OREGON STATE REPS WANT TO MOVE THE FEDERAL COURTHOUSE FROM PORTLAND TO KLAMATH FALLS--Representative E.
Werner Reschke (R-Klamath Falls) supported Rep.
Mike Nearman (R-Independence) in his calling on President Donald Trump close the Mark O.
Hatfield Federal Courthouse for the Oregon District located in Portland.
Reschke suggests that Klamath County would also make an ideal location for a new courthouse.
Incorrectly reported an increase in cases for last week.
Cases actually declined by about 7-percent.
Some oregon state representatives want to move the federal courthouse from portland to klamath falls.
The plan would have the president to close the mark hatfield, federal courthouse in portland, or relocate it.
Joining us now is state representative won rusty.
Thanks for much for being with us.
Thank you.
It's good to be here.
So tell us a little bit about how this plan would work.
Well, it, you know, my background is in technology.
So i've worked in high tech for about 25 years before i became a state legislator.
And in that i did a lot of troubleshooting.
I worked on tech support lines.
I managed tech support people and the ran my own business.
And, and one thing you do in troubleshooting is you never put something off and say that can't be done.
You lay all your options out on the table.
So representative nierman i had been talking and he came up with this idea.
Which i thought was fascinating.
Folks in portland, people in portland clearly don't want the courthouse in portland, it's causing all sorts of chaos, the writing, et cetera, maybe there's other places in the state, what that would be well.
So he recommended dallas, oregon.
I recommended klamath county, but it could be, you know, bend or astoria or coos bay or sherwood.
I think, i think any of those places would be open to opening a federal courthouse in their area.
Well, aren't there reasons for the protests in portland, not as a result of the courthouse, physically being there, but underlying social issues that are in fact generating frustration among those who are protesting.
Yeah.
I think there's, there, there's a confusion in the sense that these are peaceful protests and while they're protests, i would agree with that.
Uh, night after night, we see they don't end up peaceful.
And so, uh, what was happening is.
Violence was happening to the federal court or house.
Uh, the, the mayor wouldn't do anything about it.
Wouldn't send in the city police to protect the courthouse, the governor wasn't doing anything about it.
Sending oregon state police or the national guard.
And so the federal government sent in dhs to protect the courthouse.
But as we heard yesterday, that plan has now moved to another phase.
What level of deescalation was, is yet to be seen.
But if we do in fact, move the courthouse, wouldn't that incur as a former businessman increased costs and a certain lack of infrastructure, the climate falls or the dalles would have.
Yeah, i think, i think, i think the community here would welcome that challenge.
Uh, i think that, you know, building a new courthouse would be, uh, costly, but i think, uh, all the riots, the loss of business in downtown portland, that's in the millions already.
So, um, i think, you know, when you start talking about costs, it becomes more and more feasible.
What, how far along is your plan to do have any idea what it would cost to build a structure equivalent to or greater than the hatfield courthouse in portland?
I haven't and really it's an idea.
So, like i said, as a troubleshooter, you put all your ideas on the table, and this is one we decided that we put on the table for discussion and see where it went.
If in fact that part of your plan doesn't move to fruition.
What do you see as a way to deescalate the problem as it exists currently in portland?
Well, i think, uh, you have a tonight and we'll see a lot.
It is kind of a sea change.
As i believe the fences come down around the courthouse in downtown cortland.
And this will be the first night that the oregon state police will be guarding the courthouse instead of dhs.
So it will be really interesting to see how that progresses.
And if that moves forward and the violence deescalates, then dhs can go back to.
A dc and a, we can get about our lives, but really governor had this opportunity to do this right away.
When she saw that the, the mayor of portland was unwilling or couldn't protect the courthouse.
She had the ability of long, long ago to step in with oregon state police to help and assist or the national guard.
And she refused to do that for whatever reason.
So i'm glad that this step is moving forward.
Hopefully