The Real Story – A Column
Good AM, everyone. I am sharing the news of a Town Hall coming to Hillsboro that is being quietly promoted – perhaps to only attract a friendly crowd. Over the last 3 months, thousands of you and many great groups rose up to STOP Senator Janeen Sollman’s Senate Bill 1586, which would have added 11% to Hillsboro’s land mass for industrial fabs and data centers. We begged and pleaded with Senator Sollman, Mayor Beach Pace, and the City Council not to support this bill and to stop until the people of Hillsboro had a chance to speak and weigh in. We firmly requested a Town Hall. All attempts were rejected. What happened? Over 900 people sent in opposition to the State during the hearings. Thousands more called and emailed leaders from all over the State. Seeing that she was being attacked on social media, and that a hot candidate, Myrna Munoz (https://myrnaforsenate.com/), is running to unseat her, Sollman pulled her bill and has since deleted all of her social media posts promoting her SB 1586- at least someone did.
So to see Hillsboro-area State Representative Hai Pham, who backed Sollman’s Bill, call for a Town Hall at the City Civic Center is just comical. Now we get a Town Hall? Well, considering the panel includes Mayor Pace, who was the biggest supporter of 1586 and the massive Hillsboro Land Expansion, and County Commissioner Jason Snider, who also voted to support the Bill, this Town Hall looks more like damage control.
I am going, and all of you who took part in the land use process, who have attended the ICE work sessions here in Washington County, and any of you who have been called to action, should register to attend. To participate in the Town Hall, you will need to RSVP and submit a question that will be read and answered; there are no open questions, and exchange will be allowed. In this way, all questions can be screened and answers carefully prepared. Not much of a Town Hall- but anyone not wanting to let this opportunity pass and later be used as cover for doing more local actions with no input, this is the one ot attend.
NOTE: The City of Hillsboro has a very active Community Engagement team and social media channels, but as of 1 PM Friday, no communications have been posted or sent. I expect that will happen as a result of this post. We shall see. A Town Hall is never a bad thing- I am not sure that this is what they are really doing- this seems more like a way for politicians caught on the wrong side of some very controversial efforts and issues to reframe what they did. I am sure a lot of things will be discussed at this meeting- and 1586 may not even be touched upon. So I am going to listen. But those who chose land expansions backed by Big Energy and landowners over the people of Washington County and Hillsboro will not get a free pass from me to pretend like they did not do so. Never. I hope to see you all there- but don’t forget to RSVP!!
From Hai Pham’s Email Invite:
You’re invited to our Hillsboro Town Hall – March 10th from 6-7 pm
Oregon State Legislature sent this bulletin at 03/01/2026 12:43 PM PST
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A decent romantic comedy takes 90 minutes.
This Town Hall posits that a thorough community discussion of land use, economic impact, and the rural-urban balance of Washington County should take all of an hour. I guess they feel that’s a less weighty question than whether or not heterosexual men and women of the ’80s can just be friends.
I’ve just stopped laughing.
You’re absolutely correct in that this Dog & Pony show will be gaveled out after an hour FILIBUSTER. These cowards, lead by the contemptable Beach Pace, cannot handle the scrutiny they richly deserve. And, as for Ms. Pace, she’d do well to accept a one-way ticket home to Michigan….She’s done MUCH MORE THAN ENOUGH damage here!
Hillsboro voters – Be careful what you vote for in 2028!! Our current mayor and house representative for district 36 are not proving to be healthy for not only Hillsboro residents, but even for Washington County as a whole. Farming is a critical component to the livelihood of Oregon. Asphalt and concrete will destroy that land and very few people will benefit from the increased industrial capacity. Once the hundreds of people needed to build these facilities are done, very few people will find employment. We will suffer from the tax breaks given away for five years and increased utility costs forever.
This current way our local politicians are moving is not an improvement for you or my family.
Keep this in mind when you vote and continue to ask questions about what happens to us after these “improvements” are finished and the construction workers are no longer needed. Ask how many employees are actually hired for full time operations at the data centers are operational. Very few!