New PAC Seeks to Replace Wasco County DA Matthew Ellis
Ellis has delivered on his campaign promises, but some aren’t happy about it.
Terry Turner, (center) Chair of the Save Wasco County PAC speaks to the group about the importance of taking political action. Photo Credit: Cole Goodwin
By Cole Goodwin
The Dalles, Ore., October 4, 2023– A non-partisan political action committee (PAC) concerned with crime called Save Wasco County has formed in The Dalles, OR. The newly formed PAC held a meeting at Bargeway Pub’s Event Center on Oct. 4 at 2 p.m. Two people, including the Mayor of The Dalles, said the meeting was about funding a campaign to bring a challenger against District Attorney Matthew Ellis in next year’s May primary election. The PAC said they had approached an attorney named Travis Martston* from Jefferson County about running.
*Editor's Note: CCCNews attempted to confirm Marston’s Oregon State Bar certification using the OSB Membership Directory but failed to find records of an attorney with the last name Marston in Jefferson County. CCCNews has reached out to the PAC for additional information.
According to a flier that was distributed to local business owners about the meeting, the PAC’s primary concerns are crime and homelessness in the county.
CCCNews polled those in attendance on their political affiliations. The majority self-identified as Republican with 3-4 people self-identifying as Libertarians or Independents and one person self-identifying as a Democrat.
Terry Turner, a local retired furniture store owner has agreed to chair the PAC, which is still in its early formation.
“My first goal is to get us established,” said Turner, who noted that the PAC was in its early stages and still needed to identify goals and draft bylaws.
Turner spoke at length during the meeting about the suffering of local business owners due to theft.
During the meeting, the PAC referenced issues related to Senate Bill 48. The law completely changed the pretrial release system. The goal of the bill was to eliminate bail so that underprivileged folx had the same opportunities to be released as those who were wealthy.
People who will be released on their recognizance, or their word to show up in court, will mostly be people charged with low-level crimes, like theft, trespassing, or criminal mischief, wrote by Carmine Gemei at KTVL.com
Conditional releases cover things like DUII, person misdemeanors (like an assault charge), and certain felonies, as long as the charges aren’t domestic violence-related. The releases would include conditions like pretrial supervision or monitoring, Gemei reported
And, people charged with more serious felonies, domestic violence charges, all sex crimes, gun charges, and failure to appear in court would be held until they appear before a judge, Gemei wrote.
Specifically, several people spoke out about having issues with calling police to the scene of a crime only to see the offending individual back again the next day following their release.
A local car dealer who was in attendance also spoke to their significant losses due to theft of catalytic converters. The dealer felt that the lack of arrests or bookings in relation to the crimes committed was a serious issue and wanted to see something change.
Oregon State Rep. Jeff Helfrich of Hood River attended the meeting.
“I was invited to listen and give information about how to run a PAC,” said Helfrich.
The City of The Dalles Mayor Rich Mays said there needed to be a change in leadership in the DA’s office.
“I am here because I support the fundamental purpose of the meeting. I’m supporting a change of District Attorney, and I’ll just leave it at that,” said Mays.
CCCNews reached out to the Wasco County District Attorney Ellis for comment on the formation of the PAC.
“This is the democratic process. So that’s fine. I’m focusing on doing my job and promoting public safety,” said Ellis.
Ellis also reiterated his commitment to running a transparent, fair and just DA’s office.
“My door is always open to the City government, business owners, and community members to speak about our statistics and how we prosecute cases,” he said. “I am happy to pick up the phone and make the time to have these discussions,” said Ellis.
A look at Ellis’s Time in Office
Ellis ran a campaign based on integrity, the creation of a specialty mental health court, the revival of a drug court, holding violent offenders to justice, and improvements to victims services. He received 72% of the vote in the 2020 election.
In March of 2023, Ellis released a mid-term report which detailed trends in cases, the operations of the two new specialty courts, improvements to victims services, and illustrated how Ellis had charged out more cases than predecessor Nisley, despite the passage of Measure 110 in February of 2021.
Measure 110 decriminalized hard drugs in Oregon such as heroine, methamphetamine and fentenyl. It provides revenue from Oregon Cannabis Sales to fund treatment and intervention programs for substance abuse. Since passing, Measure 110 has awarded more than $13 million in grant funding to Bridges to Change, a housing, treatment, and counseling program for those in need. Bridges to Change currently operates in Wasco, Washington, Clackamas and Multnomah County.
CCCNews requested the most recent charging statistics from the DA’s office which can be viewed below.
The data shows that in 2022 the DA’s office charged 1,048 cases of which 204 were felonies- that’s 90 more cases compared to those made by Nisley in 2019. The total charging rates for cases in 2022 averaged 65.9% across charging agencies like Oregon State Police, Wasco County Sheriff’s Office and The Dalles City Police.
So far in 2023, the DA’s office has charged 810 cases (as of September 2023), and is projected to charge 1,080 cases by the end of the year.
Ellis has also pursued updating policy, and dismissals for more than 150 cases involving former law enforcement officer Jeffery Kienlen.
An Excel sheet shows case trends and charging rates from 2018-September of 2023. In the 2023 columns the first number is the actual number charged and the second number in paranthesis is the projected number based on case loads etc.
