The Oregonian – by Douglas Perry
The group Move Oregon’s Border for a Greater Idaho is hoping Gov. Kate Brown’s statewide stay-at-home order won’t derail for long its newly launched signature-gathering effort in Josephine County. On March 12, the county gave its approval to circulate a petition backed by the group.
Chief petitioner Mike McCarter, a retired La Pine resident, says every day counts in the effort to get on the November ballot. “The people of eastern, central and southern Oregon can’t afford to be governed by a state that shows no regard for our livelihoods,” he said in a statement this week.
The small volunteer movement wants large swaths of Oregon to switch allegiance to Idaho. (It’s also targeting a few counties in northern California.) Along with Josephine County, Douglas and Umatilla counties have also approved petitions.
McCarter, the group’s president, says Oregon’s response to the coronavirus pandemic is a stark example of how Oregonians like him are being short-changed by the state.