An Interview with Senator Ron Wyden: “Being dangerous and deceitful in Newport is a big mistake”

By Brian Bahouth

U.S. Senator Ron Wyden had a busy Sunday in Newport. In the morning he met with Coast Guard Commander Matt Eads, several representatives of the Newport Fishermen’s Wives, and local leaders to express concern over the relocation of the Coast Guard rescue helicopter from Newport to North Bend, 95 miles to the south. 

The State of Oregon and Newport Fishermen’s Wives, along with Lincoln County and the City of Newport, are suing the federal government to have the helicopter returned to Newport, which is home to the state’s largest commercial fishing fleet.

In the afternoon, the Senator held his 1,138th townhall-style meeting in the Newport High School gym with roughly 600 people in attendance. Wyden fielded a variety of questions over the course of the meeting.

I spoke with Senator Wyden on Monday morning.

Q: Senator Wyden, at the press event yesterday, you spoke about your meeting with the Coast Guard. Would you give some more detail about that meeting, if there is more to say?

A: Well, the [Fishermen’s] Wives were there. They were very persuasive. And what I thought was especially powerful was they kept conveying the urgency. Because the commander was a very pleasant guy. He seemed very sincere. He didn’t have any authority to do anything, but he kept talking about various things he wanted to do, move personnel around. And he would say, “Well, it may take a couple of years to do it.” 

And what the fishing families were saying, what the Fishermen’s Wives were saying, was essentially, respectfully, “Are you kidding? A few minutes in the water means that we may never see that person again.”

Q: The state of Oregon has filed a lawsuit for the return of the helicopter to Newport. The Fishermen’s Wives along with Lincoln County and the City of Newport are pursuing a case. And based on what they said yesterday, stakeholders seem confident in this case’s legal standing. The 2014 case that resulted in the return of the Coast Guard helicopter to Newport seemingly set a positive precedent. How do you feel about the litigation?

[Ed. Note: In 2018, President Trump signed a bill that requires a formal regulatory process (public meetings, congressional plan, 18 months’ notice) before changes to Coast Guard air facilities can be made. These are the laws the Fishermen’s Wives are using to challenge the 2025 relocation.]

A: I think Trump 1 was very clear that they had a legal obligation to consult to make sure that the facts were on the table, that there was transparency, there was accountability, and the President’s team is just walking that back. [But]we’re not going to stand down in the face of that. We’re going to keep pulling out all the stops. Senator Merkley, myself, Congresswoman Hoyle, we’re all in. Donald Trump signed this in 2018 and we’re going to insist on it.

Q: You are Oregon’s senior senator. You are a leader in the Democratic caucus. Even with that political standing, regarding the return of the helicopter, what can you really do?

A: Political change often doesn’t start at the top and then trickle down—it’s grassroots up, and so we’re going to have folks at the state level. Dave Gomberg [Oregon state representative, District 10] was there and made a very powerful presentation. 

We have prosecutors and the Attorney General. We have the delegation I named off, particularly Senator Merkley, Congresswoman Hoyle, and myself, and we’re a pretty persistent crowd. The Oregon congressional delegation is known for that. We’ll ask the tough questions, and if we don’t get the right answers or no answers, we’ll keep coming back. 

Q: You represent the entire state of Oregon, but can you talk about the importance or standing of the central coast?

A: The coast is such a special place. And there are wonderful things about all the different areas. My wife and I were married in front of Haystack Rock. Newport is such a wonderful place—the fishing, the tourism, the warmth—and it’s such a wonderful place to just go for a walk along the water.

And I think the argument with respect to what our standing is, is the [economic impact of] Newport’s fishing and tourism, and they’re going to do great damage to it if they have an ICE detention center [there], and that was the feeling of the community yesterday. 

Q: You covered a lot of ground at the townhall meeting yesterday. What’s a takeaway for you?

A: I think that one aspect of this is that the Trump people are saying, you know, we had some situations in the [Portland] metro area where you have a number of television stations, and they’re not able to get away with some of the things that they want to do that really, I think, are a violation of the rule of law, and they think if they go to a small town, somehow they can get away with it. But they ought to know that being dangerous and deceitful in Newport is a big mistake.