We are living in stressful and challenging times. The economy, housing prices, job loss, and contentious elections are just a few things that keep us all constantly on our heels. Here in Hillsboro, we have it pretty good, but much more work must be done. We are all tired and ready for a break. Did any of us really get over the pandemic and back to full strength? My guess is, for the most part, the answer is no.
I am not running for political office, but people have asked. The stress of a campaign and family obligations have always stopped me, but I serve on several boards and committees, helping where I can. Following elections, candidates and endorsements, and new laws and measures is hard on everyone. This year, we looked closely at all the candidates, and as many of you know, we endorsed Marc Grambo over Rob Harris for that City Council race. It was a close call, and we looked at the endorsements of the Washington County Democrats and other factors. In this race, I personally knew both candidates. Marc Garmbo, as a local Realtor and community leader. Rob Harris is a local attorney whom I have never hired but have always heard good things about. I acted as a broker on a parcel of land Rob bought in old town for an investment. We crossed paths, and he was excellent to deal with.
Ultimately, we chose to endorse Marc Grambo, but it was a close call for us to make.
As of last evening, new information has come to light that centers around a private chat communication between Marc and Kylie Warren Delgado or Kylie Delgado. She is one of the owners of the @649Bar in Aloha at the corner of 185th Avenue and Farmington. She is a Hillsboro resident and, along with her husband Karim, hosts a refrigerator in front of their home on East Main Street, which acts as a cold food pantry with foods and perishables for those in need. She and Marc share many things in common. They are both VERY SMART, passionate, and committed to the community, especially to those of lesser means and who are impoverished. That commitment extends to matters in Israel and Palestine. From what I have been told, the two have known each other for some time. They share debates in chat form. Marc is of Jewish descent and pro-Israel, and Kylie is from the Free Palestine part of the debate- at least strongly on the Palestinian side. They are both warriors for a cause to the extreme- which, for me, is a great trait to have. That leads up to the event that caused this decision.
I have been provided with a very lengthy screen recording from the last two days. The two were debating and then fighting over the Middle East conflict. The exchange between the two boiled over. Blame for the horrors happening in that faraway place was batted back and forth, and it escalated to insults. Now, mind you, this was in a private chat. Those insults led to what appears to be some very improper messages from Grambo to Delgado. Bad enough that it would erode the integrity and credibility of anyone making them. Bad enough that a reasonable person would not feel right about endorsing that person for public office. Marc Grambo responded to several parties this morning over this matter. We communicated with Marc, and he has his side of the story. While I am concerned that the screenshots Kylie posted on social media do not appear in the text recording we were provided, Mr Grambo has not denied them despite two solid attempts to get that answered. He states that he has filed a police report about this matter or some other things happening to him privately in this campaign, which has been a real pressure cooker- we get that. Those things will hopefully get resolved. With no denial by Marc and no reason not to believe Kylie, we must pull out the endorsement of Marc Grambo for Hillsboro City Council, effective immediately.
Will we endorse Rob Harris? The answer is yes!
In the past two weeks, we have seen Mr Harris clarify his messaging and intentions regarding some major aspects of life in Hillsboro, as we have reported. They are Housing and Communication.
Housing: Harris told us, “Housing is very high on my list of priorities, so I do try to read about it when I see articles about it anywhere. I’m interested in expanding all kinds of housing, but particularly affordable and entry-level home buyer opportunities. As I’ve said, reviewing building and zoning codes is a must. My BA is in Urban Planning, so I have some base knowledge. I also had a conversation a couple months ago with a large builder about condos and changes to construction defect laws that could make condos at least as attractive as apartments. So (we) could offer first-time buyers an entry point. That’s a state issue. But housing is a state and regional issue anyway.”
Communications: Harris told us: “As I’ve run this campaign and talked to people, they’re telling me they don’t believe (the) city does a good job communicating with its citizens. I believe them and I think your site reaches many of them.”
You can find out more about Rob Harris and his campaign here. https://electrobharris.com/about/
We have had concerns about Rob’s participation in the Cohort, constructed by Beach Pace and members of the Sisterhood, and that a group mindset and panel would bias his thinking once on Council. Rob reached out to me and offered a personal reference from his childhood and longtime friend, with whom he discussed his ability to be independent. His friend said Rob is very independent, which is one of his strong suits.
Given that, and Rob’s strong statements about Housing equity and creating OWNERSHIP opportunities, as well as his desire to improve the City’s communication, the Hillsboro Herald is reversing our endorsement from Marc Grambo to Rob Harris. We wish him well in this election.
We posted this as soon as we could. We wish Marc Grambo well and know he will continue to be a force for good in Hillsboro. I believe that Marc succumbed to campaign pressures and that an issue as explosive as Israel VS Palestine is the last one he needed to be involved in. I also know that Marc went too far and, deep down, probably regrets this exchange, and I like to think he would change the way it went if he could. If the two unconfirmed posts are true, he must apologize and make amends. The Herald and I personally could not stand by and see the influence we have, however great or small it is, influence votes. As a result, we had to take action at this late hour as soon as we could.
“You’re either getting better, or getting worse; no one stays the same. Your mistakes don’t define who you are. It’s what you do after you have made the mistakes that makes all the difference.”
We thank Kylie Delgado for sharing the communication with us to help us understand the context and depth of the argument that transpired.
This is yet another example of why “EARLY VOTING” is foolish and “Vote by Mail” has its oconsequences.
This was all explained by our group back in the ’90s when we vigorously opposed VBM. Sure it’s convenient, but there are many other issues. Now Washington Co.has abandoned the “secrecy envelope” that ballots were placed into. All to save a whopping $26,000. Security be damned for a lousy $26K!!
I for one NEVER EVER had a problem going to a neighbood polling place, signing a Poll book which better proved you were a LEGAL voter, and finally voting on ELECTION DAY!!
Now we find that anyone who already voted for Marc Grambo TOUGH LUCK! The Hillsboro…… Never Vote EARLY…..
Add this to the above……….
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PS: From the Willamette Week 9-30-1998
Seen a Rogue on the loose?
Get in touch with our Roguemeister:
JOHN SCHRAG
jschrag@wweek.com
(503) 243-2122
FAX: (503) 243-1115
If you’re running a campaign backed by the state’s top elections
official, you’d damn well better follow Oregon’s election laws.
Apparently Laura Culberson, the field director for Ballot Measure 60,
either didn’t know or didn’t care about them.
Measure 60 would require that all statewide elections in Oregon be
conducted by mail-in ballot. It is backed by Secretary of State Phil
Keisling, a big vote-by-mail booster.
Culberson’s problems stemmed, in part, from the campaign’s effort to
avoid using paid signature gatherers. To qualify Measure 60 for the
ballot, the campaign mailed out tens of thousands of blank petitions,
urging people to sign them and send them back.
Though this practice is perfectly legal, election laws require that every
signature sheet be witnessed and signed by an Oregon registered voter.
People can be their own witnesses by signing twice.
Last week, Harry Esteve, a reporter for The Register-Guard in Eugene,
disclosed that scores of ballots for Measure 60 came back to the
campaign office without witness signatures. Rather than toss them out
or send them back, Culberson signed some of them herself, making it
appear as if she was present when the sheet was signed.
Culberson, who reportedly has retained a lawyer, is not talking to
reporters. Campaign manager Jeremy Wright says the campaign has
asked elections officials to investigate the matter. Wright also says that
if Culberson signed petitions that were mailed to the campaign, the
number of signatures affected would be minimal, and not disqualify the
measure from the November ballot.
Still, Culberson broke the law: Falsely verifying a signature is a Class
C felony and carries penalties of up to $100,000 and five years in
prison.
Most troubling is that none of this would have come out if critics of the
measure hadn’t been on the ball. The Executive Club, anti-tax guru
Don McIntire’s conservative coalition, looked at all the signature sheets
turned in and noticed Culberson’s signatures. The group then notified
the media.
It shouldn’t be this way. If the voters had a right to expect any
campaign to be run cleanly, it was this one. Thanks to Culberson, a
ballot measure aimed at improving the democratic process now raises
questions about it.
originally published September 30, 1998
O M G We have all gone back to high school home room, to gossip about what we like to pretend WE have privileged insider info on . . have we finally sunk to THIS . . . . Thank you Donald Trump for leading us all the way down down down into the rathole, where all pathetically childish emotions, venting, and stupidity rule . . . .
Your referring to the withdrawl of the endorsement or?? Just because I did not post the sreenshoots and messages does not mean they do not raise to a very aggregious level. They do. So I am 120% fine with this action we took.