Our Klamath Basin Water Crisis
Upholding rural Americans' rights to grow food,
own property, and caretake our wildlife and natural resources.
Our Klamath Basin
Water Crisis
Upholding rural Americans' rights to grow food,
own property, and caretake our wildlife and natural resources.
|
KLAMATH
COUNTY COMMISSIONER: POSITION 1
Candidates agree the
KBRA is too divisive
Jobs, the economy also
at the forefront in candidate debate
By JOEL
ASCHBRENNER Herald and News 3/10/12.
One thing they agree on
is that the landmark water settlement has been too divisive.
“It has torn our
community apart,” said Kelley Minty Morris. “It’s not just
neighbors fighting neighbors. It’s brothers fighting
brothers.”
The candidates vying for
the Republican nomination in the May 15 primary participated
in a debate Wednesday night hosted by Herald and News editor
Steve Miller and
KlamathOnline.com editor Joe Spendolini. They were
asked to explain how they would represent all their
constituents, even those who have opposing views on the KBRA.
The KBRA and a related
agreement aim to remove four Klamath River dams, establish
affordable power rates and reliable water for irrigators,
acquire a 92,000-acre tree farm for the Klamath Tribes and
restore fish habitat.
Morris said she easily
could represent citizens on both sides of the KBRA debate
because she has not been as involved in water issues as her
competitors and, therefore, would not be a polarizing figure
on the issue.
Tom Mallams has been
more involved in the KBRA than any of the candidates. He is
a vocal opponent of the agreement and testified in Congress
against it.
“It almost ensures the
demise of irrigated agriculture in the Klamath Basin,” he
said Wednesday.
But Mallams said he
regularly works with KBRA supporters in his business and can
represent both opponents and supporters of the agreement.
Incumbent commissioner
Al Switzer said he supports the agreement but opposes dam
removal — a stance his opponents say is contradictory. The
agreements have turned Klamath County residents against each
other, he said, when really they should be fighting the
federal government and environmentalists for imposing
environmental restrictions on the river.
“The flaming
environmentalists probably want us to be fighting like
this,” he said.
John Garee said he
opposes the KBRA. The commissioners should try to work with
legislators to stop the implementation of the agreement, but
beyond that, he said, there isn’t much they can do.
“We’re really beating a
dead horse here,” Garee said. “This thing is out of the
commissioners’ hands.”
Here is a recap of the
debate:
What do you think are
the important issues for constituents in different parts of
the county? For example: downtown Klamath Falls, Chiloquin,
Gilchrist and the Running Y Ranch?
Mallams:
Residents downtown are concerned about crime and vagrancy,
Mallams said. In Chiloquin, the top issue is public safety
because, he said, Klamath County sheriff deputies won’t
respond to calls there unless someone is shot.
“Our advice up there is
to arm yourself and be ready to protect yourself.”
Gilchrist residents are
concerned about the disconnect between them and the rest of
the county, he said.
Morris:
Schools are the top issue for downtown residents, Morris
said. Chiloquin is underserved by the sheriff’s office and
public safety is the top concern there, she said.
In Gilchrist, residents
are concerned with road conditions and failing sewer
systems, and at the Running Y the top concern is economic
recovery, she said.
Switzer:
Downtown the top concerns are businesses moving out, a lack
of parking and old buildings that need seismic retrofitting,
Switzer said. He agreed public safety was the top issue in
Chiloquin, and said he wished the town would fund its own
police department.
Jobs at the timber mill
in Gilchrist are
the top concern for citizens there, he said. And at the
Running Y it’s home values, he added.
John Garee:
Issues for downtown residents are empty storefronts and
buildings that need maintenance, Garee said.
Public safety is the top
concern in Chiloquin, he said. In towns such as Chiloquin
and Gilchrist, libraries are very critical; they provide
Internet access for residents without computers, he added.
Garee said he doesn’t
see many problems at the Running Y.
The state has
passed legislation to administer Medicaid through
coordinated care organizations. There are a few options for
who would run a CCO in Klamath County. Do you think it
should be a group of local private medical officials or a
public agency that manages CCOs around the state?
Garee:
Garee said the coordinated care organization should be run
by private industry.
“Keep the government out
of our business,” he said.
Switzer:
CCOs are the state’s version of federal health care reform,
or Obamacare, Switzer said. The county should examine all
options for implementing the CCO before picking one, he
added.
Morris:
CCOs are intended to save money by streamlining Medicaid,
but Morris said she is skeptical they will work.
Morris agreed the county
should examine all options, public and private, for
administering CCOs before making a decision.
Mallams:
Mallams said he favors private administration of the CCO but
agreed the county should look at all options.
“ This is going to
affect everyone in this room and everyone in the county,” he
said
Do you favor
repealing federal health care reform, often called Obamacare?
Morris:
Government-run health care will be more costly and less
efficient than private health care and she supports the
repeal of Obamacare, Morris said.
Mallams:
Mallams said he
supports the repeal of Obamacare and thinks constituents
agree.
“I can’t think of a
thing the government has ever done more efficiently than the
private sector,” he said.
Garee:
Garee also supported the repeal of Obamacare, saying it will
be too costly for businesses.
Switzer:
Obamacare should be repealed because it is too costly,
Switzer said.
Do you support the O&C
Trust, Conservation and Jobs Act, legislation that aims to
set aside about 2.6 million acres, some for conservation and
some for timber production?
Switzer:
Switzer said he helped develop the plan that was later
proposed by three U.S. Representatives from Oregon.
He said he supports the
plan because it would open about 1.5 million acres to
logging and would create 12,000 to 14,000 jobs statewide.
The bill also requires logs be processed domestically,
creating even more jobs, he said.
The bill, Switzer said,
includes more environmental protections than he would like,
but in Congress there have to be compromises.
Garee: The O&C Act is a great thing for
Klamath County because it will create jobs, Garee said.
Even if some of the land
is set aside for conservation, where only forest thinning is
allowed, that creates jobs, too, he said.
Mallams:
Mallams said the O&C Act shows some promise but he has heard
conflicting information about it.
The bill would put some
people back to work in the forests, but it sets aside too
much old growth timber for conservation, he said. It could
result in nothing more than a large forest thinning project,
rather than substantial timber production, he added.
Morris:
Economic development depends, in part, on using our natural
resources, Morris said.
The county needs to be
self reliant with natural resources rather than relying on
the federal government to subsidize the county, she said.
Jobs are voters’ top
concern, according to a Herald and News survey. Everyone
says reducing
Garee:
Garee said he would cut regulations on businesses.
He added he would look
to consolidate the Klamath County Economic Development
Association and Discover Klamath, the county’s tourism
agency, into one agency under the Klamath County Chamber of
Commerce. As a group of private businesses, the Chamber
could run the agencies more efficiently than the government,
he said.
Switzer:
We need to be able to use our natural resources, such as
timber and water for agriculture, to bring in jobs, Switzer
said.
Additionally, many
businesses pass on locating in Klamath Falls because there
is no four-lane highway here, he said. He added he has
worked with state agencies to promote expanding Highway 97
to four lanes, a $12 billion project.
Morris:
We need to invest in emerging markets, like biotechnology
and energy development, Morris said. Klamath County is
positioned to supply some of California’s growing energy
demands, but it will take coordination between officials
from the county and the city of Klamath Falls, she said.
Morris added the county
cannot depend on natural resources because, as seen before,
the federal government can limit access to those resources.
Mallams:
Reform of the Endangered Species Act is needed so Klamath
County has guaranteed water for agriculture and the ability
to harvest timber, Mallams said.
ESA restrictions have
crippled local economies all over the country, Mallams said,
adding he has worked with lawmakers to advocate for ESA
reform.
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