There are only a few days left to vote in a very important state wide election in Oregon.
The genius of the Democrat Supermajority in Oregon is supporting a massive increase of licensing fees and a gas tax increase of a few cents. The few cents is not the big deal. What is a huge deal is the tripling of licensing fees. This will make it cost prohibitive to license old farm trucks that you use two months out of the year. (We talking like from $350 per truck per year, to $700 plus.)
But, I admit to putting off voting. I have been avoiding this upcoming election because I just don’t see a lot of good choices in representation locally or state wide.
I am going to vote because I think the fee increases associated with the new gas tax will be devastating if I actually paid them which I probably won’t do because I never drive my ancient trucks more than two miles from home anymore.
I am antigrowth, anti tax, anti progress, and just an all around grumpy old (oldish) fart. Emphasis on the fart.
I do not like the choices for Judges, most of them are running unopposed. I don't have a favorite for Governor, wanted to write in Tom McCall, but seeing as he is dead, probably not much of an option, although a dead Tom McCall is probably better than a live Tina Kotax or Christine Drazen. I have been watching the county commissioner race a little bit, but I figured there was no real choice. There are two candidates on one side who promoted by the shrill people who protest weekly out side the McMinnville Public Library. And they are two short pants wearing overly enthusiastic semi-entrepreneurs promoted by the other side.
The “farmer” candidate made a lot of money growing and selling Weed but is the clean cut country club Republican sort (I think). Of course he also raises hazelnuts, as they all do.
The other candidate is quite interesting and very driven. He has a business making parts for VW micro busses and has invented some sort of logging equipment that he also manufacturers and he also plays country western music at rest homes. He has a lowered rat/rod/surfer style van as his mascot.
Not super thrilled about filberts and pot growers or people running for office with mascots but I suppose weed and round-a-bouts are the wave of the future and I should get on board.
As the election winds down I started getting more and more BoomerBook advertisements for actual campaign goals for the candidates.
So it came as a bit of a surprise to see that the two plans to revitalize Yamhill County were either a bicycle trail, by the love = love crowd vs a new fairgrounds and amphitheater (which will have to be on EFU land of course.)
Now, I appreciate grand ideas somewhat in the abstract. But they always go sideways and off track and in the end you wish you would have just worked a little harder on what you had, or spent the money on lime instead of growing hemp.
However, with this grand scheme by “Republicans,” the thing that really irritates me is the suspicion that I will have to eat my own words.
I have been anti trail and anti parks for years and now I am getting all my anti trail excuses thrown right back at me.
In fact I was part of a neighborhood group formed to fight a proposed park at the old Whiteson landfill. An effort that really soured me on Yamhill County government and a few neighbors. Like the guy who started the neighborhood group and then used leverage from the group to sell his farm to the county for the proposed park. Or the official that just flat lied to us about the park plans.
I was against the plan for a 17 mile trail on an abandoned rail road grade between Gaston, Yamhill, Carlton and McMinnville for several reasons most of which are not politically acceptable.
I live across a filbert field from a railroad track and I just keep thinking what a pain in the butt it would be to have bicyclists in my front yard.
I hate bicyclists. They are the most entitled arseholes on the planet, them (and flyfishermen) put the K in karen. No one wants bicyclists in their back yard. No one wants to farm with spandex clad bitches reporting every farm operation as if it were another “Silent Spring,” a book none of them have read but have seen referenced somewhere.
Secondly, I think the land should be given to the landowners as it was taken from private landowners and given to the railroads to create transportation routes. That time has past. Turn the page.
Third issue is the trail will not be maintained and possibility of it degenerating into a zombie corridor of drug addicted homeless and the needles, trash, and stolen children’s bicycles that come with them.
Fourth, the trail is supported by the culture in Yamhill County I don’t like which may be reason number one but no one reads my blog anyway so sue me…
Fifth reason, which is related to the fourth, is that the trail was the brainchild of Kasey Kulla. I voted for Kulla because ran on a platform stressing smart planning and what I thought was innovation. This means he was a progressive and having a pot farm before it was completely legal doesn’t mean you are clever, it just means you are a liberal douche. Except for my neighbor, he is a pothead and I respect that.
And finally, it is going to cost money, not really bring in money, and if it is successful, will bring more people into Yamhill County.
Now we get to the point of this long ramble…
The candidates I feel forced into voting for have mostly quashed the trail. This is good…
BUT…
Now they are promoting a scheme to build an Amphitheater and a new County Fairgrounds and all the so-called “Conservative,” leadership are doubling down on it.
Now I have seen boondogles before, and I heard stories when I worked at a newspaper, and this one will go down in the recordbooks…
If it doesn’t result in a landslide defeat for these I dots…
An Amphitheater will cost a lot more than a trail. If you read up on concert venue projects by cities and counties, they cost a lot of money, they take ten years to bring in money. They require infrastructure and a lot of open land.
They require maintenance.
The reason we need a new fairgrounds is due to this very issue.
The maintenance budget is where the County trims the budget. That fairgrounds has been falling apart since it was built.
Who is going to maintain, promote, manage, and fund a massive capital project for a county that can’t even fix their existing structures???
Now, I have to go to work as I have to balance my own budget and maintain my own freaking infrastructure and I can’t do it by floating a bond or putting on a show or finding getting the Rural Organizing project or cutting a deal with some developer.
I live on chickenfeed and resentment and I suspect I am not alone...
Why can't someone run for office with the slogan, "I won't spend money and I won't do stupid shit stuff..."
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| Here is my example of an idea that seemed good but in practice was not. Imagine this on a countywide scale. Perhaps picture the ancient forklift as an proposed concert venue and the ancient crane truck as Yamhill County Government and the surrounding scrap metal as the rest of Yamhill County. See how the one will NOT LIFT THE OTHER and note how both should be retired... |
Edit: After realizing people were actually reading this post I thought I better clarify. The candidate with the grand plans came out and talked to me after hearing I was irritated. He is a great guy and I appreciate his vision and drive. I voted for him and his pot growing counterpart as I support party over common sense. Maybe I am secretly a democrat.
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