The Daily Astorian, July 14, 2009
Stand and Deliver
I watched with amazement as Ed Sullivan, attorney for Houston-based liquefied natural gas speculators, attempted to give improper direction to the Clatsop County Commission. "You're not here to apply the will of the people," he said ("LNG (the sequel) ignites county hearing," The Daily Astorian, July 8).
Sullivan apparently reached a point in his illustrious career where he needed to be reminded that the foundation of Oregon's land use law is to serve the public interest. This is all the more evident when a proposed use includes the gift of public resource - the Columbia River.
Sullivan's client, NorthernStar, owns no part of this great waterway, yet they're angling for exclusive use of a significant portion of its ecosystem. Their use would pre-empt long-standing uses including fishing. Construction and operation would kill salmon, a species with an even longer-standing use of the river.
The Columbia River is a public trust. The commissioners who have unprecedented say over its fate have been delegated that authority by the will of the people. Sullivan received his reminder of this fact with the roar of collective outrage as he incorrectly characterized the decision before the commission. The hearing is quasi-judicial but the choice of interpretation is political. Houston's NorthernStar should lose, based both upon facts and local sentiment.
We will see this week if the elected commissioners each understand their role as stewards of the public trust who were elected to do the will of the people. The deliberation and vote at 6 p.m. Thursday may be the most significant of their careers in public service. Let us all express our standing by ensuring standing room only in witness to this decision.
PETER HUHTALA
Astoria
The Daily Astorian, June 9, 2009
Huhtala to run for Witt's legislative seat
"I have a vision for the future of this state," Huhtala said in his announcement. "Oregon can become a leader in renewable energy, green technology and energy efficiency. We have the unprecedented opportunity to create hundreds of thousands of solid jobs that build our energy independence and confront global warming. Many Oregonians share this vision.
"Unfortunately, Mr. Witt has been aiding and abetting LNG speculators with their plans to bring foreign fossil fuels to Oregon for shipment through massive pipelines to California. This is intolerable."
The Daily Astorian, June 15, 2009
Witt earned his primary challenger
By pitching for LNG interests, our state representative ignored strong sentiment
Brad Witt, deserves a challenger. Our state representative has mortgaged himself so completely to the Texas developers of a prospective liquefied natural gas facility that he should be representing a Houston district, not Clatsop County.
Now Witt has an official adversary in the Democratic party primary election. Columbia River activist Peter Huhtala announced last week that he will make the race.