Letters to the Editor

Published 7:32 am Thursday, January 22, 2026

Seaside words fell short of ‘faithfully and honorably’

The statements made by two Seaside City councilors about me on Jan. 12 are false. They are defamatory and slanderous, and attack my character.
I was expecting The Astorian to contact me for a statement, as they requested my contact information from the city of Seaside on Friday, Jan. 16. As of Jan. 20, that outreach has not occurred.
I intend to set the record straight at the Seaside City Council meeting on Jan. 26. If you have concerns about what occurred, I encourage you to attend the meeting and share your perspective, or submit written public comment through the city of Seaside website. In-person testimony would be especially meaningful.
This is not about me as a candidate.
This is about elected officials making demonstrably false statements about a private citizen, attempting to damage a reputation in service of what appear to be personal or political agendas — actions that fall short of the standard to serve “faithfully and honorably.”
For the record. I’m not homophobic, and Netflix is my only watchlist …
BRANDON KRAFT
Seaside

Neighbors’ rents go up as well-being declines

I am a working-class renter in Astoria. I do not feel like The Astorian has a voice for us.
The article about construction, “Building up Astoria,” didn’t seem to mention what a nightmare it is living on 15th and Exchange streets after four to five years of continuous construction.
Before Owens II, The Inn at 515 15th was under construction. Since then, there has been the Astoria Armory construction, that building right on 16th Street between Exchange Street and Franklin Avenue, the building on Franklin at 16th with the pillars …
My neighbors and I have had walls shaking to the point of items falling off of shelves. Every single weekday, for years, we have had extremely loud sounds all around us. Now I can hear the backing up beeps from construction equipment even when they aren’t on. It’s kind of tortuous. But good news!
Our rent keeps going up with no thoughts of our well-being.
LAURA SCHNEIDER
Astoria

Highlighting ‘the hypocrisy of the MAGA faithful’

On Jan. 15, The Astorian published a letter from frequent contributor Matt Janes. His letters are well-written as he espouses what appear to be MAGA/Fox “News” talking points, with cherry picked facts and provocative adjectives to emphasize his opinions.
While I typically completely disagree with his opinions, I haven’t written The Astorian to publicly express my disagreement because, as Robert Heinlein notably said, “Never attempt to teach a pig to sing; it wastes your time and annoys the pig.”
However, the hypocrisy of the MAGA faithful as highlighted by his closing statement, “in the meantime, I will support officers who enforce the law,” has made my blood boil since I read it several days ago. If Mr. Janes truly believes this statement, then he should be screaming at the top of his lungs for justice for the officers beaten trying to defend our country’s democracy on Jan. 6, 2021.
He should be ashamed that the insurrectionists who beat these officers, desecrated our Capitol, and were arrested tried and convicted by a jury of their peers, were pardoned by the global embarrassment that currently occupies the Oval Office. You can’t say one thing while ignoring the other.
In a quote attributed to Mark Twain: “It’s easier to fool people than to convince them that they have been fooled.” I’m sorry, you and the MAGA faithful have been fooled.
SCOTT FERGUSON
Astoria

Town Hall mailed in by senator, but package empty

I attended the Town Hall with Oregon Sen. Jeff Merkley on Jan. 17 at Warrenton High School. People were angry, frustrated, needing to be heard and looking for a glimmer of hope from the smoldering heap in D.C., also known as Congress.
The senator’s responses to questions were canned, boring, and not helpful. The most disappointing segment was Sen. Merkley’s response to an angry attendee, rightly so, about several issues including affording to live on Social Security.
Merkley suggested that because he himself has no power, the commenter should join an affinity group and/or organize marches, which would also help with depression. (Yes, but it doesn’t help affordability or impeaching the president.) It seems Merkley is happy to continue to collect his paycheck, while the rest of us should do this work for free.
I suggest that Sen. Merkley, with a residence and office in D.C., get his colleagues together and organize a march in Washington called Impeach Trump. He was voted into office to do things. It’s time.
CAT VILLIERS
Warrenton