Moving into the future
Local lawyer set to run for state office
By Larry Meyer
Argus Observer
Sunday, December 23, 2007 12:52 AM PST
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| Attorney Cliff Bentz discusses various points in Eastern Oregon that have been a part of his life. Bentz is running for the Oregon Legislative seat held by Rep. Tom Butler. |
Ontario - Ontario attorney Cliff Bentz said he has pondered serving in the Oregon Legislature for a long time.
Now, with Oregon House of Representatives Rep. Tom Butler planning to resign from his District 60 slot, Bentz said the time is right to step up and make a run at a state-level elected position.
Bentz is one of three area candidates running to fill Butler’s vacant Oregon House of Representatives District 60 position.
Deon Strommer, 49, Baker City and Tim Smith, 58, Burns are also vying to gain election to the Oregon House of Representatives.
Butler confirmed earlier this month he will resign his seat in the Oregon House of Representatives because he and his wife accepted an appointment by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to serve a mission in California.
Born in Salem, Bentz was raised at Drewsey, graduated from Regis High School, received at four-year degree at Eastern Oregon State College (now university) and gained his law degree at Lewis & Clark Northwestern School of Law.
Bentz said he has worked as an attorney in the law firm of Yturri Rose, LLP, since 1977, first as an associate and then as partner beginning in 1981.
One major concern Bentz said he sees across the region revolves around economic development and the availability of jobs.
“It (economic development) addresses poverty,” he said. “It addresses the concerns in Burns which has lost one of their last mills.”
Bentz said a blueprint to create jobs in Eastern Oregon varies and depends on a number of diverse factors.
“The way to bring jobs here, to Ontario, is different than bringing jobs to the remoter communities,” he said. He noted that infrastructure, such as items like the freeway and the Yturri Memorial Beltline, make a big difference. For education, Bentz said schools need more timely information of how much money they will be receiving from the Legislature so they can do their budgets.
Bentz said he was a supporter of the Ballot Measure 37, which in many cases lifted zoning regulations from some properties, and opposed Measure 49, which was designed to limit the size of subdivisions that Measure 37 would have allowed.
“Ballot Measure 37 opened the door to development. Ballot Measure 49 closed it,” he said.
He said he also supports the restoration of funding to the bipartisan land use task force.
A supporter of 24-hour Oregon State Police coverage, Bentz said there is money currently in the general fund to pay for 24-hour coverage, and he does not think a separate funding source is needed at this time.
Bentz said he also supports holding state government accountable for spending and waste.
“I am supportive of appropriate means of determining whether there has been an appropriate return on our investment of tax dollars and a means of determining whether those dollars are being wasted,’’ he said.
Bentz said he believes his long-time association with Eastern Oregon makes him ready to serve in the Legislature.
“My professional experiences, my community and volunteer experience, and being a husband and a parent, have all prepared me for this job,” he said.
Currently, a member of the Ontario School Board, Bentz is a former member and former chair of the St. Peter Elementary School Board, served on the Oregon Water Resources Commission from 1988 to 1996, is a past member of the Project Dove Board of Directors, is a member of the Eastern Oregon University Foundation board and the Oregon Historical Society Board of Directors.
He is married to Lindsay Norman and they have two children.
