Elections officials on Oregon’s North Coast are trying something new. When the U.S. Supreme Court rejected President Donald Trump’s mail ballot restrictions this week, it cleared the way for states like Oregon to proceed with midterm elections as usual. But that doesn’t mean the situation is any clearer to voters ahead of November. So when…
The Cannon Beach City Council is looking to move ahead with a cap on vacation rentals amid concerns about impacts on neighborhoods and on housing options for people who live and work in the city. At a meeting Tuesday, the city councilors opted to continue a hearing on a proposed ordinance that would cap the…
Astoria City Councilor Andy Davis has officially entered the mayoral race. Davis, who represents Ward 1, announced he would not seek re-election because he was moving away from his ward after his term ends this December. He had told KMUN he wasn’t sure if he would run for any office. He held off filing for…
With one Astoria city councilor looking to land the role of mayor in the Nov.3 general election, two political newcomers are vying for the seat he’s leaving behind. Andy Davis announced this month that he wouldn’t seek a second four-year term for his Ward 1 seat because he is moving out of the ward after…
Two more candidates have emerged in the race to be Astoria’s next mayor, including a former city councilor. Earlier this month, it looked like combat veteran Sean Davis might run unopposed after incumbent Mayor Sean Fitzpatrick announced he would not seek a second four-year term. Now Tom Brownson, a former Ward 2 city councilor who…
U.S. Representative Suzanne Bonamici and Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield say they are still fighting to land federal money for a major hospital expansion project in Astoria. At a press event with other officials at the Columbia Memorial Hospital construction site Wednesday, Bonamici said the Trump administration is “playing games with people’s lives” by delaying…
Supporters say tax will support housing; critics aren’t so sure. An initiative that would tax vacant homes with the goal of supporting long-term housing opportunities in Astoria will go to voters this November. At a meeting Monday night, the Astoria City Council faced several options when it came to the citizen-led initiative, including adopting the…
Most of the seats on the Seaside City Council will be up for election this November. All except one. City leaders had hoped to appoint someone to the vacant Ward 3 seat this summer in time to also get that seat on the ballot in November. Whoever was appointed would serve through the end of…
After announcing his intent to run for mayor of Astoria earlier this year, Sean Davis will officially be on the ballot this November. City officials say Davis has gathered enough verified signatures to proceed as a candidate. He was required to submit a petition signed by 48 registered voters living inside Astoria’s city limits. The…
Voters will get to make the call this November on whether the Astoria City Council expands from five members to seven. At a meeting this week, a majority of the Astoria City Council approved resolutions for three amendments to the city charter, including an amendment to expand the city council and include at-large positions. The…
Changes to Astoria’s camping ordinance won’t go into effect until July 15, but work is already underway to prepare people camping on city streets. Earlier in June, Astoria City Councilors passed amendments to the city’s camping ordinance as part of a new multi-pronged “shelter first” policy. Among other things, the changes councilors approved spell out…
Port of Astoria leaders say staff who allowed federal immigration enforcement officers to access fenced-off property at the port on June 7 followed state law and did the right thing in a tricky situation. ICE officers claimed it was an emergency when they asked for access to the property, Port Commission President Dirk Rohne told…
Federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials have confirmed that two men were arrested on Oregon’s North Coast on June 7 in an operation that triggered additional concerns about a possible violation of Oregon’s sanctuary law and resulted in one Astoria woman being pepper-sprayed. In a June 11 email an ICE spokesperson called concerns about…
Local immigration advocates say the use of Port of Astoria property by federal immigration officers during an operation Sunday morning in which it is believed three people were detained may have violated Oregon’s sanctuary law. This law prohibits local and state police as well as state agencies from participating “directly or indirectly in immigration enforcement…
Astoria leaders are moving forward on two key pieces of a new “shelter first” policy intended to address homeless camping downtown. The policy, presented by City Councilors Andrea Mazzarella and Elisabeth Adams at a recent meeting, came after months of public meetings and discussions and several stalled attempts at other policies and approaches. The shelter…
In contested races for seats on the Clatsop County Board of Commissioners, candidates endorsed by incumbents led the pack Tuesday night According to preliminary unofficial results, Mike Brosius, a retired Costco executive, held 64% of the vote as of Wednesday for the District 3 seat, a four-year term representing the Astoria area. His opponent Mitra…
A question with a long and contentious history in Cannon Beach is being asked again, and it’s causing a stir. What, if anything, should the city do about dunes on the city’s north side? Cannon Beach resident Tim Ramey and Tommy Thayer, lead guitarist for the rock band KISS, are pushing for an initiative that,…
Oregon’s valuable commercial Dungeness crab fishery has seen significant changes in recent years as the state looks to minimize and monitor whale entanglements involving gear used in the fishery. Now more changes are on the horizon. And looming over everything is uncertainty around the details of a federal permit the state is seeking that would…
The Seaside City Council is looking to fill two vacant seats sooner rather than later, setting the stage for an interesting situation in the November general election. Officials hope to fill the vacancies on the City Council before July 25, hitting a deadline that would then put those seats on the November 2026 ballot so…
The Seaside City Council is down two councilors after one was recalled and another resigned. At a council meeting on March 23, City Councilor Heidi Hoffman announced she was resigning effective April 15 because she is moving to Astoria. “No, I am not resigning in protest of the recall vote,” she said, referring to the…
Amid an ongoing Department of Homeland Security shutdown and heightened tensions over immigration enforcement, newly confirmed U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Markwayne Mullin stopped in Astoria Wednesday and toured Coast Guard facilities at the mouth of the Columbia River. Mullin visited U.S. Coast Guard Air Station Astoria in Oregon and the Cape Disappointment Motor Lifeboat…
4/13/26: This story has been updated to clarify the relationship between the Astoria Housing Alliance and the Astoria Housing Initiative. A group looking to address housing shortages in Astoria hopes to get a measure on the November ballot that would tax vacant houses. The group behind the Astoria Housing Initiative announced this week that it…
A retired corrections officer who previously ran for state office is vying for a seat on the Clatsop County Board of Commissioners. Glenn Gaither is the second candidate to file for the District 5 seat held by Lianne Thompson. Thompson is not running for re-election, but Gaither will face an opponent in the May 19…
While recent efforts by President Donald Trump to limit voting ahead of the midterm elections likely won’t impact Oregon’s primary next month, election officials on the coast say they are seeing confusion among voters. Recently, Clatsop County Clerk Tracie Krevanko fielded calls from people who seem unsure about what efforts by the Trump administration have…
Hundred of people gathered on streets and sidewalks across Oregon’s North Coast and in Southwest Washington to protest the Trump administration Saturday, joining a nationwide turnout that organizers estimate was larger than previous “No Kings” protests. More than 900 people participated across two protests in Astoria Saturday. A protest in Seaside drew hundreds, according to…
Federal funding for a major hospital expansion project in Astoria was in jeopardy last year after the Trump administration abruptly announced it was shutting down the grant program that had awarded the money. The Federal Emergency Management Agency said the decision to halt the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities grant program, or BRIC, was part…
A new candidate in the race for a seat on the Clatsop County Board of Commissioners says she is running because she doesn’t believe her opponent is qualified for the job. Mitra Vazeen, a retired educator and former Job Corps center director, told KMUN she wants to continue giving back to Clatsop County. She was…
In Clatsop County, some emergency responders rely on their cellphones to communicate during an emergency — not their radios. Local officials say this is just one example of how responders have found ways to work around a fractured emergency communications system spread across two separate dispatch centers and in need of upgrades. Now city and…
The Clatsop County Board of Commissioners could see several new faces depending on the results of two upcoming elections. Three candidates are vying for separate seats on the five-member board in the May primary. Only one of them — current Board Chair Mark Kujala, trying for a third term — is an incumbent. Current District…
Three seats will be up for election on the Astoria City Council in November, including the position of mayor. Filing has yet to open, but one Astoria man has already decided he wants to run for that particular post. Sean Davis is a combat veteran and the co-founder and host of Rogue Cell, a program…