchase from a fake retail website, criminals may have stolen your credit card information and other personal details, and you should contact your credit card and/or bank immediately.

To avoid falling victim to one or more of these scams on Black Friday and Cyber Monday, review these 10 practical tips to help you watch your wallet, shop wisely, and protect your personal information online.

If you have fallen victim, be sure to report it to the Oregon Department of Justice online at www.oregonconsumer.gov or by phone at 1-877-877-9392.


--Donna Bleiler

Post Date: 2022-11-24 13:59:51

Last Update: 2022-11-24 16:11:12

Governor Kate Brown has announced a pardon for prior Oregon offenses of simple possession of marijuana, an act that will impact an estimated 45,000 individuals across the state and forgive more than $14,000,000 in associated fines and fees. The pardon will remove 47,144 convictions for possession of a small amount of marijuana from individual records, eliminating barriers for thousands of people seeking employment, housing, and educational opportunities who have otherwise been ineligible.

The pardon applies to electronically available Oregon convictions for possession of 1 ounce or less of marijuana, in pre-2016 cases in which the person was 21 years of age or older, where this was the only charge, and where there were no victims. This pardon does not apply to any other offense related to marijuana or other controlled substances. More information can be found here.

“No one deserves to be forever saddled with the impacts of a conviction for simple possession of marijuana -- a crime that is no longer on the books in Oregon,” said Governor Brown. “Oregonians should never face housing insecurity, employment barriers, and educational obstacles as a result of doing something that is now completely legal, and has been for years. My pardon will remove these hardships. And while Oregonians use marijuana at similar rates, Black and Latina/o/x people have been arrested, prosecuted, and convicted at disproportionate rates.

“We are a state, and a nation, of second chances. Today, I am taking steps to right the wrongs of a flawed, inequitable, and outdated criminal justice system in Oregon when it comes to personal marijuana possession. For the estimated 45,000 individuals who are receiving a pardon for prior state convictions of marijuana possession, this action will help relieve the collateral consequences arising from these convictions.”

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Following the Governor’s pardon, the Oregon Judicial Department will ensure that all court records associated with these pardoned offenses are sealed, as required by law


--Staff Reports

Post Date: 2022-11-24 11:07:59

A lawsuit has been filed by Oregon Firearms Federation, Sherman County Sheriff Brad Lohrey and firearms dealer Adam Johnson against Oregon Governor Kate Brown and Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum seeking to have Measure 114 declared unconstitutional.

According to the complaint, filed in the Pendleton Division of US District Court, "Millions of law-abiding Americans own firearms equipped with magazines capable of holding more than 10 rounds of ammunition. There is nothing unusual or novel about this technology. Many of the nation’s best-selling handguns and rifles come standard with magazines that can hold more than 10 rounds—and firearms equipped with such magazines are safely possessed by law-abiding citizens in the vast majority of States. The reason for the popularity of these magazines is that in a confrontation with a violent attacker, having enough ammunition can be the difference between life and death."

The case was immediately moved to the Portland Division under Judge Karen Immergut. Immergut is a Democrat appointed by Donald Trump. The court acted with unusual speed on Thanksgiving Day by scheduling oral arguments for Dec 2nd.

According to the complaint, Measure 114 violates a litany of constitutional provisions.

• First, it impermissibly burdens Plaintiffs’ Second Amendment rights. The Second Amendment protects the right to keep and bear arms “typically possessed by law-abiding citizens for lawful purposes.” This applies to keeping and bearing arms both inside and outside the home.

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  “The standard for applying the Second Amendment is as follows: When the Second Amendment’s plain text covers an individual’s conduct, the Constitution presumptively protects that conduct. The government must then justify its regulation by demonstrating that it is consistent with the Nation’s historical tradition of firearm regulation. Only then may a court conclude that the individual’s conduct falls outside the Second Amendment’s unqualified command.” “The second and 14th amendments protect an individual’s right to carry a handgun for self-defense outside the home.” “Individual self-defense is the central component of the Second Amendment right.”
• Second, Article 1, Section 27 of the Oregon Constitution states, in relevant part, that “the people shall have the right to bear arms for the defence [sic] of themselves.”
• The Second Amendment protects the purchase and use of ammunition and magazines necessary to make firearms effective. Because the magazines Oregon prohibits are “in common use for lawful purposes like self-defense,” the prohibition “cannot stand.”
• 114 also violates the Takings Clause. By banning possession—in addition to sales and use—of magazines that were lawfully acquired and are presently possessed. 114 constitutes a physical appropriation of property without compensation that is per se unconstitutional.

Oregon Firearms Federation Executive Director Kevin Starrett pointed out, that "In spite of the fact that there are still uncounted ballots, Oregon’s Secretary of State has declared that the ban on new gun sales, and the outlawing of standard capacity magazines, goes into effect on December 8th.

"This came as a shock not only to gun owners, and gun stores but to the State Police and Sheriffs who have been saddled with implementing this nightmare with no direction, no funding, and no resources . And that’s exactly how it was intended," according to Starrett, who is seeking donations to help with mounting legal costs.

"We know the state has said they will vigorously defend this measure and work to shut down gun stores as quickly as possible. And as you know, virtually every firearms related legal challenge has been lengthy, expensive, and wrought with setbacks.

Starrett continued, "The courts were more than happy to uphold orders that closed schools and crippled small businesses during COVID."


--Staff Reports

Post Date: 2022-11-24 06:24:08

Last Update: 2022-11-24 20:37:10

Senator Janeen Sollman (D-Hillsboro) speaks out regarding the double homicide in Washington County on November 16. The suspect, Carlos Jimenez-Vargas, is believed to have killed his wife and her sister, Gabriela Jimenez and Lenin Hernandez-Rosas, then shot himself. He was previously arrested six weeks earlier and charged with fourth-degree assault, strangulation, second-degree invasion of personal privacy, luring a minor, unlawful use of a weapon and menacing. Senator Sollman, board member of the Washington County Family Justice Center, is using this tragedy to expand pretrial release assessments to include crimes of domestic violence and personal violence, such as strangulation.

“As someone that grew up in a home where domestic violence was present,” she said. “I know that domestic violence is about negative, and often violent control. Early in the 2023 legislative session, I will be looking at how different courts address these issues in order to help prevent tragedies like this from occurring and will be working with all advocates interested in working on this issue.”

Meanwhile, Oregon Governor Kate Brown grants another round of pardons for prior marijuana possession that will impact an estimated 45,000 individuals across the state and forgive more than $14,000,000 in associated fines and fees. The pardon will remove 47,144 convictions for possession of 1 ounce or less of marijuana, in pre-2016 cases in which the person was 21 years of age or older, where this was the only charge, and where there were no victims. This pardon does not apply to any other offense related to marijuana or other controlled substances. It eliminates barriers for thousands of people seeking employment, housing, and educational opportunities who have otherwise been ineligible

Governor Brown said, “We are a state, and a nation, of second chances. Today, I am taking steps to right the wrongs of a flawed, inequitable, and outdated criminal justice system in Oregon when it comes to personal marijuana possession. For the estimated 45,000 individuals who are receiving a pardon for prior state convictions of marijuana possession, this action will help relieve the collateral consequences arising from these convictions.”

A D V E R T I S E M E N T

A D V E R T I S E M E N T

Following the Governor’s pardon, the Oregon Judicial Department will ensure that all court records associated with these pardoned offenses are sealed, removing housing insecurity, employment barriers, and educational obstacles.

This follows the release of 953 convicted felons earlier this year that included more than 70 people who committed crimes as juveniles including murder. There were a lot of questions in a lawsuit about the constitutional and statutory rights of victims. However, the courts sided with Governor Brown.

Oregon has set a precedent passing laws that protect rehabilitation of inmates. So it shouldn’t be a surprise when courts seem to side with predators rights. Can Senator Sollman bring back constitutional and statutory rights in the way courts look at victims?


--Donna Bleiler

Post Date: 2022-11-23 16:48:12

Last Update: 2022-11-23 20:24:08