x
Breaking News
More () »

Wallowa County voters respond to ‘Greater Idaho’ ahead of May election

"Greater Idaho" is a movement that has Oregon's Wallowa County divided. This May, voters will consider if county commissioners should discuss border relocation.

WALLOWA COUNTY, Ore. —

"Greater Idaho." It’s a movement that's left Oregon's Wallowa County divided. 

This May, Wallowa County voters will vote on whether or not county commissioners should consider discussing relocating the border.

Wallowa County clerk Sandy Lathrop previously told KREM2 it’s commonly confused that voters are voting on if they want to join Idaho. 

She said the vote in May is only to allow the commissioners to discuss border relocation two times a year. 

Voters considered a similar "Greater Idaho" item back in 2020. 

That initiative would have had commissioners meet three times a year to talk about border relocation.  

It failed by less than one percent. 

In 2023, the movement reported it garnered enough signatures to get back in front of Wallowa County voters. 

People in favor said voting 'yes' is voting to be heard. 

That's what Marc Stauffer believes. He’s lived in Oregon most to all his life. 

“I grew up in Medford, Central Point,” Stauffer said. 

He said he’s always noticed a sort of “state instability” while living in Oregon. 

“It started when I was a young person,” Stauffer explained. “Because southern Oregon and northern California at that time were looking at separating themselves and that was in the 70s. And it has more history than that clean back to 1941. At any rate, I did a report about it and learned a lot about it.” 

He said non-Oregonians came in and changed what he knew and loved about the place where he grew up. 

“We had a large influx of Southern Californians that came in,” Stauffer said. “The Rogue Valley was an agrarian community. Lots of orchards, lots of farm fields, I grew up in FFA, and it was all part of that. And we watched it all suddenly go away as these people moved in and tore the orchards out.” 

He said concerns fell on deaf ears at the state-level. 

“Salem, the legislature, they didn't really hear what we were hollering, you know, raising our hands and saying, ‘We have a problem here’ and they wouldn't hear it.” 

So when expressing his concerns for rural Oregon, he said he feels a lot of the same feelings he felt when he was young. 

“We just really feel here in rural Oregon, or at least I feel that way, that based on my experience, we don't have a lot in common,” Stauffer started. “Yes, we're Oregonians, but there's this unwillingness anymore for the metro area to listen to us and communicate with us, and sit down at the table and say, 'So how is this going to affect you?'” 

He said he’s personally traveled to Salem to advocate to state lawmakers on rural Oregon’s behalf. He’s also tracked the region’s efforts to be recognized by western Oregon. 

In 2004, an Oregon executive order created the Office of Rural Policy. 

“Rural Oregon came together and tried to institute an agency that would be in the governor's office to help the legislature and agencies that write rules to understand rural Oregon.” 

It was an office that was short-lived. Four years later, state leaders discontinued funding. 

“The office was never really fully funded,” Stauffer said. “ It had one man, no secretary or anything. And it was dropped. And they did a final report and handed it to the governor and the legislature and I think is probably sitting on a shelf somewhere because the things that they recommended, we still haven't seen any action from Salem to help us with that.” 

Joining Idaho isn’t the way he’d like to solve the divide. 

“We would rather work it out and make it work for one Oregon,” Stauffer said. 

But right now, it’s the option that makes the most sense. 

“It's like a marriage,” Stauffer said. “That's gone bad, really bad. And you can't find a way to work it out. And so the kind of the same kind of emotions that a person might feel in a in a marriage situation when it's breaking up, or a lot of the emotions that we're feeling.” 

So Stauffer's been backing the movement, which has gained momentum in recent years. 

The organization said 11 Oregon counties have voted in favor of local officials to discuss "Greater Idaho." 

In February, the Idaho House passed a “Greater Idaho” bill – to start having conversations with Oregon about moving the border. 

Those against the movement said conversations shouldn’t progress any further. 

Mark Kortnik owns a gallery in Joseph, Ore., in Wallowa County. He said he's strongly against the movement. 

“I just don't like the idea,” Kortnik said. “It's a political movement to try to gain more votes for the Republican side in the state. And I say, you know, they can move to Idaho.” 

He said becoming a part of Idaho is more complicated than it looks on paper. 

“I don't think Oregonians will be happy about paying a sales tax like Idaho does, and reducing and reducing our minimum wage like Idaho has more or less than we do.” 

Other who oppose the idea said giving up their piece of Oregon to Idaho is like giving up a piece of their identities. 

“I was born in Oregon,” Debbie Cross said. “I'm 66 and I'd like it to stay Oregon. I have no idea of moving to Idaho.” 

“Idaho's got their thing. We've got ours. Let's keep it that way,” Harold Peterson said. “We have a state from the coast, all the way through Central Oregon, through Eastern Oregon, to the deepest Gorge in North America at Snake River. So why take the wonder out Oregon?” 

Although the county may be divided on whether or not they support the idea, there's one thing they can agree on: The reality of this could take a long, long time.  

“I think it's a real good idea. But, you know, I'm 84 years old and I don't expect to see that done in my lifetime,” supporter Douglas Carriger shared. “I get I hope it does happen. Because we have nothing, nothing in common with the I-5 corridor.” 

“My personal opinion is we should not be moving any borders,” Kortnik said. “And I don't think it'll get to the legislature anyway. It's not that easy.” 

For now -- Stauffer says he’ll continue to celebrate the small wins the movement is making and vote ‘Yes’ for the "Greater Idaho" initiative on his May ballot.

“The Idaho legislature is engaging now and they are talking about you know, talking with us and they're willing to look at this as a possibility,” Stauffer said. “Idaho is interested, so why not sit down to the table and get realistic, and see if this will honestly work?”

For "Greater Idaho" to actually happen, legislatures from both states and the U.S. Congress would have to agree to it.


Before You Leave, Check This Out