“Capital Chatter: In Eastern Oregon, Tina Kotek showed up and listened”

By Dick Hughes | Oregon Capital Insider | May 4, 2023

“Some naysayers had not expected Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek to show up in Boardman. When she did, they figured she would utter mere platitudes.

Instead, the Morrow County residents on Wednesday heard Kotek’s commitment to fixing their dangerously unhealthy well water: “We take this very seriously. And I’m not going to stop until you have what you need.”

“I’m impressed and I’m optimistic,” participant Raymond Akers told me after the evening meeting. Organized by Oregon Rural Action, it was conducted in English and Spanish. About 50 people participated.

Water – quality, quantity and distribution – is the overarching environmental issue throughout the West; indeed, for much of the globe. Yet Oregon’s issues drew little notice while communities such as Flint, Michigan, and Jackson, Mississippi, gained national notoriety.”