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55 °F Forecast | Road Cams Saturday, February 19, 2005 Today's News | Classifieds | Autos | Homes | Jobs | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion Tempo AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map SPECIAL SECTIONS Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Menu Guide How To Guide Health Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Real Estate Guide Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Wedding Guide Passport to the Rogue Valley SHOP OUR VALLEY AutoFinder HomeFinder JobFinder Classifieds Place an ad TOP JOBS EXTRA NIE Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People Volunteer Moving here? eSouthernOregon CUSTOMER SERVICE FAQ's Advertise with us Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend February 18, 2005 Sadler pulls plug on marine board seat By MARK FREEMAN Mail Tribune It’s historically been smooth sailing for appointments seeking confirmation to the Oregon State Marine Board, a little agency that normally operates outside of Salem’s political radar screen. But when the board’s newest appointee is longtime Oregon political pundit Russell Sadler, there’s plenty of flak fired over whether the legislative commentator can objectively deal with boating policy-making in Oregon. Sadler narrowly won confirmation to one of five Marine Board seats Tuesday in the Oregon Senate after eight Republicans voted against him. The dissenters included Senate Majority Leader Ted Ferrioli, who said Thursday he was concerned that Sadler would use the Marine Board as "a pulpit" for "left-leaning" ideas. Then Sadler said Thursday he will resign from what he called "a little gem of an agency" responsible for building boat ramps and rest rooms and educating boaters. Advertisement Sadler said "political game-playing" stemming from his years of editorializing about legislators may cause the Marine Board more grief than good. "It’s not that I have a thin skin," said Sadler from his boat moored in Friday Harbor, Wash. "There’s a million ways they can stick it to the agency because they don’t like me." Even representatives from the Governor’s Office said that, if they knew before Tuesday’s vote that Sadler was back writing political commentaries for the Mail Tribune and other newspapers, they would have pulled his appointment. "This is all way too political," said Sen. Jason Atkinson, R-Central Point, who broke Republican ranks and voted for Sadler. "This is the Marine Board, for crying out loud." The Marine Board manages and sets policy for the state's nearly 200,000 registered boats, oversees education programs and funds facilities — with an annual budget of less than $14 million. A mix of gas taxes, registration fees and federal grants from agencies like the U.S. Coast Guard cover the operating costs. One of the board’s five seats opened last summer and it caught the eye of Sadler, an avid boater who said he wanted to serve Oregon after retiring from three decades as a political commentator in newspapers and on radio and television. Gov. Ted Kulongoski appointed Sadler, whose confirmation was blocked last session by what Atkinson called "heartburn" by some Republicans over Sadler’s past editorial opinions. When his confirmation hit the Senate floor Tuesday, Sadler garnered 20 votes and his eight "nays" were the only ones cast in any of the 17 confirmation votes by the Senate so far this session. Ferrioli of John Day said some Republican senators were "deeply opposed" to appointing Sadler. Even though "there is nothing less political than the Marine Board," Ferrioli said he questioned whether Sadler could objectively grapple with the board’s issues. "I’ve always viewed Russell as being an excellent editorialist and commentator, but I never saw him being the slightest bit non-partisan or bi-partisan," Ferrioli said. Atkinson said he has been criticized for confirming Sadler despite what Ferrioli called a history of "vitriolic, brutal and unmerciful" attacks by Sadler on Atkinson’s father, former state Republican Party Chairman Perry Atkinson. "I had a chat with (Sadler) and I said, ‘Look, I have every reason to be political and vote against you,’" Atkinson said Thursday. "You’ve taken some swings at my family and I don’t like it. But I was willing to start anew." Sadler, whose return to journalism began with a political commentary in Sunday’s Mail Tribune, said he feared legislators who don’t like his ideas could unfairly meddle in Marine Board activities if he remained. "This is about past slights, real or imagined," he said. "Imagine what they’ll do when I give them a real reason." Atkinson said he and other senators on both sides of the aisle expressed concern after learning the day after the vote that Sadler had resumed his political commentaries. Atkinson said he considers that a conflict, and he chided Kulongoski’s staff for not realizing Sadler had come out of retirement. Anna Richter Taylor, Kulongoski’s deputy communications director, said the governor appointed Sadler while the latter was in journalism retirement. Kulongoski did not realize Sadler had returned to journalism until Wednesday, Taylor said. Had they known that before Tuesday’s vote, "we would have removed his name" from the appointment list, Taylor said. His return to commentating would have made his confirmation difficult, she said. "The governor needs to be able to appoint people who can be confirmed," Taylor said. Reach reporter Mark Freeman at 776-4470, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life | Opinion AP News | Archives | Site Map | Community | Classified Copyright © 1997-2005 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions | Website Feedback Student Loan Consolidation Conference Calls - $50/Month Home Security Systems Trunks, Footlocker, Trunk, Footlockers Advertisement s