Columbia Gorge News election coverage continues

Rate	Price	Duration
1 year	$40.00	for 365 days
6 months	$29.00	for 180 days
3 months	$23.00	for 90 days
1 Month	$5.00	for 30 days
2 years	$75.00	for 730 days

Rate	Price	Duration
1 year out of area	$55.00	for 365 days
2 years	$75.00	for 730 days
2 years out of area	$95.00	for 730 days
6 months	$29.00	for 180 days
6 months out of area	$46.00	for 180 days
3 months	$23.00	for 90 days
3 months out of area	$36.00	for 90 days
1 year	$45.00	for 365 days

THE GORGE — Oregon’s 2024 Primary Election Day is May 21. Ballots will be mailed May 1. Military and oversees voter ballots were mailed April 5; out of state ballots will be mailed April 22.

The last day to register to vote or update party affiliation is April 30. Ballots deposited in an official drop box must be received by 8 p.m. on election day. Ballots that are mailed must be postmarked before 8 p.m. on election day.

This page, Columbia Gorge News continues its election coverage with Q&As from candidates for district attorney positions in both Hood River and Wasco counties.

Wasco County Candidates Forum

A Wasco County Candidates Forum takes place April 30 at the Mid-Columbia Senior Center, The Dalles. Doors open at 5:30 p.m., and the presentation begins at 6 p.m. Rodger Nichols will be moderator, and The Dalles Toastmasters will introduce the speakers.

To submit a question for the candidates, visit www.thedalleschamber.com/calendar; an entry form can be found in the details of the Wasco County Candidates Forum listing.

Mid-Columbia Senior Center, The Dalles Area Chamber, Wasco County Farm Bureau, The Dalles Toastmasters, and Columbia Gorge News are sponsors.

Wasco Co. District Attorney

Kara Davis

1. Why are you running for Wasco County District Attorney?

I am the fourth generation of my family to live in Wasco County. I was born here. I went to grade school through high school here. This is my community. In addition to being the Gilliam County District Attorney, I prosecute all the sex crime, child abuse, and elder abuse crimes in Wasco County. I want to see those prosecutions through and continue the relationships I’ve built with both the victims and the detectives who work the cases.

I am very concerned about the challenges that face the district attorney’s office in the next couple of years. There are funding challenges that are right around the corner and big changes in the law. I feel that I am the person qualified to meet these challenges.

2. What qualifies you for this position?

I have more than 20 years’ experience in criminal law in the State of Oregon. I’ve handled cases as simple as a trespass to ones as complex as mental commitment and death penalty. The law in Oregon is not the same as criminal law in other states. Our sentencing guidelines are a quagmire that trip up experienced attorneys. Our statutes don’t always mean what they appear to say. These are not things that can be learned overnight or even in a couple of years. Our office is too small to have a district attorney that does not carry a caseload. I can hit the ground running. I know our law.

3. What is the greatest need or priority in the county, and how do you plan to address it?

I’ve said it before and I will say it again — mental health. Somewhere along the line, Oregon lost its way. We are 51st in the nation for access to mental health. Quite a feat with only 50 states.

The largest provider of mental health services in the county and across the state are our jails and prisons. Petty offenses by the mentally ill hurt our quality of life, but our most horrific crimes in our county have also been committed by the mentally ill. We need to continue increasing our access to treatment. We do this with mental health court. We do this with a resolution center. We do this with deflection programs. In Gilliam County, I have already secured funding for a deflection program with a strong mental health base. When Chief DDA in Wasco County, I helped to establish the mental health court.

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Also running for Wasco County District Attorney is Travis Marston, who did not respond and therefore could not be included here. (See related story, A1.) Any responses received before the May 21 Primary will be included in upcoming editions of Columbia Gorge News.

All responses from all races are available at columbiagorgenews.com.

Hood River County District Attorney

Matthew Ellis

1. Why are you running for Hood River County District Attorney?

I am running for Hood River District Attorney because Hood River County has now been my home for eleven years. I have been a defense attorney and an elected prosecutor in Wasco County, but Hood River is my home. I am running to ensure the joint county programs that DA [Carrie] Rasmussen and I helped create, such as Treatment Court and Mental Health Court, continue to thrive in our judicial district.

I want to see victims get a real voice, asking them what they need to feel whole again. I want to run an office where we have numerous tools in our bag to hold offenders accountable in a fair and just manner, not solely rely on incarceration. We will continue the work we have already started with Six Rivers Mediation to have a restorative justice program. We have started these programs, and I am running to ensure these values continue.

2. What qualifies you for this position?

I am qualified based on my years of practice in the criminal justice arena. I began practicing as an attorney in Alaska in 2007, where I interned with the Office of Public Advocacy, before passing the bar in 2008. I waived my Alaska bar license into Oregon in 2011, and moved to the Gorge in 2013 to practice in public defense work. In 2020, I was elected the Wasco County District Attorney, and took office in 2021. Through the years, I have litigated countless criminal cases on both sides, through motions, negotiations, and trials. I have seen firsthand the inequities of the adversarial system to both victims and defendants. Since taking office, I have participated in local and national prosecution groups to gain a better perspective of best practices, locally and nationally. I will bring my diverse experience and curiosity to try new methods to the position.

3. What is the greatest need or priority in the county, and how do you plan to address it?

The greatest need, Oregon wide, is addressing post pandemic houselessness, addiction, and mental health. The district attorney’s office is a reactive agency by design. Crimes, after they have occurred, are referred to the DA from partner law enforcement agencies. Turning around to address these issues requires a proactive approach. Many of the crimes referred we see from individuals suffering from the above mentioned issues are public nuisance misdemeanors. Piling up misdemeanor convictions and short jail sentences over burdens the court system, costs tax dollars on jails, and accomplishes little.

Proactively, we can use the DA office to deflect, divert, and utilize our above mentioned specialty courts to attempt to point these individuals to resources in an attempt to break the criminal cycle. Our region has weathered a storm coming out of COVID. We need to continue to allocate resources towards these issues for the betterment of our community.

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Ellis is running unopposed for this position. All responses from all races are available at columbiagorgenews.com.