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Grassroots effort to pass law to close loophole in Oregon’s Public Meetings Law

A Democratic Party leader from Astoria, Oregon contends that county commissioners convened serial private meetings conducted in pairs to avoid the three-person quorum, undermining the state’s open meetings law. -db

The Daily Astorian
Letter to Editor
May 7, 2010
By Larry Taylor

Clatsop County Democrats voted to seek passage of legislation in Oregon to end the circumvention of the state’s Public Meetings Law. The public’s tolerance for this practice has ended.

Clatsop County Commissioners have conducted private meetings sequentially in pairs, thereby avoiding the three-person quorum prohibited by the Public Meetings Law. This practice, known as “chaining” is illegal in California under the Brown Act. The Brown Act works because the rules are clear and the act provides for both criminal and civil penalties.

The most egregious recent example of chaining was meetings in January pairing Clatsop County Commissioners Jeff Hazen and John Raichl and then Patricia Roberts and Robert Mushen with representatives of Palomar Gas Transmission, the backers of a liquefied natural gas-related pipeline project which will connect with the Bradwood Landing terminal if the facility is built. Commissioner Dirk Rohne refused to participate in these meetings.

County commissioner candidates Scott Lee, Debra Birkby and Peter Huhtala all have agreed that if elected, they would ban the practice even before the new state legislation is passed. Additionally, Scott Lee has submitted a plan for open government which consists of six actions he will pursue to increase the transparency of government.

This state legislation is intended to cover both elected officials and the public employees who enable this behavior. State Sen. Betsy Johnson and Rep. Deborah Boone have agreed to sponsor the legislation in the 2011 Legislature.

Larry Taylor is the Clatsop County Democrats chairman.

Copyright 2010 EAST OREGONIAN PUBLISHING CO.

2 Comments

  • Utterly ridiculous! The supposed “lone” commissioner, Dirk Rohne, that didn’t meet with Palomar does meet, OFTEN, with the groups that oppose LNG, which means if those groups DO support something else he would meet with them. Its one and a half weeks until Election Day, the ONE trick ponies lost the MAIN cause for them to be elected with Bradwood pulling out and now Taylor is manufacturing something else to holler about. The THREE that Taylor wants in office will meet at the Democrat HQ at Blue Scorcher in Astoria, they will meet out at Brownsmead at the Dome, they will meet in Portland at CRITFC, and the public will never know because the three are as dishonest as they say everyone else is. If the First Amendment Coalition backs this group of people then they aren’t for TRANSPARENCY in the LEAST. Taylor’s people meet behind closed doors, they close out all transparency and hide behind “Roberts Rules” when anyone tries to shed light on anything they do.

  • Here it is with the 2011 legislation in session and the new county commissioners in office. The very first thing these three did after being sworn in? 1) Take an illegal oath that had to be retaken. 2) Met together at the Blue Scorcher with Brent Foster after their very first board meeting when they repealed the former boards decision to approve the Oregon LNG’s land use application for its pipeline.

    Oh Yeah, sure they are against “chaining” when it doesn’t agree with their ideals. It is frightening when land use judges have agendas and they play to small interest groups that control the local media rather than apply the law in a just manner.

    Whether you are for or against LNG or any industry, you have to be certain that when you go in front of a quasi-judicial board that is legally bound to hold to the law, you can be guaranteed a fair trial.

    Oregon LNG would be just in challenging the motivations of this new board of quasi-judicial judges as would any and all landowners appearing before them for a just decision on their land use applications.

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