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​April 27, 2021

Honorable Governor Kate Brown
900 Court St. NE, Room 254
Salem, OR 97301

Director Patrick Allen
Oregon Health Authority
800 NE Oregon St,
Suite 550 Portland, OR 97232

Honorable Governor Brown and Director Allen,

Respectfully, enough is enough. Our small businesses and communities cannot endure another extreme adjustment of county risk levels and further shutdowns of the magnitude you have announced today, April 27, 2021. We have been told to follow the science and this is what we have been doing—the data simply does not support your decision, and our businesses are being unfairly and unreasonably targeted. The additional $20 million of support for counties does not adequately address the needs nor does it get to solving the roots of this problem.

For over a year, our small businesses, employers and families have endured hardships unlike any before. Shut down after shut down have resulted in permanent business closures, tens of thousands of unemployed Oregonians, lost revenues, bankruptcies, and more, at the hands of these closures. The constant waiting games and shifting of county risk levels and regulations are impossible to navigate.

There is no evidence to show that our small businesses spread COVID-19 while following the public safety measures that have been put in place, nor is there any evidence to show that keeping our small businesses open would result in higher numbers. Your offices need to make the tough calls to meet the virus where it is and where it is spreading, not to simply find the easiest target.

We have followed the stringent protocols put into place by OSHA, OHA and your office’s executive orders. Many of our businesses have been closed longer than they have been open. There is no data showing small businesses, restaurants and bars, gyms and fitness facilities are responsible for high transmission rates – in fact, it is just the opposite.

For over a year, you and your offices have had a difficult job and that is not lost on us. What is also not lost is you have had the tools to manage this public health crisis and ensure our hospitals do not reach max capacity. Our front line workers have sacrificed their safety and health to protect Oregonians in every manner possible, and they have not received the support they need to manage this public health crisis. OHA and hospitals have systematically reduced the staffed beds in Oregon over the past six months. The reporting of these numbers and the metrics by which they are measured continue to change and without notice or transparent information. This inconsistency is alarming and certainly prevents the ability to fully understand the circumstances by which decisions are being made.

The disorganized, disorderly and delayed roll out of vaccines only added to this chaos and mistrust. Even now as vaccines are available, appointments are difficult to find, and our counties don’t have what they need to provide enough vaccinations to our citizens. Even still, Oregonians are seeking vaccinations as quickly as possible to ensure their safety, the safety of others, and the re-opening of our state.

Frankly, our small businesses are not the problem. They should not be penalized again or further; it is not their responsibility to shoulder the burden of COVID-19. It is the responsibility of your offices to make decisions, backed by scientific evidence, to help Oregonians through this step in the pandemic.

We strongly urge you for the future of our state and the safety of Oregonians to reconsider this new phase of county risk levels that push our state further away from stability and recovery.

Sincerely,

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November 18, 2020

Honorable Governor Kate Brown
900 Court St. NE, Room 254
Salem, OR 97301

Dear Governor Brown,

We appreciate and understand the challenges you have faced as our Governor during this challenging time in Oregon. We have seen improvements in the response to COVID-19 and the executive decisions you have made that have slowed the spread of the virus. In our roles as state legislators, county commissioners and judges, and regional leaders, we’ve encouraged every effort available to do the same.

A one-size-fits-all approach to shutting down the state was logical and appropriate in March when the onset of this pandemic was new and was unknown. Over time, we have learned, adapted, adjusted and improved. Keeping counties and regions in a Phase II for an indefinite period of time is a one size fits all approach that does not work any longer.

It is time to re-evaluate the metrics and the ever-changing goal posts related to slowing the spread of COVID-19 in our rural, semi-rural, eastern and frontier communities. We have shut down for months, we have met the metrics required, we have followed the goal posts as they’ve moved, we have adhered to the rules, we have slowed the spread—and yet, our counties, communities, small businesses, K-12 schools, childcare and colleges, health departments and more, sit in a stale and stagnant state without forward progress. We have done and continue to do all that is within our capacity to slow the spread of COVID-19, and now, some of our border counties are being directly affected by decisions and actions from outside our state over which we have no control.

This is not a sustainable position for our communities.

Our COVID-19 cases will ebb and flow over the next several months just as they have over the last several weeks. This metric is not a reliable indicator of the situation. The metric that is most important to reconsider at this time is the original goal of ensuring there is adequate hospital capacity and not overwhelming our medical facilities. We have met this goal from the onset and continue to meet this goal. This must be the benchmark for future conversations on how we learn to live with COVID-19.

There is still much we don’t know about COVID-19, but what we do know is the continued closure and limitations under these guidelines disproportionally impact women, single-parent homes, rural communities and small businesses. Our students are struggling in their education as well as their mental and emotional fitness, families have been stressed to the maximum, and decade-old businesses that are the lifeblood of our Oregon communities have closed for good.

Over the past few weeks, we have safely met with school superintendents, the ODE Director, county sheriffs, county public health authorities and agency representatives to discuss how we move forward.

We must make significant changes to the way our systems are being managed going forward. It is not realistic or sustainable to continue in Phase I or II, as currently described, for our districts, counties and communities wherein.

We propose four areas for change:

1. Restaurants and bars: Our hospitality industry, restaurants and bars must be able to stay open. The data shared by OHA does not show any indication that our restaurants and bars are the cause of increased cases. In addition, our hospitality industry is responsible for employing tens of thousands and Oregonians and keeping our already-fragile economy moving. Our restaurants and bars need to be able to extend their hours beyond the arbitrary closing time of 10:00pm and need to safely expand their indoor occupancy especially as we head into the holiday season and winter when indoor restaurants, lodging and tourism activity will grow. We are at risk for nearly 40% of our remaining businesses closing in the next six months if we do not allow for reasonable expansion of these services and industries.
2. Schools: Our schools need to be allowed to fully re-open for in-classroom learning, and our students need to be allowed to participate in extracurricular activities. All teachers, students, staff, and volunteers that want to return to in-person learning should be able to do so in a safe manner. All teachers, students, staff, and volunteers that desire to continue CDL should be able to do so. If it is safe for college athletes to return to sports, assuredly it is safe for high school students. Parents need to be able to return to work, and our students and teachers need the stability of the classroom.
3. State Agencies: We need to reopen our state agencies at all levels, including and specifically DMVs, across the state. We would argue, and assume you would agree, that our state agencies and state employees are essential. These agencies are funded with public dollars and our public needs full access to these essential services.
4. Religious institutions: Release our churches and places of worship. While outliers will exist as the exception, most churches and places of worship will be and have been more than scrupulous in protecting their congregations from harm from COVID-19. Give pastors, religious leaders and governing boards the latitude to exercise their best judgement for safety.

We have been living with extreme difficulty with COVID-19 for over eight months and have taken the necessary precautions during this time, but we have another six, 12, 18 months, or longer to go as we continue to understand this pandemic. Further shutdowns are not sustainable. We must adapt our Phases to allow for therapeutic remedies that appear to be on the horizon.

At this juncture, by not allowing our kids to go to school, our parents and families to work, our agencies to open for services, and our small businesses to reopen for business, we are failing our state and devastating the lives of tens of thousands of Oregonians. Our rural communities are being left out and left behind. As leaders, we are failing our constituents and the future of our state’s survival is at risk.

We urge you to consider a more realistic approach and set a course of action that allows for freedoms, safety, and sustainability to work in conjunction with one another. In order to accomplish this, we must empower our local public health authorities to work with the local elected leadership, both of whom fully know local situations, to work together and in partnership with the OHA to move forward with what can become a regional version of Phase II-A and Phase II-B.

We are having these conversations now, and more importantly, we are taking the necessary steps to develop these plans so we can act and move our unique regions forward towards a sustainable, viable future. Something has to change, and we’re prepared to move ahead.

We have a simple ask.

As the leaders chosen by Oregonians to represent their best interests and be their advocates, throughout and across our beautiful state, we would ask that the Governor and Governor’s office participate in these meetings and work with us, assess the proposals and plans we put forward, and consider the options we will be recommending for your consideration and approval.

We look forward to hearing from you soon.

Sincerely,

Senator Fred Girod
Senate District 9

Rep. Carl Wilson
House District 3

Rep. Vikki Breese-Iverson
House District 55

Rep. Elect and Commissioner Lily Morgan
House District 3

Rep-Elect Bobby Levy
House District 58

Bruce Nichols
Baker County Commissioner

Tony DeBone
Deschutes County Commissioner

Pete Runnels
Harney County Commissioner

Mae Huston
Jefferson County Commissioner

Kelley Minty Morris
Klamath County Commissioner

James Williams
Lake County Commissioner

Dan Joyce
Malheur County Commissioner

Jim Doherty
Morrow County Commissioner

Bill Elfering
Umatilla County Commissioner

Paul Anderes
Union County Commissioner

Susan Roberts
Wallowa County Commissioner