Morrow County Blog

05/02/2026

🚨"Recalled Morrow County Commissioner Jim Doherty is now under investigation"

https://rightnoworegon.com/2026/05/01/oregon-elections-division-opens-campaign-finance-investigation-into-jim-doherty/

05/01/2026

https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1JMQWWKMC3/

04/30/2026

🚨Oregon Secretary of State ~ Elections Division
Open investigation

"Jim Doherty and his committee, Friends of Jim Doherty"
(18016), violated Oregon Revised Statute (“ORS”) 260.057 by failing to file campaign finance
transactions related to their candidacy.
transactions related to their candidacy. An investigation into this matter has been opened."

*corrected to include the last sentence noting that an investigation into this matter has been opened

04/23/2026

04/17/2026

What HB 2342 Actually Does and Why Republicans Voted Yes

There has been a lot of discussion about Oregon House Bill 2342, especially around fee increases. But focusing only on cost misses the central issue: whether Oregon maintains the systems that keep hunting and fishing access intact.

To understand why a significant number of Republican lawmakers voted yes, it helps to start with how Oregon’s wildlife system works.

●A System Built on Use, Not General Taxes

Wildlife management in Oregon is largely funded through hunters and anglers via the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife. That model has been in place for decades. HB 2342 does NOT change that structure.

●Hunting and fishing are economically and culturally significant across much of the state

●Wildlife agencies are expected to be self-funded, not dependent on general tax revenue

●Private land access programs are essential, not optional, for maintaining opportunity


●Why Republicans Supported It

For lawmakers representing rural and coastal Oregon, the vote was less about ideology and more about function.

Hunting and fishing are NOT abstract policy issues in these districts, they are part of the local economy, culture, and way of life. Access depends on active agreements, maintained infrastructure, and a functioning agency.

That’s why Republican lawmakers, including Mark Owens, Bobby Levy, Anna Scharf, Kevin Mannix, Rick Lewis, Jeff Helfrich, Boone Wright, Vikki Breese Iverson, Cyrus Javadi, and Greg Smith supported the bill.

Their votes were NOT about supporting higher fees; they were about avoiding system failure.

Put simply: they weren’t voting for higher costs; they were voting against losing infrastructure and access in their districts.

●The Real Risk: Access Is the First Thing to Go

When funding falls behind, the consequences aren’t theoretical. The most immediate and visible impact is reduced access.

In practice:

●Eastern Oregon: Access & Habitat agreements help keep large private timberlands open. Without funding, those agreements can disappear, when they do, gates close.

●Wasco County: Columbia River fishing access depends on maintained infrastructure and coordinated support.

●Jefferson County: Migration corridors and habitat work determine whether wildlife remains both present and reachable.

●Marion County: Wetlands and fisheries require steady investment to sustain both ecosystems and public use.

●Clackamas County: Forest access tied to timber and wildlife management is highly sensitive to budget cuts.

Across these regions, the pattern is consistent: access is the first thing to go when funding declines; and once lost, it is often difficult to restore.

●What the Debate Is Really About

This isn’t a debate about raising or not raising fees. It’s about whether Oregon maintains the systems that make public access possible in the first place.

HB 2342 is ultimately about preventing loss, specifically, the gradual loss of access that happens when funding no longer matches reality.

That’s why support for the bill crossed party lines. For many lawmakers, especially in rural areas, the choice wasn’t ideological, it was practical.

The choice was not between paying more or paying less.

It was between maintaining a functioning wildlife system, or watching it disappear, on closed gate at a time.

03/26/2026

At this point, the situation within the Morrow County Republican Central Committee can no longer be ignored or softened.
As a former elected Precinct Committeeperson and a registered Republican voter in Morrow County, I am compelled to speak directly: the pattern of actions we are seeing is unacceptable and inconsistent with both our bylaws and the fundamental principles of the Republican Party.
The Oregon Republican Party platform calls for transparency, accountability, and ethical governance. What we are seeing locally falls short of those standards.
Let’s be clear about what has occurred:
• A resolution targeting a sitting Republican State Representative was pushed through during an active contested primary with minimal participation
• Individuals with direct personal and political ties to a competing candidate were central in advancing that effort
• New P*Ps are being actively recruited and positioned during the primary, including individuals who have publicly demonstrated strong bias
• Committee structure is being altered in real time during a contested race
• A closed meeting has been called while significant governance and bylaw issues are being considered
This is not normal process. This is not transparency. This is not neutrality.
Taken together, these actions create a clear appearance, and for many, a clear reality, that internal party mechanisms are being used to influence the outcome of a Republican primary.
That is a direct violation of the spirit of our bylaws and a breach of the trust placed in this Committee.
Neutrality during a contested primary is not optional. It is a safeguard to ensure that Republican voters, not a small group using procedural control, decide who will represent our party.
When that line is crossed, it undermines the legitimacy of both the process and the outcome.
This is no longer just a concern, it is a matter of accountability.
I am calling on the Committee to take immediate corrective action:
• Halt all P*P appointments until after the primary
• Reopen meetings and ensure full transparency and participation
• Cease any actions that could reasonably be interpreted as influencing the outcome of the primary
• Reaffirm, in both word and action, adherence to the Committee’s neutrality requirement
If these steps are not taken, the damage to the credibility of the Morrow County Republican Party will be significant and long-lasting.
This is not about any one candidate. It is about whether we are willing to uphold the principles we claim to stand for.
Republican voters deserve a process that is fair, open, and free from internal manipulation. Anything less is unacceptable.

~ Rick Stokoe
Former Elected Precinct Committeeperson
Morrow County Resident
Registered Republican Voter

02/24/2026

What is IP28 and why Is an Eastern Oregon Rancher Standing in the IP28 Advocacy Network?

IP28 criminalizes injuring or killing animals, INCLUDING ranching, hunting, fishing, and even pest control.

Jim Doherty is a cattle rancher who can't decide what team to play for when it comes to financing his campaign or when it comes to IP28.

As someone who makes his living in agriculture, voters would rightfully expect Jim to firmly defend the legal foundation that allows ranchers to operate.

WHY THIS PHOTO MATTERS

At first glance, this picture seems innocent enough, WE ALL AGEE EVERYONE DESERVES CLEAN WATER; a quick look, and it “looks” like the “right” side to be on. Now, take a closer look. Look at what we weren’t meant to pay attention to.
What does this picture and IP28 have in common?

IP28 is NOT a minor adjustment to state law. IP28 would remove long-standing exemptions in Oregon’s animal statutes that currently protect lawful hunting, fishing, livestock production, breeding, processing, and other routine ranching practices.

Without those exemptions, everyday ranch operations could face criminal complaints, lawsuits, and expanded regulatory enforcement. Agricultural groups across Oregon have warned that the measure would create SERIOUS legal uncertainty for producers.

Now consider the advocacy network behind IP28 and look at this picture again. What do you see?

Organizations such as Food & Water Watch, Mercy For Animals, Animal Legal Defense Fund, and Center for Food Safety, are certainly not what I pictured when I read their names. These groups have consistently pushed policies that restrict livestock production, challenge agricultural exemptions, and expand legal penalties tied to animal use.

IP28 aligns directly with that strategy. So why does it appear that Jim Doherty has aligned himself with these groups? Will he defend the livestock exemptions currently in law? Will he stand firmly against efforts that could expose family ranches to increased litigation and regulatory risk? Will he defend hunting, fishing, pest control, and agriculture… will he defend YOUR way of life?

When a rancher who is seeking rural votes appears in advocacy spaces aligned with dismantling agricultural exemptions, voters are right to ask questions.

This is not about personalities; this IS about whether the legal protections that make livestock production possible will remain intact. Legal uncertainty discourages investment, reduces expansion, and increases costs throughout the supply chain; costs that do not stop at the ranch gate. They ripple outward — to feed suppliers, veterinarians, truck drivers, processors, and ultimately consumers at the grocery store.

For anyone who thinks this is an issue that means nothing to you, ask yourself, do you enjoy a good taco, a juicy hamburger, or a perfectly cooked steak? Where do you think that comes from? What do you think will happen to the cost of beef if these feel-good groups get IP28 or similar legislation passed?

For rural Oregon, this debate is about more than politics. It is about whether the legal foundation that allows agriculture to function will remain stable. On an issue this fundamental, there is no room for ambiguity.

A picture is worth a thousand words…

02/21/2026

https://rightnoworegon.com/2026/02/20/mchaddad-the-left-found-their-new-man-in-house-district-57-recalled-morrow-county-commissioner-jim-doherty/

House District 57 is the rural heartland of Oregon's patriotic agricultural sector. Ten years ago, someone posited to me that it was ripe to become a