08/18/2008

Associated Press

The recent dustup in Oregon over new rules requiring ethics disclosures by small-town public officials is an example of the way state government fails to understand the impact it can have in the countryside, says an Oregon Rural Congress organizer.

The meeting this week is the first of what local officials hope will be an annual attempt to get the attention of state and federal officials to advance rural interests, said Colleen MacLeod, a commissioner in Union County.

Earlier this year, dozens of city council and planning commission members around the state quit rather than comply with ethics rules, including income disclosures, that the Legislature had required of most public officials in Oregon and then extended to small-town government bodies.

Legislative leaders have promised to take another look at the law. Critics argued that the rules were too stringent in rural areas where many local government leaders are unpaid volunteers.

MacLeod said it was an example of how the state government has to think ahead to see the potential consequences in rural regions of its actions: "Like chess — three moves out."

The Oregon Rural Conference is Thursday and Friday at Cascade Locks. At least eight cities, 20 counties, 11 state agencies and 12 legislators will be represented.

MacLeod said the conference was intended to develop policy recommendations on natural resources, economic development, telecommunications and human services.

The recommendations are meant to accommodate the differences inherent across Oregon's diverse geographic and political landscape.

"We are firm believers in one size doesn't fit all," she said.

A yearly congress, she said, could fill some of the void left after the recent dissolution of the state Office of Rural Policy.

And even if there may be good grounds for them, it's not intended as a gripe session, she said.

"This is not a complaining session," she said. "We don't want to hear your war stories."

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Information from: The (La Grande) Observer, http://www.lagrandeobserver.com/