The Columbia County
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Wednesday, December 13, 2023
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Candidate running for House District 31 WILL LOHRE Country Media, Inc.
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Jordan Gutierrez hopes to challenge Brian Stout’s seat in the Oregon legislature.
lections will be held for the Oregon House of Representatives in November 2024, and candidate Jordan Gutierrez will be hoping to challenge for Oregon’s 31st House District. Gutierrez is one of two candidates filed to run for the District 31 seat that is currently held by Brian Stout. Gutierrez is running as a conservative Democrat with a primary focus on ending abusive tax rules, solving fentanyl addiction, crime, and homelessness, lowering housing costs, and protecting property rights. Gutierrez is also hoping to address issues pertaining to jobs, small business, agriculture, industry, and energy. Though he is running as a Democrat, Gutierrez said he is not afraid to vote against the party line in favor of the needs of the district. “In a local election like this, what the national party is doing, a lot of times, has next to no bearing on local elections,” Gutierrez said. “I would vote almost strictly on what the district wants. Similar to Joe Manchin, how he’s willing to go against what the main federal Democratic party wants, and he does it frequently. I would be totally willing to do that.” Gutierrez grew up on his family’s horse and timber farm and lives near the southern edge of the district in the Skyline Ridge area of Portland. With his rural upbringing, Gutierrez said he’s always felt a stronger connection to Columbia County than the dense Portland population hub.
Something Gutierrez pointed to is the decline of manufacturing in recent years and its effect on rural towns like Vernonia and St. Helens. Gutierrez said he’s supportive of expanding conventional as well as reasonable renewables. However, Gutierrez does not support the shift to reasonable renewables while penalizing those who don’t make the transition. Gutierrez works as a Licensed Tax Consultant and, with that expertise, sees many issues with Oregon’s tax laws. He described Oregon’s tax laws as “absurd.” Gutierrez’s main priorities An example of a policy he said he would vote against would be a policy that would see fuel prices go up. Gutierrez’s main three issues are taxes, drugs and homelessness, and lowering housing costs and property rights. These three priorities became the focus after Gutierrez traveled throughout the district to hear people’s concerns. “I’m campaigning on what people were bringing up in the government. The first one is taxes. People really despise how high the taxes are right now. I will definitely vote against future tax increases while we have this enormous surplus, and essentially push to cut taxes,” Gutierrez said. Examples of tax policies Gutierrez said he would like to change are Oregon’s “anti-marriage” tax, the “anti-job” taxes, “anti-business” taxes, and even “anti-Oregon” taxes. Gutierrez said there are structural issues with Oregon’s tax laws. Gutierrez then discussed his views on drugs and homelessness.
“Essentially, I would support voting on legislature to be as strict as possible on drugs,” Gutierrez said. “A big part of the problem is that local law enforcement needs a lot more funding and a lot more support to actually be able to handle this crisis a bit more efficiently.” Gutierrez pointed to the difficulties of enforcing Ballot Measure 110. People can be cited for having drugs and given a $100 fine. The punitive measure has little effect on those with no resources to pay the fine, with little recourse if the fine is not paid. Another issue that Gutierrez said needs to be addressed is the camping laws that allow houseless individuals to infringe on property rights. Gutierrez wants to get people off the streets and into rehabilitation. “What we currently have right now is clearly not working. From what I’ve been hearing, people want a very strong response, which is what I’ll give,” Gutierrez said. The final main issue for Gutierrez is housing. One component Gutierrez hopes to address is the process of permitting. Gutierrez said there needs to be more multi-family housing units. Gutierrez hopes to address some of the problems that exist with utility costs and risks associated with “unfriendly landlord laws.” Other components Gutierrez emphasized that many of his policies will reflect the desires of the district. “Essentially, I believe representation is representing what the actual district wants, and I actually go out
See GUTIERREZ Page A3
Remembering veterans this holiday season and abroad are also participating, according to Wreaths Across America’s website. The mission of Wreaths Across America is to remember, honor, and teach. Columbia County Commissioner Casey Garrett and Columbia County Sheriff Brian Pixley will speak at the event. Veterans, active service members, families, and community members are invited and will be in attendance.
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To honor and remember past service members this holiday season, a wreath-laying ceremony will be held at Columbia Memorial Gardens on Dec. 16. The event is being held as part of National Wreaths Across America Day, and is under the umbrella of the efforts of the nonprofit organization Wreaths Across America. Local nonprofit Hometown Heroes of Columbia County (HTHCC) is helping to organize and coordinate the event. Hometown Heroes of Columbia County is a nonprofit organization that supports currently serving military members. The organization was founded by Sheriff Brian Pixley in 2019 and is part of CCSO Volunteers. Columbia Memorial Garden, located at 54490 Columbia River Highway in Scappoose, is an official Wreaths Across America location. The ceremony will start
About Wreaths Across America
Sheriff Brian Pixley at the wreath-laying ceremony in 2022.
at 11 a.m. on Dec. 16. There will be close to 500 wreaths laid on veterans’ headstones, according to a HTHCC Facebook post. Funds have been raised to support some
Courtesy photo from Hometown Heroes of Columbia County
of the wreath placements. “Coordinated and led by local volunteers, sponsorship groups have raised funds throughout the year to sponsor the placement
of 239 veterans’ wreaths on the headstones of our fallen service members laid to rest there,” the HTHCC post stated. More than 4,000 other locations across the nation, at sea,
Wreaths Across America is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded to continue and expand the annual wreath-laying ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery begun by Maine businessman Morrill Worcester in 1992. The organization’s yearlong mission – Remember, Honor, Teach – is carried out in part each year by coordinating wreath-laying ceremonies in December at Arlington, as well as at more than 3,700 veterans’ cemeteries and other locations in all 50 states and overseas.
Successful 41st Merchants’ Toy N Joy Auction celebrated SARAH KELLY Country Media, Inc.
On December 2, the nonprofit organization, Merchants’ Toy N Joy, held their 41st annual fundraising auction. The
Sports ....................... A3 News and Views ...... A4 Poll ............................ A4 Police Report .......... A5 Obituaries ................. A5 Classified Ads ......... A6 Community Calendar A6
Legals ....................... A7 Crossword ............... A7 Games and Puzzles A8 Letters to Santa A9 - A12 Vol. 141, No. 50
event took place at the Columbia County Fairgrounds Pavilion in St. Helens. The auction, which takes place every year on the first Saturday in December, sold out weeks before the set date, seeing an increase in attendees from last year. The Merchants’ Toy N Joy Benefit Auction Committee removed the 300-person cap they had previously placed on the event, raising it to a 350-person limit. “Last year we tried to cap it at 300 and found that we had more people that wanted to come but we were sold out. So we assessed a way to bring it to 350 and never would have guessed that we would sell out,” said Merchants’ Toy N Joy President, Mindy Sass. Sass, who has been the organization’s president for several years now, has served on the committee for the past 25 years, dedicating countless hours to volunteering. This year’s theme, ugly Christmas sweater, was one the committee had been wanting to do since 2020 but had to postpone due to COVID. “It was a lot of fun. … Almost everybody came wearing some sort of an ugly sweater,” said Sass. Three lucky guests were
See AUCTION Page A7
This year’s theme of ugly Christmas sweaters was proudly worn by nearly all of the 350 people in attendance.
Courtesy photo