Letter to the Editor: Gratitude

I saw Hood River Mayor Paul Blackburn xc skiing yesterday and appreciate his leadership both as the president of Teacup for the past 11 years and as our mayor for the last 5. I know from my time on council that he runs an efficient meeting, works hard to find solutions and is a fair arbitrator in addition to his outreach to the Latino and indigenous First Nations communities.

Both he and Mosier Mayor Arlene Burns traveled to Salem on February 7 to advocate for safer Oregon oil train laws. They were interviewed there by KATU TV. This Friday both Mayors attended a hearing in The Dalles of the Oregon Legislature Joint Committee on Carbon Reduction and spoke in favor of taking a strong statewide stand on carbon pollution.

This committee has spent days and driven many miles to craft a bill that would drive greenhouse gas emissions down 80 percent below 1990 levels by 2050. Representative Bonham and Senator Bentz both serve on this committee, thank you. Recently they have traveled around the state holding hearings. Ten Oregon senators and state representatives attended Friday’s 3-hour hearing, including Rep. Anna Williams,  who received the loudest applause during the introductions and wore a sticker supporting the Clean Energy Jobs bill. Senator Michael Dembrow, co-chair of the committee, ran the meeting in a kind and respectful way, allowing everyone to voice their opinions.

A little more than half the testimony was in favor of the bill, including members of the Columbia Gorge Climate Action Network and Protect Oregon’s Progress from The Dalles.

Peter Cornelison

Hood River