During Gov. Tina Kotek’s recent visit to Wallowa County, the Chieftain sat down with her to ask about issues other than affordable housing, the main topic of her afternoon conversation at Wallowa Resources.

You can read about her answers in this story, published in last week’s edition of the Chieftain. But I wanted to spend time unpacking her answers to our questions about the Move Oregon’s Border effort, which has placed a ballot measure on Wallowa County’s May 16 ballot. The measure, similar to ones that have passed in 11 other Oregon counties, calls on Wallowa County commissioners to devote time, twice a year, to discuss “how to promote the interests of Wallowa County that would be relevant to a relocation of state borders, and to prepare the county for becoming a county of another state” — namely, in this case, Idaho.

A similar measure narrowly failed in Wallowa County in 2020. It’s anybody’s guess how the measure will fare in Tuesday’s election. 

On one level, of course, the measure isn’t really about moving Wallowa County into Idaho — even many of its proponents will say that’s a long shot.

Rather, the movement is intended to send this message to lawmakers and state officials in Salem: The voice of Eastern Oregon — politically, economically, culturally — is not being heard in the halls of state government. 

So this was the question reporter Bill Bradshaw and I asked Kotek about the Move Oregon’s Border movement: What signals can state government send to Eastern Oregonians to make them think that, after years of being ignored, they finally have a place at the table? (Or, in the language of “Hamilton,” Eastern Oregonians get to be in the room where it happens?)

Here was Kotek’s reply: “You have to show it, first, in legislation, in the budget discussions. For me, it’s making sure that all parts of the state have prosperity so that the resources are equitably distributed.”

Kotek said she would sign two bills of significance to Wallowa County if they passed the Legislature: One of the bills, House Bill 3317, would create and fund a countywide board to work on affordable housing and workforce development. The other, Senate Bill 955, allocates $300,000 in state money to establish an AgriStress Helpline to offer assistance to workers in natural resources industries who are coping with stressful situations. While Kotek’s support of the bills is gratifying, it would send a powerful message to Wallowa County residents (and folks throughout Eastern Oregon) if she publicly went to bat for both measures with the Legislature’s powerful Ways and Means Committee.

Kotek also pointed to her work in the Legislature with a measure raising the minimum wage throughout Oregon as a possible model for the state to follow as it rolls out new programs. As you might recall, the legislation raised wages throughout the state — but it divided the state into three regions, with different wage structures for each. As Kotek noted, “We said, ‘We have to have livable wages for everybody. But let’s do it in a way that makes more sense for the economic areas of the state.'”

She added: “I think that’s a good model, a good example of where people said, ‘Well, we’re all one state, but parts of the state can be different.'”

It’s not easy — as Kotek noted, that mininum-wage effort “was a good two years of my life.”

And it’s a model that might be particularly challenging on issues that aren’t economic — cultural or societal issues such as gun control, for example. 

But it’s a model that leaves room for voices throughout the state to speak their piece — and to feel as if their words mattered.

And Kotek said she’s listening: “It hurts my heart to think that someone who lives in a community as beautiful as this, and is such a part of Oregon’s history, feels like no one on the other side of the state is listening and would rather be with another state. If that’s how people are feeling, as a governor, I don’t want to hear that. We’re not doing our job well.”

Kotek added, by the way, that May’s visit to Wallowa County would not be her last. I’m going to make a note in my Day-Timer to remind her of that. 

A final election note

Allow me one last nag: Have you voted yet?

This off-year election is filled with important issues from that Greater Idaho ballot measure to a renewal of the county’s weed-prevention levy to contested races for county school boards and the Wallowa Valley Health Care District Board of Directors. The deadline to vote is 8 p.m. Tuesday. It’s true that if you have your ballot postmarked by 8 p.m. Tuesday — and if it gets to the county’s Elections Office within seven days after Election Day — it counts. But, at this point, I would lean toward dropping off your ballot in one of the county’s ballot drop-off boxes.

The county has four such boxes, and three of them are open around the clock: outside the Wallowa County Courthouse, 101 S. River St. in Enterprise; outside Wallowa City Hall, 104 N. Pine St.; and outside Joseph City Hall, 201 N. Main St. A fourth box is located inside the Wallowa County Courthouse, but it’s only open when the courthouse is open, 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays. 

The Chieftain will post election results on our website, wallowa.com, as soon as they’re available on Tuesday night.

It’s all part of our commitment to cover Wallowa County news to the fullest extent that we can. As always, if you have comments or questions about the Chieftain, or want to pass along a story idea, send me an email at this address: mmcinally@wallowa.com. It sometimes takes me a few days to respond, but I try to answer every email — eventually.

Finally, let me take this opportunity to once again thank the Chieftain’s subscribers: We simply would be unable to do this vital work without your support.