Six candidates for four at-large Hermiston City Council seats gathered Thursday night to make their case for their election.
The city of Hermiston and the Hermiston Chamber of Commerce hosted a candidates forum at Hermiston City Hall. Also appearing was Umatilla County Commissioner Dan Dorran, though is opponent, Alan Heel, did not.
The six council candidates are incumbent Maria Durón, Jeff Kelso, Josh Roberts, Luz Martell, Allen Hayward and Bryan Miller.
Moderator Angela Pursel of KOHU/The Q asked the candidates for city council what they considered to be the role of a councilor.
Roberts, a patrol lieutenant for the Umatilla County Sheriff’s Office, said a councilor has to be an ambassador for the community and its constituents. “A councilor has to be able to listen and collaborate and make decisions,” he said. “I think of a decision maker as probably one of the greatest assets a person can bring to the table.”
Roberts said there are five questions he asks before making a decision. “Is the decision I’m about to make illegal? Is it immoral? Is it unethical? Is it a gross deviation of any rule or policty? And is it fiscally responsible? When I answer those in a positive way, we come out with a decent outcome. We may not have an outcome that everyone agrees with, but at least we can say that there was thought and form into what the decision was. Being a strong leader is really what the role is about.”
Miller, a small business owner, said the ability to listen is the most important quality a councilor can have.
“Being on the city council, you have to see a lot of big picture things and you have to hear all the little voices,” he said. “There’s a lot of problems that fall through the nets. There’s a lot of issues that aren’t being heard. The best way to solve anything is by listening.”
Kelso, technology director for the Hermiston School District, said the most important role of a city councilor is to work collaboratively with fellow city councilors and the mayor to make the best decisions for the members of the community.
“One of the most important things a city councilor can do is be an ambassador and represent our community and businesses,” he said. “Hermiston is the fastest-growing city in eastern Oregon and I think that’s because we have had visionary leadership. Mayor (Dave) Drotzmann has done a fantastic job of being an ambassador for the city and meeting with businesses and I want to continue that.”
Martell, who is a registered nurse, said councilors must “appropriately represent its community. We are up here to represent the majority of our population and demographics, and I feel a very important thing to do is engage civilly.” Martell said it’s important to let more voices be heard.
Hayward, a data technician for AWS, said it’s important for councilors to listen to the people.
“You need to get out and see what the problems are and bring them back to the council to try to get a resolution and then report back to the people,” he said.
Durón, who is also the family engagement specialist for the Hermiston School District, said councilors need to engage the community and to go where the people are.
“I think it’s important to pass on their concerns to our city officials,” Durón said. “A lot of the times they need to communicate the needs of the people and how the city is working to address those.” She added that it’s important to be “willing to learn and ask a lot of questions. It’s also important to represent the community as a whole and not take the people’s trust for granted.”
When asked what city services need additional attention if more resources were available, Miller said housing and education.
“The city is growing so fast that housing is becoming an issue,” Miller said. “I know a lot of people who have had to move out of town. I feel like we just don’t have enough beds for people here.”
Kelso said the city needs to continue to build infrastructure to support the growing population.
“One of my visions for this city is that we have tremendous economic growth, and I think that’s possible with the resources that we have here,” Kelso said. “We’re in a beautiful location with a confluence of several highways and two rivers and it’s just a great place for businesses to come and for people to thrive. It’s important to provide affordable housing to give those families a place to live, but also to provide for the water and the roads and all the other things those people are going to need.”
Martell agreed that infrastructure is important, “but we also need to support our agricultural community – it’s the backbone of our community. As we grow our farming community, develop more housing and become more sustainable, I think that will result in more affordable housing.”
“Infrastructure is a big thing,” Hayward said. But he said the city will need to work with farmers as the city grows “because it will be taking their lands.”
Durón aid infrastructure and livability are key issues.
“But we also have a lot of educators and a lot of professionals that are coming to our area and there’s a need for day care,” she said. “We also need to collaborate with other organizations to help people pay for their day care for their children.”
Roberts said mental health treatment is at the top of his list.
“What I see is a lot of siloing,” he said. “Drug treatments are over here doing their thing and domestic violence is doing their thing and law enforcement is doing their thing. If I could pour resources into an efficient system and take all those things together and make a unified front to confront these issues, that’s what I would try to do. We can’t just pick one because they are all so interlinked. That would have the most impact on our livability issues.”
The candidates were asked what role a city councilor can play in helping lead the future growth of Hermiston.
Kelso said new business and industry was the answer.
“I think a city councilor needs to facilitate bringing businesses and people to this community and find ways to make it easier for them to come here whether that’s through tax breaks or setting land aside or generating a business operation, which is generally what we’ve done on the south end of town,” he said.
Martell said she also supports small business owners but added that talent retention is also key.
“We have great people with great talents, but it’s often lost to other cities,” she said.
Hayward said a councilor needs to be a leader and “get out there and get to know what the plan is and also bring that vision to the city. You need to work with other council people, the mayor and people in the community to see how its going to impact them.”
Durón said the city must take every opportunity to meet with legislators.
“A lot of the times we don’t have the money or funds, but if we that good rapport with them and let them know about our challenges and see how we can collaborate with them . . . so we can work together and so we can all benefit,” she said.
Roberts said the city needs to take a measured approach to growth.
“When we bring in industrial businesses it increases tax revenue and that’s a good thing,” he said. “When we bring in small businesses, that increases tax revenue and that’s a good thing. But at the same time, I was at a meeting recently where we don’t have enough land over the next 20 years to facilitate that unless we expand our urban growth boundary. So, the best way to lead is to be methodical and be thoughtful and be collaborative and just do it in a measured way.”
Miller praised the city for the growth it has experienced.
“I’m going to be honest,” he said. “I think you guys are doing an amazing job at growth for the city. I don’t think, right off the top of my head, there is something we could do that would make everything better. I think you guys have such a great plan moving forward with your growth and attracting businesses.”
Each candidate was asked what ideas they had for generating more revenue for the city.
Martell said an indoor pool would increase the livability of the city and attract visitors from outside the area who would then spend money in the community.
“Our neighbors in Boardman have found that to be rather successful for them,” Martell said.
Hayward said Hermiston needs more local businesses.
“Many people travel to the Tri-Cities to shop,” he said. “We need more grocery stores. New businesses would generate more property tax revenue.”
Durón said growth brings opportunities and challenges.
“We know there is no easy fix,” she said. “The city has had several meetings about doing this without hurting the pocketbooks of our community members. The city sought input from the public. We’re not alone. Every city is facing the same thing.” She said it’s important to continue to provide the services the citizens need without raising the cost of living.
“Not raising taxes or fees would certainly be good,” Roberts said. “The answer is bringing in housing, bringing in industry and businesses to generate more tax revenue. I applaud the city for doing a deep dive into the budget last year. That should be a continual process. And working with our state and federal partners to find out where we can get earmarked funding for some of the projects that we need to drive some of this growth.”
Miller said when he lived in Chicago, he couldn’t afford the full cost of a bus ticket.
“So, when I moved here and I saw that there was the Kayak free bus system, I was amazed,” Miller said. “It blew me away. I think we should expand on that so it can take people to job sites because there are a lot of people in this community that can’t drive. If we can provide them with a way to get to work, they will work. That’s more money to them and more money to us.”
Kelso said the answer is to increase the tax base.
“Attract new businesses and people and get more money through tax revenue that way,” Kelso said. “And let’s face it – in these inflationary times, the city may not be able to sustain all the services that we provide. That’s just a reality.”
Each candidate was asked if the city is doing a good job reaching out the Hispanic community.
Hayward said he was impressed with the outreach the city has made.
“I try to learn their heritage and their culture,” he said. “Anybody that’s different, we try to get them involved in the community and get them to have a platform for their heritage and culture.
Durón said she believed the city has done a good job on the issue.
“When you walk into the city hall, you will see a Hispanic member as part of the customer service clerks,” she said. “You walk into the courthouse, you will see the same thing. You go to the public library, you also have a Spanish speaker, as well.” She highlighted the city’s Hispanic Advisory Committee that serves as a liaison between the city and Hispanic community.
Roberts said he has witnessed the outreach being done to reach the Hispanic community.
“The hard part is how do we get the people to engage back? I wish I had a great answer for that. It’s something we need to tackle and keep coming up with ideas.”
Miller said it’s refreshing to see how everyone is integrated into the community, but added “I don’t feel like I’m qualified to answer that question. I would have to go out to these communities and ask them what could we be doing to help them engage more.”
Kelso also praised the city’s Hispanic outreach efforts.
“I think the city does a very good job of reaching out to the Hispanic community,” he said. “I know for certain that the school district does.” He credited Durón for her work with the Hispanic population in her job with the school district and her role on the city council.
Martell said the city’s efforts are not enough.
“I agree that the city has made attempts to connect with the Hispanic population,” Martell said. “However, I don’t believe that is not the truth in the Hispanic community based on the Civic Academy Leadership assessment that we did in a survey. I believe the reason they are not engaging is because there still remains a gap in communication with the community. She said it’s important to have the Hispanic Advisory Committee, but added there are available resources that the Hispanic community doesn’t know about.
“From what I’ve seen with the Hispanic community, they’re really involved,” Hayward said.
To wrap up the forum, Pursel asked each candidate for their vision for Hermiston in 2040.
“One where I’m alive and still in it,” Miller said. “I would like to see Hermiston continue to grow and I like the direction that it’s growing. I don’t have a vision. I’m just excited to see how it turns out.”
Kelso said he sees a thriving business community with plenty of good-paying jobs.
“My vision is that Hermiston has become a place that is attractive to business,” he said. “We have a Costco here, we have a Fred Meyer maybe, and we have huge numbers of industrial business here which support thousands and thousands of jobs and a great standard of living for the citizens of this community.”
Martell said she would like to see a more engaged community.
“We need to hear their voices and hear their concerns,” she said. “Let’s bring businesses. Let’s have local businesses thrive. Let’s have financial growth, but also engage the city and provide more resources for those who are vulnerable so they can also thrive in this community.”
Hayward sees a growing future for Hermiston.
“My vision is to see the town as it is right now but even bigger,” he said. “A place where everyone’s welcome.”
Durón’s answer played on Hermiston’s motto, Where Life is Sweet.
“I want to see Hermiston even sweeter,” she said. “I would like to see an even more diverse city council . . . and our youth being more involved with our local government. I think having more opinions will be so important. And as we continue to grow, still keeping the small town feeling where we’re always looking out for one another.
Roberts also talked about Hermiston’s future growth.
“I envision a town that is at least twice the size, more amenities, an indoor pool would be nice,” he said. “Some food choices. Basically, I want a town that is huge and has a ton to do and yet still has that small town connected feel. That’s one thing I don’t want to lose. I want our growth to be measured. You bring in stuff too fast and you lose your identity. “
