OPINION The A La Carte Politics of Central Oregon

Plenty of people outside of Oregon assume our fair state is as blue as the Pacific Ocean – but those who live here know better. The gradient of blue starts to mellow as you go east, until you reach the Idaho border, where the hues tend to go bright red. Here in Central Oregon, sorta in the middle of those two extremes, you get some interesting combinations.

In Bend, Democrats rule the City Council, the park board and the school board in a district that now has a restorative justice and equity model for discipline. In Redmond there’s more of a mix of politics, and currently, a school board majority that is demonstrating its performative politics by working to strip its policy language of anything remotely resembling a push for diversity and equity. And let’s not forget Prineville, just slightly farther east, where a cadre of “mama bears” on the school board are presently working to ensure Crook County’s kids are never exposed to a shred of cultural or intellectual diversity in what they read. Recently, they took issue with “George vs. George,” a children’s book that discusses the American Revolutionary War and draws parallels between King George and George Washington. The humanity!

But beyond those policy-making moves, the average citizen might find the play-out of politics to be a bit more “a la carte.”

How those interesting combinations play out for the average local became a little more apparent this past week, with the passing of the 4th of July holiday.

If you live in Bend and lean a little more right, you might find yourself driving north to Redmond to buy your fireworks.

“I’d like the liberal main course, with a side dish of personal freedom, thank you very much!”

If you live in Redmond and lean a little more left, you might find yourself driving south to Bend to get your marijuana.

“I’ll take the conservative school board policy meal deal with a side of permissive drug policy, please!”

And if you live in Bend or Redmond but work in Prineville at the Meta or Apple data centers, you might be very confused.

“I’ll lament about the area’s overgrowth while simultaneously elevating the profile of Big Tech – no big deal!”

All day long, imagine the number of people who drive from one of these cities to the other, criss-crossing each other on the highways in order to get the type of governmental policies that work for them on that particular day.

And when that main course isn’t quite as amenable to one side of the state, the course of action thus far hasn’t been to try to cross the proverbial highway to work out where we can come together; instead, the solution for some has been a long-shot attempt at just turning part of Oregon into Idaho. One has to wonder whether the recent addition of the potato as Oregon’s state vegetable wasn’t a jab at Idaho and its “famous potatoes.”

“We’ve got everything that Idaho does – so why leave?”

It’s like a microcosm of what we’re seeing in the United States in general these days – this shifting of locales and states to make one’s politics fit with the community they’re in. It’s just that in Central Oregon, you only have to drive about 15 miles to feel the difference.

The recent announcement of plans for a gargantuan development that includes 1,600 housing units and a 180room hotel, in addition to the staggering number of other huge developments underway in every part of our town left me heavyhearted. The highways and byways in Bend have become a nightmare; it took me 40 minutes recently to drive from the west to the east side of town. Extensive traffic backups at lights everywhere in Bend have become the norm. We're packed like proverbial sardines. What is the thinking among city council and developers about issues like traffic, parking, overcrowding and habitat loss? I feel helpless over this unchecked commercial and residential growth and frustrated that I have no solution to offer up, nevertheless, I feel compelled to express my bewilderment and sadness.

—Krayna Castlebaum

I have been a bike commuter for almost 20 years. The experience of human-powered transportation is a true joy. And while e-bikes are not for me, I welcome their utility as a tool for others.

To safely bike commute requires maturity and an understanding of what drivers are experiencing – both of which middle- and high-school-aged children lack. Cycling is more complex and requires greater awareness than driving to be done safely.

In the recent “It's time to talk about E-bikes” article, I was underwhelmed by Bend PD's response. It amounted to little more than “increased education via social media.” When I was 15, I wasn't particularly interested in education from authority figures. There has to be more of a presence in the community.

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This mean holding parents accountable as well. Frankly, I'm shocked that parents choose to buy their children some of these high speed, throttle “e-bikes” that can reach speeds up to 47 miles an hour. These are not e-bikes, these are electric dirt bikes and shouldn't be operated by children.

Not only have e-bikes put more school-aged children at risk, but all bike lane users. With the lines between bike and motorcycle becoming blurry, more people have become entitled to the bike lane. I have been run out of the lane on multiple occasions by motorcycles, gas powered scooters, and throttle e-bikes. Until there is more done than “education” it seems inevitable there will be more tragedies around our town.

—Craig Gorder

SURVEY, 6/29-7/6

Why wouldn’t you want your child to get some exercise and learn to be independent? Would you buy them a motorcycle?

E-bikes seem to be a blessing for those who know how to ride and no longer have the strength for hills as we saw on bike trails in Europe but here I see many doing unsafe riding and not following safety guidelines at high speeds.

—Mimi Graves

Wow! I'm shocked at the results. I wonder how many of those voters have ridden an e-bike.

It seems that folks who haven't ridden an e-bike tend to assume that they're like motorcycles or something... they are not.

E-bikes can be such a great mode of transport I'm continually discouraged and confused by opposition or even contempt toward them.

—Troy Smith

Brilliant editorial that puts things in stark perspective.

"Uncoordinated" sweeps equal still more misery for people trying to survive in the harsh summer conditions of Central Oregon. Uncoordinated policy implementation will not find enough shelter, housing, or parking space; the numbers of unhoused people are too high. They tasked Cheyenne Purrington with finding housing for the people due to be displaced from Hunnell in March. (Talk about setting someone up for failure.) She failed, but City Manager King acknowledged the dearth of available shelter, so he called off the sweep. Three months later — with no improvement in shelter capacity — the sweep is on again for July 17.

Who is he listening to? Probably not flabbergasted service providers and a large segment of 20-somethings in the community who don't see the sense of spending tens of thousands of dollars to randomly chase miserable people from one unauthorized location to another ad infinitum. I am — just for my own peace of mind — tabling around town for a petition to stop the Hunnell sweep. Unsurprisingly, it is community members in their 20s who are most likely to sign the petition. Keep this in mind, city councilors, as you ponder running for re-election or pursuing higher office. Your votes will be vetted and your policies will be perused.

—Foster Fell via bendsource.com

Foster: I opted to print just a portion of your online comments to allow room for other letters and perspectives, but readers can find your full comment on the web version of last week’s Opinion. Thanks for your input. You get letter of the week!

—Nicole Vulcan