By News-Register staff • 

Board discusses supporting lawsuit against governor

They took no action, however, because Commissioner Casey Kulla asked to be allowed time to read the lawsuit and dueling motions for summary judgment, first. Commissioners will take up the discussion again next week.

It was the first meeting for newly seated commissioner Lindsay Berschauer, and proved a grueling one, with lengthy discussions of a wide variety of issues.

Because the board rotates the positions of chair and vice chair annually, Starrett took over chairmanship from Kulla, and Berschauer is the new vice chair.

Oregon Legislators House Rep. Mike Nearman, House Rep. Dennis Linthicum and Senator Werner Reschke along with a Washington county business owner, Neil Ruggles, have filed a lawsuit against Governor Kate Brown, complaining that the laws giving the governor the power to issue executive orders in an emergency should be declared invalid.

They complain that the laws violate the separation of powers between the branches of government, by allowing Brown to usurp legislative power.

Brown has filed a motion to have the case thrown out by the court. State Health Officer Dean Sidelinger declared to the court in a filing that the measures Brown has implemented have been crucial to slowing the spread of COVID-19 in Oregon, and has kept the state’s death rate lower than other states have seen.

Starrett was not asking to have the county join the lawsuit. Rather she wants the board to send letters of support to the plaintiffs and a letter to Governor Brown notifying her of the board’s support.

Commissioners also discussed supporting a plan to reopen businesses across the state.

For more information, see the Tuesday edition of the News-Register.

Comments

montag

So House Rep. Mike Nearman who brazenly opened the door at the State Capitol in Salem allowing right wing demonstrators to breach the building is suing Governor Brown. Oh brother, you can't make this stuff up!

SandyKnoll

Wish we had a say in this. I do NOT want the commissioners to send these letters.

tagup

Wouldn’t a better use of time be to focus the available resources to speed up vaccinations in the county.....?
Cheerleading For Plaintiffs in a lawsuit seems like a low priority compared to the health of county citizens.....

Rumpelstilzchen

As long as the county keeps electing and re-electing people in the mold of Starrett and Berschauer, we’ll continue to see commission time wasted on discussing meaningless symbolic declarations espousing pseudoconservative causes.
That’s been going on for years and these letters, which wouldn’t be worth the minutes it takes to read them as far as actual impact, follow the pattern.

bonnybedlam

What is with Starrett's determination to prevent elected officials from doing their jobs? The rest of us would like to stop the spread of Covid and put this plague behind us. It'd sure be nice if the politicians would get on board and help instead of fighting the governor every step of the way.

runnermagda13

Time for all elected officials to make statements calling for Nearman's expulsion. They should also state that Joe Biden was legally elected and condemn the insurrection in DC on Wednesday and everyone who incited it. It is time to tell their constituents the truth or be complicit in spreading the big lie and all of the violence that comes from people believing it.

Amity fan

Time would be way better spent dealing with Yamhill County issues. Instead of Starrett and Berschauer(rubber stamp) trying their hardest to be Retrumplicans while supporting sedition and insurrection, they should focus on what they were elected to do - govern Yamhill County. If they want to run the state then they should resign and run for state office instead. These letters and resolutions are a huge waste of time. In the meantime the County is a giant mess because the leaders at the top are not governing. Instead they pass off the responsibility to inept downline overpaid executives who don't have a clue. So much time and money is being wasted!

madmacs

Why don't they focus on trying to do something that actually helps us get past this pandemic? Maybe look at how the County might be able to help get the vaccines distributed for instance. This letter is just more useless posturing that does absolutely nothing for the residents of Yamhill County.

David S. Wall

One would think the BOC should be focused on why they receive repeated public spankings from the Land Use Board of Appeals (LUBA) and how to avoid them entirely.

How much taxpayer dollars have been wasted on their very poor Land Use decisions?

This money could have been diverted to helping jurisdictions within Yamhill County such as; upgrading Lafayette's Wastewater Treatment Plant and or Storm Sewer infrastructure so as to avoid raw sewage spills into the receiving waters.

David S. Wall

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