Letters to the Editor: Oct. 25, 2024

Better grasp

Relatively new here, I’ve made it a priority to understand how our city operates. Having met Mayor Remy Drabkin several times, I’ve been impressed with her professionalism, dedication and love for our town.

I attended the Oct. 17 mayoral forum with an open mind. I wanted to better understand the positions and vision of challenger Kim Morris. While she clearly cares about McMinnville, her grasp of complexities seemed lacking.

I treated the candidate briefs in the Voters’ Pamphlet as resumes. What stood out most was Morris’ lack of governmental experience. While living here her entire life, raising a family and running businesses, she’s never held a city government role.

Business experience and community advocacy are valuable, but not substitutes for the hands-on experience of Drabkin, via service on the planning commission, city council and Affordable Housing Committee..

Morris proposed a “forensic” audit of the budget, based on complaints about taxes and fees, and a belief “we should live within our means.” But forensic audits are typically conducted only when fraud is suspected.

Was she implying misuse of funds, or does she simply not understand the difference between financial and forensic audits? Either way, it suggests she may not fully comprehend our budget challenges.

The budget has stayed flat for years, despite considerable growth. So like many cities, McMinnville faces financial pressures, with delayed infrastructure projects that become costlier the longer they’re postponed.

Does Morris realize a forensic audit could cost the city tens if not hundreds of thousands of dollars, only to tell us what we already know? That our infrastructure is aging, and living “within our means” would mean cutting essential services.

While Morris displays passion, she doesn’t seem to have the experience or knowledge for the job. We need a mayor who’s prepared to lead us forward, and that’s Remy Drabkin.

Mandee Tatum

McMinnville

Kim for a change

I’m a liberal who’s always supported Remy as our mayor. But this time, I’m voting for Kim Morris.

Why?

I own a vacation rental on South Davis Street, and an issue arose regarding a homeless camp practically across the street. So I reached out to both candidates.

Kim called me within the hour to let me know her task force was already working on the problem and outlined what was being done. Remy got back to me a week later via e-mail with what was little more than a form letter.

I agree that Kim doesn’t have the governmental experience that Remy has.

But she has drive, passion and the ability to think outside the bureaucratic box to get things done, which I find refreshing. In addition to her sheer gusto, she has a strong financial and business background, which is necessary to run a city.

I want transparency and accountability. I want change. We need Kim Morris to make that happen.

Stephanie Baker

McMinnville

Voting Remy, Bubba

Please vote and have a plan to submit your ballot. Your vote matters!

Remy Drabkin has my vote for mayor.

I know Remy personally. She is a woman of integrity and determination. She has proven herself more than competent to be the mayor of McMinnville.

As a small business owner, she understands what it takes to grow a business and be a part of the community. Just a few of the things she’s done in the past two years: Worked with McMinnville Economic Development to bring multiple grants to our local small businesses; connected EMPWR with various nonprofits for employees, including Unidos and Encompass Yamhill Valley; secured a $1.2 million grant for EMPWR’s expansion.

Remy has worked with diligence and compassion to address the houseless situation. And she was able to obtain grants to support transitional housing.

We need Remy to continue the work she has begun, knowing she will persist to keep McMinnville a thriving community.

Bubba King has my vote for county commissioner.

He is a nonaffiliated voter who will work across partisan lines to bring about the greater good. He is a small business owner who understands the need to support and grow businesses in Yamhill county.

I’ve talked with Bubba numerous times. He listens, he cares, and more importantly, he will represent all the people in Yamhill County. He understands the need to seek grants and bring our tax dollars back to Yamhill County in ways that can support housing, mental health services, business growth, and so forth.

He will support law enforcement to ensure public safety. He’s the best candidate for Yamhill County commissioner.

Lu Ann Anderson

McMinnville

Future at stake

McMinnville, we need a new city council. This one has failed us again and again.

Let’s begin with two years ago in November, when we learned our city was $300,000 in debt. Soon after the “crisis,” the council proposed a merged fire department, but neglected to tell us this measure would raise city taxes more than 135%.

The council has been playing a game with citizens and voters — a game of bait and switch, of deceit and lies, in order to get what its members want done. We need a change.

Six of the seven need to be replaced. All except Councilor Chris Chenoweth have actively participated in this deception.

Fortunately, we have an election to weigh in on. Two of the councilors are quitting (good) and Chenoweth is staying on in Ward 1 to continue his fight for us (also good).

The mayor needs to be replaced. Vote for Kim Morris, who pledges to be open, transparent and responsive to us, without the lies and deception.

The two open councilor positions need to be filled by Dan Tucholsky in Ward 2 and Chaz Gibbins in Ward 3 — not Scott Cunningham, chair of the City Budget Committee, who sides with and votes with the city council on new taxes for us without submitting them for voter approval.

Be smart with your votes.

The city will soon be presenting a parks and recreation bond measure amounting to more than $150 million, and there will soon be a $20 to $30 added to everyone’s utility bills for stormwater runoff. Can your budget withstand all of these costs?

Be careful who you entrust your future to in this city. Vote wisely.

Bill Bordeaux

McMinnville

Exceeds all expectations

In the 2.5 years Remy Drabkin has been mayor of McMinnville, she has exceeded all expectations. She is a progressive and dynamic leader.

As a councilor, she supported housing for the homeless. She also chaired the Affordable Housing Committee until she become mayor.

As mayor, she championed the allocation of ARPA dollars for the Housing Authority, providing them with local support for matching grants to fund a 175-unit subsidized housing development breaking ground last month. Her lobbying efforts delivered a $1.6 million grant to finish funding the McMinnville Navigation Center, AnyDoorPlace, slated to open later this fall.

Remy has also successfully lobbied for a $2 million grant to fund a McMinnville Water & Light pump station finally allowing the West Hills to fully develop. This station will provide water to more than 300 Zone 2 homes.

In a first for McMinnville, Remy applied for and received a Harvard University fellowship for an innovative housing project using the old RB Rubber tract as her project site. The fellowship required extensive research into community dynamics and a final presentation to the Harvard faculty.

This work prepared the way for RFQs producing more than 50 letters of interest from potential site developers. Four of the RFQs are now in final competition for mixed-use site development.

After the Harvard presentation, Remy received an invitation to tour affordable housing projects in Europe. Her innovative leadership just in the housing area has provided McMinnville with insights for affordable housing from the best minds in the world.

One of my favorite things she has done is reach out to McMinnville students with her “Mayor for a Day” program the last two years, carried out on conjunction with her Mayor’s State of the City Address.

Mayor Remy Drabkin has earned our vote of confidence in this election.

Kellie Menke

McMinnville City Councilor

Bucking the party

On election day, we must choose between candidates who are morally and intellectually unfit for the presidency.

As a lifelong Democrat, it would be easy to follow the party line. But this year, I will be voting solely on the policy positions of the candidates.

I will not vote for any candidate who has supported:

Packing the Supreme Court, dissolving the filibuster in the Senate, eliminating the Electoral College, making DC and Puerto Rico states, maintaining open borders, forgiving willingly incurred student debt, allowing full-term abortion on demand, retreating from battle without a plan, leaving billions in weapons behind to the enemy, advocating for DEI instead of merit, excellence and intelligence, funding bail for looters and rioters, lifting sanctions on Iran, hiding the serious medical condition of a high-level official, opposing voter ID, giving $25,000 to first-time homebuyers, opposing secret ballots in union campaigns, opposing right-to-work legislation, subsidizing EV automobiles, subsidizing solar and wind power without regard to transmission needs, opposing school vouchers, taxing unrealized capital gains, tapping the Strategic Petroleum Reserve for political reasons, lifting sanctions on narco-criminal dictator Nicolas Maduro, stretching administrative agencies’ power beyond that granted by Congress, advocating “Medicare for all,” attacking well-reasoned and constitutionally sound Supreme Court decisions, calling physical alteration of teen and pre-teen boys and girls “health care,” supporting price controls on groceries, granting annual $6,000 no-work child credits, lifting Schedule I narcotic classification on marijuana and other neuro-affecting drugs, failing to robustly fund our military, promoting semiconductor industry freebies, pursuing other wasteful industrial policies, banning possession of common firearms to lawful citizens and misrepresenting military deployment and rank.

Only one presidential slate champions my position on all of these policies. As my fellow Yamhill County Democrats say, “The choice is obvious.”

Paul Hribernick

McMinnville

Stay the course

In these chaotic and uncertain times, it’s more important than ever to anchor ourselves with steady, positive and locally grounded leadership.

That’s why I urge McMinnville residents to stay the course and re-elect Remy Drabkin as our mayor. In just two years, Remy has navigated complex challenges with grace, decisiveness and vision.

From the moment she took office, she leveraged her experience as the founder of an internationally recognized local business, and her years on the city council, to guide McMinnville toward meaningful progress. Her accomplishments as an unpaid public servant are numerous and reflect a leader deeply committed to the wellbeing of our community.

When Remy assumed office, she inherited a city in the throes of a pandemic, housing crisis and widespread economic strain.

Despite these daunting circumstances, she has consistently moved McMinnville forward, tackling immediate crises while launching thoughtful, long-term uplifting initiatives for our future. Her energy, transparency, and ability to deliver results have proven that she is the right person to lead us through these turbulent times.

Although her opponent appears to be a dedicated and well-meaning citizen, she lacks the hands-on experience and momentum needed to manage the complexities of city government effectively. With so much progress already underway, switching leadership now would be a setback.

McMinnville needs continuity, not a restart. Remy’s leadership, outreach and ambassadorship keeps our momentum alive. At this critical moment in McMinnville’s growth, we need a mayor who doesn’t just talk about solutions, but delivers them.

Remy Drabkin is that mayor — someone who means it when she says, “Let’s work together and finish what we’ve started.” For that reason, I ask you to join me in voting to re-elect Remy Drabkin, ensuring the positive, consistent progress we’ve seen continues for the good of all McMinnville residents.

Ramsey McPhillips

McMinnville

Keep it going

I am pleased to unreservedly support Remy Drabkin to continue as mayor of McMinnville.

Abundant energy, vibrant intelligence, practical grounding and unquestionable integrity are among her keen attributes. She also has a lifelong understanding and respect for the values and goals particular to McMinnville.

During Remy’s initial two years as mayor, she has established working relationships and collaborations that assure McMinnville is prepared to meet future challenges and the inevitable changes. Her work has resulted in new financial resources for McMinnville and heightened statewide recognition for productive leadership.

Accessible and visible, Remy welcomes the voices, concerns and ideas of the full range of McMinnville’s citizens, through informal chats on the street and community events as well as formal civic gatherings.

In contrast, Remy’s mayoral opponent cites her “Team” and shares campaign signage space on NW Baker Creek Road with a controversial county commissioner. If those signal shared financial agreements and political viewpoints, I find that concerning.

A solid base of planning and commitment to its long-term execution is what Remy means when she says: “I love McMinnville. I love doing this work.”

Why would we change mayors when the incumbent has built the knowledge and relationships to do a very positive and consequential job? Let’s keep it going and re-elect Remy Drabkin.

Sharon Morgan

McMinnville

Every vote matters

We are lucky here in Oregon. Voting is easy.

We can mail our ballot in or drop it in a designated drop box. We can put our friends’ or family members’ ballots in the mail or drop box for them.

If our signature has changed, our county clerk will call us to verify we were indeed the person who cast that vote. If we lose our ballot, we can get a new one, and the lost ballot, identified by a unique number, will not be counted even if someone finds it and tries to vote illegally. Our competent county clerks zealously safeguard our ballots and our right to vote.

In other states, voters are not so lucky. Tricky rules can invalidate ballots.

You put your ailing husband’s ballot in the drop box? Invalid!

You forget to date the outside of the envelope? Invalid!

The Clerk registered you, so you voted, but the clerk made a mistake. Invalid! And you might even go to jail.

But as easy as voting is in Oregon, not all of us who are eligible vote.

Some may think their vote doesn’t count because Oregon is not a “swing” state. But those other states “swing” only because states like Oregon vote reliably. If Oregon voters don’t vote, then we become a swing state.

This is a consequential election, from county commissioner to president. Every race, every vote matters.

You may not like either candidate in a race, but one of them is going to win. Shouldn’t it be the one you choose?

Your vote is the weapon you wield for democracy. Use it.

Susan Watkins

McMinnville

Candidates compared

In this election, like most, we have to sift the chaff to discover the seed.

Trump, like most of us, is not perfect. But he did, even before he was sworn in, travel to a major manufacturer preparing to move its operation out of the country and persuade it to stay, saving hundreds of well-paying jobs.

On Day One, Biden signed an executive order stopping the construction of a pipeline costing thousands of jobs. So who is really for the working person?

Trump was erecting a wall to control immigration, drugs and human trafficking across our border. Biden stopped the wall. Harris now says she will build it, but did nothing during her previous 3 1/2 years as vice president.

During Covid, for which Trump cut the red tape to deliver a vaccine within months, illegals came across the border without vetting. But I couldn’t go to the bank or doctor’s office without a mask.

Trump had worked with the Taliban to have an orderly withdrawal from Afghanistan without losing troops. Biden just wanted to make headlines by getting the troops out by the 20th anniversary of 9/11.

He got 13 of our soldiers killed and hundreds of civilians left behind. Billions of military hardware was abandoned to the Taliban and all the blood, sweat and tears of our 20 years went for nothing.

Henry Evers

Dayton

Not going back

The News-Register wasn’t planning to endorse for president. Instead, it reached out to me and Donald Trump supporters to write opposing pieces, mine appearing Sept. 20.

No one came forward for Trump, as Jeb Bladine confirmed in his Oct. 19 Whatchamacolumn. But he went on to justify supporting the former president on the basis of four Rs: record, rural, religion and retribution.

In fact, Donald Trump is uniquely unqualified. There is no justification, as many who know him will attest.

Record: Jeb dismisses progress on inflation, immigration and the economy — in freefall in the midst of a pandemic the former president mishandled — by faulting initial responses. But in fact, the Biden administration demonstrated capacity to learn and change.

It worked with conservative Republicans to address failures of our broken immigration system, but Donald Trump killed the deal to preserve a campaign issue. And there’s no doubt America has the world’s strongest economy, with inflation back in check.

Rural: The bipartisan Biden infrastructure bill is providing billions in funding for rural Americans, and they are starting to feel the impact. What is the Trump plan? Rounding up and deporting law-abiding immigrants. So who will help produce our food and harvest our fruit?

Religion: “Despite his own baffling religious orientation” is a cute way to describe the beliefs of a man who boasts of never having asked God for forgiveness. He claims the Bible is his favorite book, yet is unable to quote a single verse. His is an idolatry of self.

Retribution: While dismissing repeated vows of revenge, Jeb sees Trump voters expressing retribution for liberal overreach. I suggest the Trump Court overreach into the lives of women is vastly greater.

Sadly, the unwritten reasons for some Trump voters are anger, xenophobia, sexism and racism. Fortunately, other Americans look forward with optimism, bringing out the best in our magnificent country, much blessed by The Creator,

We’re not going back!

Philip Forve

McMinnville

Free speech thieves

Our family likes to share a story about my grandmother, who, during the Depression, stockpiled an inordinate amount of butter. When asked why, she said she had to get it before the hoarders did.

It seems funny now, because it was a long time ago, and because her actions were so clearly hypocritical. But there is a modern parallel that isn’t so funny — the continuing theft of Harris-Walz yard signs.

I assume one of the thieves’ top priorities are free speech and law and order. Yet they seem not to understand that denying my free speech does not ensure theirs, nor that breaking the law does not promote adherence to the law.

They should realize how very dangerous it is to abandon one’s principles just this time, because just this time the ends justify the means.

Stephen Long

McMinnville