What We Did Ask For From our Commissioners: Rebutting the Daily Astorian's defense of District Attorney Josh Marquis

A rebuttal to the editor of the Daily Astorian in his article defending his friend, District Attorney Joshua Marquis, Something we didn't ask for: Cutting DA’s salary sends a very strange and negative message

Staying within their norm of biased reporting, reflected in its editorial 28 June 2007, the Daily Astorian has, once again, dismally failed its community.

First, the District Attorney sends a message through his friend in one of the editor's opening paragraphs: When Marquis eventually retires from the job, what will the county commission do? If the commission continues to deny the county stipend, the job will attract a lower caliber of lawyer. If the commission decides: Well, he's gone, so let's continue the stipend, it will prove there was something personal in all of this.

A statement which shows, in and of itself, that Marquis is delivering edicts through his friend. He certainly hasn't given any interviews out saying he plans on staying here until "retirement" however that statement was merely made to stave off the accusations that he is merely biding his time until something better comes along. Next, he presupposes no one is going to beat him at the next elections. Seriously, a big mistake. Finally, it ignores the paper's own reporter. While it most often is what the rest of us do, it doesn't bode well when the paper's editor does so as well. Reinstating the stipend will prove they give the next District Attorney the opportunity to prove her/himself fully capable of cooperating with the board of commissioners, conducting themselves as mature, fully functioning department heads.

According to the Daily Astorian's own staff reporter: Commissioner Roberts ... In a memo to the board Wednesday, Roberts said she had "carefully weighed" the public's input before casting her vote, but was looking out for "proper fiscal management." She said she expects Marquis to "clearly differentiate" between his state District Attorney duties and his responsibilities as county department head, "work to improve communications with the budget committee," and comply with all county financial policies. "Speaking for myself, I cannot support reinstating the supplement until the District Attorney shows willingness and demonstrates progress on these issues," she wrote.

Here, clearly stated, is a way for the DA to get his stipend back, yet the Daily Astorian editor ignores this option. Perhaps reflecting the DA's own opinion of his obligation to the requests of our commissioners?

The editor goes on to rant, This decision devalues county law enforcement. Specifically, commissioners should bury any notion of asking voters for a new jail. Why would this editor completely devalue the hard work that the rest of the law enforcement community has accomplished with the commissioners? Why ignore everything that the commissioners have approved in the budget? And why build a jail if it is proven that the District Attorney has been manipulating the system so that people who shouldn't BE in jail are being FORCED to take plea bargains as they accept the deals their public defenders, being paid $34/hour w/o benefits, quickly urge them to take so they can fill the hour in more equitably? Our jails are full of people who MAY have had better options or may not even be guilty of the crime they are being forced to serve a term of imprisonment for if a wiser, more discriminating district attorney had been in place. The results have led to a waste of our resources in jail space, money, court time and staff management.

The editor rambles on, to the beat of the Marquis' drum, Commissioner Jeff Hazen's surpise attack in the County Budget Committee introduces an element of unpredictability, which is poison to the political process. The first rule of politics is: Don't surprise. Many inside and outside county government will wonder whether they can rely on what commissioners, and particularly Hazen say. Really? A total surprise, eh? Then WHY did part time, unpaid, freelance reporter Tryan Hartill know there was a definite possibility that this was coming up? Could it be because it's on the chopping block every year? Maybe both Forrester and Marquis could use Mr. Hartill as an adviser to help them understand the finer points of politics, of budgets, of cooperation, of responsibility to ones community? Of simply being willing to ask questions, admit to being wrong and do what's right?

We would like to very stringently state here that Mr. Hartill has NEVER aligned himself with any side of this controversy and our using him as an example here is purely because he did, indeed, publish the point that the stipend may very will be discussed at an upcoming budget committee meeting. For first Marquis to bewail he was blind sided, and now the editor to join the caterwauling shows an extreme amount of stupidity of two people who should know better than to put it on public display. If someone looking from the outside in can figure out the stipend will be a topic surely someone on the inside, who deals annually with their own budget, knows the stipend is always "on the block".

The editor's argument spins away from him. He argues: Commissioners have also violated the second and third rules among politicians: Don't pick a fight you don't need or a fight that leads nowhere. And don't let it get personal. The public did not ask commissioners to take this action. The Daily Astorian exhaustively interviewed commission candidates Jeff Hazen, Ann Samuelson and Richard Lee in the last election, and this topic never came up. Now it has become the biggest thing Hazen and Samuelson have done. It will mark their terms in office. Where is he getting his rule book? HIS reporters exhaustively interviewed someone? Yes, we've seen fine examples of that process. The public didn't ask them to take that action? Yes, we did. We asked them to be stewards of our money, or our trust, of our future, of that which we ourselves are unaware of taking place within the borders of our community, to the best of their ability. You think family after family weren't dancing the night of June 27, 2007? And if you think they were the "criminal element" it is you who are sadly mistaken. It is the families who have lived here generation after generation who have been caught up in nets that the DA casts and but for their money their own would have had the fate that so many indigent, having to rely on the $34/hour attorney, have had to suffer.

Marquis is several cuts above his recent predecessors. He is a smart prosecutor. Ever read what was said about Nifong, especially by his close friends? Do it. And then read Marquis' profile. Marquis wants people to fall into the fallacy of association regarding Leonhardt and previous DAs, does he like the comparison to Nifong? The editor is slamming many of the former District Attorneys and their staff. Clatsop County has benefited from his skills. Commissioners perhaps underestimate the variety and seriousness of the crime that Marquis and his office prosecute. More serious cases in our courts range from murder to sex abuse to elder abuse to the "collector" phenomenon of animal abusers. There is a steady flow of drunken driving cases. Looking at crime through the Marquis' glasses? We have to pay the price of his insolence when the sensational, and extremely rare, crimes mentioned have more than one lawyer capable of prosecuting them and the rest were/are daily occurrances that Gerttula, Faber and past DA's handled routinely and certainly any one of the present prosecuting deputies, or those attorneys who have escaped that office, could easily handle. The Kittles case was, as are all collectors cases, a colossal waste of money. It got Marquis a lot of publicity, costing the county hundreds of thousands of dollars. How long did she serve without any psychiatric help for what is now known to be a serious mental condition (which incarceration exacerbates and certainly does not make the person ready to re-enter society)? This is the example chosen of why we should be content with Marquis? It serves as one of the many examples of his ineptitude as a District Attorney and why he should remain a second chair with someone else at the reigns, holding him tightly under control.

The editor's final sorry attack: Lacking the foresight of good chess players, commissioners Hazen, Samuelson and Patricia Roberts have taken this dispute to a place that none of us need. The local criminal defense bar is getting a big laugh out of this circus. The DUII defense industry must be ecstatic. But the bottom line is this: Clatsop County voters have been given something they didn't ask for. The chess game is far from over, sir. You count the pieces on the board with your eyes wide shut. Richard Lee, Jeff Hazen, Ann Samuelson, and Patricia Roberts have taken us exactly where we asked them to, towards a responsible accounting (fair and irrespective of that person's prominence, influence or standing) of where our money is going and what it has been used on. It is not an open check book for a media gadfly who collects his articles as if they were notches on a bed post.

Josh Marquis WASTES money. We have asked our commissioners to steward our money. While the $13,500 may not have a huge impact our budget it did say to many of us that our commissioners are doing what they can to call to the public's attention this man's often irrational, noticeably belligerent, and borderline hostile behavior. His lack of ability to provide a performance based budget, to wield the power of his office to the benefit our community, to bring justice to both sides of the law with wisdom, compassion and discretion is something which had to be checked. And it was.


Italicized phrases are excerpts from The Daily Astorian, an editorial and an article.

The Death Penalty

In 2006, fifty three death row inmates had their sentences carried out in fifteen states. All but one received a lethal injection. One prisoner in Virginia was electrocuted.

It sounds barbaric enough that so many people were executed in this country last year, but making it worse twenty four of the executions took place in the State of Texas.

As of June 21, 2007 there have been twenty five executions in seven states. Again, Texas leads the charge bringing home seventeen of them. Today there are presently 429 inmates on Death Row in Texas.

Prosecutors may lead the charge and bang the drum that the death penalty is a deterrent, but this is simply untrue. Science has shown that most people who are able to commit the heinous crime of murder are actually missing something in their brain that does not relate an incident with a consequence. Nor are they able to feel empathy. If the death penalty were able to deter offenders there would be no one on death row.

On average over the last 15 years states without the death penalty had 29.38% fewer murders than states with the death penalty. It almost seems like the death penalty invites and encourages people to kill.

Another reason often cited by supporters of the death penalty is that the death penalty is less costly than life imprisonment. However, this is far from the truth. According to Spangenberg and Walsh in the Loyola of Los Angeles Law Review, "The death penalty is not now, nor has it ever been, a more economical alternative to life imprisonment." In fact, a study conducted by the New York State Defenders Association showed that the cost of a capital trial alone was double the cost of life imprisonment. The January 5, 1997, Miami Herald estimated that the true cost of each execution is approximately $3.2 million, or roughly six times the cost of a life-imprisonment sentence.

Is justice or revenge the force behind this barbaric practice? It seems that a cycle is created when government promotes death, be it in the form execution of inmates or be it the people we send our soldiers off to kill in war. We accept taking life as a national norm. But what happens to the people we teach to kill? How do we un-train them once the conflict is over? Our tax dollars pay for every war and every lethal injection. We are fueling the fire. Movies and games treat death so lightly that audiences have become immune to the disgusting reality removing empathy from yet another generation.

How safe are we in a society where cold blooded behavior is not only a way of life, but endorsed on many levels by the government. How safe are we in a society when every citizen can be wrongly convicted with faulty evidence by over aggressive prosecutors and have their life taken away from them by the government? It happens all the time.

In the past 30 years, 123 inmates were found to be innocent and released from death row. DNA evidence is shouldering the burden of proof to the dismay of aggressive prosecutors that use economics as a reason for sloppy evidence analysis. The burden of proof is falling on the defense rather than the prosecution.

After a ten year national moratorium on executions between 1967 and 1977; there have only been two executions in Oregon: September 6, 1996, Douglas Franklin Wright and on May 16, 1997, Harry Charles Moore.

Here is a list of states that do not have the death penalty: Alaska, Hawaii, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, North Dakota, Rhode Island, Vermont, West Virginia, Wisconsin and the District of Columbia.

Much of the information in this article may be found at http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/

Extra! Extra! Read All About It: Does your daily let your down?

Thanks so much Daily Astorian for bringing us a complete, unbiased picture of the problems between the DA and the county commissioners. NOT! It is frustrating and the reason why I canceled my subscription years ago and read online the pages I can get to. Your bias is a sad representation of the level journalism can sink to when given the opportunity to be the main source of written media in a small community. You have betrayed the trust of your community over and over again!

This was sent to us recently from someone who typed it into the comment box of the Daily Astorian. It is doubtful that it will appear on their pages, in print or online, any time soon. A chronic problem in small communities which has one newspaper is that the paper has no fear of losing its revenue, it is the only advertising source. The only need it has is of maintaining a base of readers. Subscribers are a potential magnet for potential advertisers, but many times a paper without significant subscriptions will obfuscate and write, “reaching a readership of 60,000 people in the such-and-such corner” meaning that the area has a combined population of that many people in three or four counties who may or may not purchase the paper over the counter or out of a paper box. Misleading potential advertisers is small potatoes compared to the harm of damaging businesses, reputations and people’s lives.

The tragedy at the Astoria Aquatics Center is another example of the poor reporting and editing of the Daily Astorian. Tom Freel, a newscaster and commentator with KAST radio station, writes on his blog Coast Watch, "When did you guys decide to report rumor as news?" He decries the reporter’s shoddy work at taking merely one account of the witnesses to the tragedy to portray as the full truth. The Daily Astorian reporter wrote: "She blew her whistle and jumped into the pool," Hartman said. She said it was only then that other lifeguards ran out of the pool office. Once Kim was out of the water, Hartman said she watched two female lifeguards begin performing CPR. She said they should have continued until paramedics arrived, but instead, "They stopped and went in back and started to cry." Freel commented: Lifeguards stopped CPR (because she was apparently revived at that point, you don't send dead people to the hospital). Actually paramedics do as would all businesses that had someone seemingly just expire on premise. No one except a doctor is qualified to pronounce someone dead, even if they have been dead for days. But Freel was not reporting, he was commenting on his blog, sponsored by KAST (tackle responsibility of radio to its community at a future date).

When a small community has one traditional daily, news source, its accountability should be held to the highest standards. Akin to doctors, school teachers and law enforcement it holds in its hands the life blood of the people it is supposed to provide information to. It is a vital component of setting a climate in a community. That climate can be one of unbiased fairness, mutual trust, open and frank consultation on all levels and in all matters, child centered, outward looking, upward oriented, neighbor-to-neighbor friendly, future based. Or the climate set can be one of prejudice, dogged predetermined outcomes, materialistic gain, sensationalism, selfish motivational advancement.

Does art imitate life or does life imitate art? When people read headlines falsely proclaiming “The community comes out to support DA” do they bury their own doubts, reaching for a bottle of their drug of choice to help them forget or do they reach for their keyboards and turn to a website to find that they are not alone a whole battalion of people know as they do that there is more truth out there then the Daily Astorian, or any small community paper, has the courage to print? More and more people don't bother reading the paper version and turn to the electronic page to find the opposing viewpoint, the frank consultation, the good, and often wonderful side, of their communities.

While it is sad and disappointing that our own local daily has such shoddy reporting and editing, it is because of this disappointment that new and wonderful writers have emerged. More people are feeling free to ask more questions, more people in public offices are being held accountable for their actions, more people are reaching out to become involved and more neighbors are becoming friends. Even in the smallest communities the computer age is drawing people closer while adding a whole new opportunity of becoming involved. All dailies should beware as their day draws to an end.

Water, Water Everywhere and Not A Drop To Drink

Though our sky, rivers and our beings are full of water most of the year it is easy to be lulled into believing that our water supply is an infinite resource. Most of the United States is projected to have adequate water supplies until at least 2025, but if the sciences collide this prediction may diminish drastically in the next 18 years.

Over 70% of our Earth's surface is covered by water. Although water is seemingly abundant, the real issue is the amount of fresh water available.

• 97.5% of all water on Earth is salt water, leaving only 2.5% as fresh water.
• Nearly 70% of that fresh water is frozen in the icecaps of Antarctica and Greenland; most of the remainder is present as soil moisture, or lies in deep underground aquifers as groundwater not accessible to human use.
• < 1% of the world's fresh water (~0.007% of all water on earth) is accessible for direct human uses. This is the water found in lakes, rivers, reservoirs and those underground sources that are shallow enough to be tapped at an affordable cost. Only this amount is regularly renewed by rain and snowfall, and is therefore available on a sustainable basis.



Water in Clatsop County is a commodity that is not taken for granted by those who are on a well that has brown water, a well that dries up in August, or those who want to build a new home where water meters are no longer available due to a lack of infrastructure to support more customers.

Local water boards are under constant pressure to not only supply water to all its customers, but this water needs to be clean and safe and adhere to federal guidelines. They also need to regulate the acidity of the water so as not to dissolve lead from the joints in plumbing that were assembled before silver solder was mandated.

The water boards also need to see exactly how much water they have and how much they can reasonable take from their source. They also have to responsibly add to their infrastructure when allowable.

Water sources must be pristine and protected. Astoria is studying running an electric generator with its water output. Other water districts should be encouraged to do this as well.

Citizens should take an active part in their local water works. They should see where their water comes from so they will understand that water is a finite resource, and realize that a climate change could bring about major restrictions in its use. We should consider conservation methods every day. Rarely is the word “drought” ever mentioned here in Dried Salmon County. Though if one happens we will all feel the effects; not just those who rely on water for business, such as fish processors, car washes and nurseries.

Spin

As an observer of what is written on our forum and on other local outlets for free speech, I find it interesting how each outlet has a like-minded audience with the editorial position of the particular outlets foundation.

The participation in these forums is most interesting for several reasons. It seems that there is a core of writers who will post their opinions on all forums while others will stick to one or two of them exclusively that share their mind-set.

Though it’s not a forum in the traditional sense, the North Coast Oregon blog seems to lead the pack when it comes to objectivity and respectful replies from those who comment there. This is not to say that opinions don’t get heated, they do, but cooler heads seem to prevail.

KAST posters are for the most part, in lock step with their mind-set with the philosophy of the radio station with some disagreeing opinions from the outsiders. It appears nothing is removed from this forum because of content even if in opposition with the base.

Clatsop County Matters and Astoria-Rust blogs and forums have both historically opposed LNG and have often held views counter to those often expressed by the current District Attorney. Their forum writers seem to inject a sense of humor into the often heavy topics. These two forums also do not censor content.

Finally, the Astoria Citizen's Journal forum has a hand full of like-minded contributors with few opposing points ever making it to the surface. Accusations have been made that the administrator deletes posts and topics not to his liking, and that isn’t an unheard-of practice in most forms of journalism.

An editorial is a hold-harmless rule in journalism. The news that is reported should be unbiased, however the news media is allowed to let their hair down when they call what they write an editorial opinion.

Recently, Paul Mitchell, General Manager of the New Northwest Broadcasters aired an editorial on his radio stations. This editorial was aired several times a day with out an explanation of the rebuttal process for opposing viewpoints. I don’t believe that there is a rebuttal process in place even today. If they were to allow rebuttal it should be an in kind rebuttal. Airing an opinion for everyone to hear several times a day and providing the only opportunity to call into a call-in talk show a half hour every morning or to post a reply on a write-in forum isn’t a proper rebuttal.

The Daily Astorian on the surface provides a space for rebuttal, but raise your hand if you’ve ever had one of your Letters to the Editor passed over and never printed. I find it odd that in the last few weeks how many letters were published in support of the District Attorney and how few were printed in opposition. When one reads the local forums it seems that a very small minority shares support for the District Attorney. Does the Daily Astorian ignore letters contrary to their editorial philosophies?

Blogs and blog forums have a small fraction of the audience that radio stations or newspapers have. However their earnest attempt at democratic free speech needs to be acknowledges and appreciated. They are the best kept secret in information and opinion dissemination where the people can actually be involved and ask questions. They may even be able to find answers.

Future Outlook for Dried Salmon County Seniors

Undoubtedly you have read or heard that our beloved county as well as a couple of its cities have been designated by magazines, television and other commercial ventures as the #1 or in the top 10 destinations for people to retire and live out their final years.

But, are we ready for them to come? Or, for that matter, are we ready to take care of ourselves in this county as we age? Concerns we have center primarily around the livability factor after the influx of retirees relocate to the area buying property up and after all of the locals who are 'pimping out' our county have made their fortunes, thus padding their own nest-eggs thus ensuring they are able to remain here and live comfortably. However, for the rest of us, the future may look more bleak.

A harbinger of what is to come in the City of Astoria is the 'domino-like' string of condominiums and luxury living establishments that will soon be lining the edges of our beloved riverfront. Condos that will be out of financial reach for most locals let alone local seniors. Currently there is very little if any affordable housing available throughout the cities of our county and this will probably worsen in the future. Sure, there are some assisted living facilities dotting our communities, but they also are far being within financial reach of all of our local seniors and what of the people who just want to live in an apartment or remain in their own homes because they cannot afford to move? This is segues into the next component of senior needs - transportation.

Local transportation, while better than it used to be in this area, still leaves much to be desired. We understand that the local bus system is subsidized heavily just to keep it going, but what if those funds go away? What will our seniors do then? Their needs for transportation are not for frivolous joy rides. Transportation is necessary for them to be able to attend medical appointments, access social services, and also for shopping and other daily needs that we who drive take for granted. Though many of us think that we will be driving into our 80's and 90's, think again. With liquid gold the price that it is now, we may not be able to afford it and, frankly, some seniors just need to not be on the road as drivers. Much easier to convince grandma to hang up her keys if there is a user friendly transportation system that will work for her needs and still allow for independence. Think of the fatal and severe auto accidents that have occurred in this county over the past 10 years or so. Many involved senior drivers who should not still hold valid licenses and be driving.

Challenges in shopping and gathering ones daily needs may be at the forefront and it would be nice if there existed more opportunities for 'downtown shopping' in our communities. Where neighborhood grocery stores were once plentiful in this county, now we are relegated to having to use the "big" stores. Even as a younger person, Fred Meyer and Safeway can be a daunting and totally frustrating experience, but just try to imagine experiencing all of that as a senior.

What can be done to alleviate these hurdles that exist for today's seniors and will probably only be compounded in the future when we reach senior-hood?

Socialised health care would be a start (a topic we will save for another day), as would more low income affordable housing in urban areas. However the housing needs to be accompanied by easy access to local services and/or excellent transportation systems.

As we don't see these things happening anytime soon, perhaps if people started working on these issues now, they may be in place by the time we reach our 'so called' golden years.

Business as Usual

Traditionally the Republican Party has been known as a friend of big business or even anyone with a business interest. The Democrat Party is generally known as a friend to labor unions and the workers. Though this division seems somewhat natural and necessary for balance it in actuality is most detrimental to the American economy.

As product pricing follows the laws of supply and demand, our labor markets swing with the same pendulum. If there are a lot of people in your profession who are prepared to work, the pay may be lower. If you provide a specialty service that few others can provide, you are paid more.

There are areas of the country where fast food workers are paid over ten-dollars per hour. Not only are they paid much higher than the national average for their McJobs, but they are also transported to and from work every day, which is usually from the inner city to the suburbs. Kids in the suburbs just won’t do that sort of work for that sort of wage.

Recently the City of Seaside has gone through some trauma because the affordable housing is converted into higher cost condominiums. These apartment complexes housed many of the people who are doing minimum wage tasks in their community. Over seventy units have been converted and are no longer available to these workers.

The owners are trying to maximize their investments and make a profit while they are able. However there are now at least seventy individuals or families who can no longer afford to reside in Seaside. This may not sound like much in the grand scheme of things, but next time you are in a large group, count heads and see just what 70 people look like.

Yes, many of the low wage jobs are filled by students who can only work part-time, but consider how many positions seventy people hold. What would happen to the motel industry in that town if all the housekeepers left? Let’s say all the fast food and convenience stores workers could no longer afford to be employed there?

In order to attract good employees or even warm bodies, the local businesses will have to shell out much more than minimum wage just to keep staffing at a minimal level. While a few people try to maximize their investments in real estate, every business will have to pay for the loss of affordable housing. This cost will be passed onto the consumer.

There is a cause and effect here that transcends any ideology that Republicans or Democrats have cooked up. It is hard enough for a small business or a minimum wage employee to survive with the outside forces tugging them in every direction and emptying their pockets.

With oil companies taking in billions of dollars of profit every quarter, the trickle down economy harms both small business and workers. It is believed that everything finds its own level in Capitalism. Unfortunately this level where all things are equal rarely comes into play with these unrealistic profits.

The pendulum is still in motion. Though it is doubtful that those on the bottom of the food chain will ever get ahead; those further up the food chain will have to pay more to maintain the status quo. Affordable housing and services will need to be provided to attract individuals and families to work in the service industry. Businesses will end up paying one way or another to meet the goals of their business plans. Rather than jump through all the hoops and watch the funds diminish with each transaction to patch the holes that prevent employees from living and working in the same town. Wouldn’t it make better sense to pay a fair wage and offer a health plan up front? This will create a work force that will be loyal and will have a vested interest in the community where the business is located.

There is a lot to be said for businesses who embrace this concept. As consumers, think of a business you frequent that has a constant turn over. Each transaction is made with a new inexperienced employee. These employees are never there long enough to understand the customers. Compare this with a business you may frequent that has retained the same staff over many years who not only remember your name but remember your history and what sort of purchases you have made in the past. One might think this is unimportant in a convenience store or a fast food restaurant, but it is important in any business, even a Kool-Aid stand.

The lack of a common ground of the Democratic and Republican platform on issues of labor and industry will keep the nation divided and keep class wars on our doorsteps. Maybe the rich will gain more wealth, but this lopsided gain is harming the health of our country, states and towns. If this stalemate continues it will harm our future as the divide grows wider.