Levy says Brown won’t Let ‘er Buck this year

By Terry Murry on Thursday, September 2nd, 2021 in Columbia Basin News More Top Stories

ECHO – Oregon Gov. Kate Brown will not be attending the Pendleton Round-Up this year. Rep. Bobby Levy (R-Echo) said that is not the reason why the Eastern Oregon Women’s Coalition canceled the Governor’s Luncheon at Blue Mountain Community College on Sept. 17. The luncheon was held the last time Brown didn’t show.

“We hosted Sen. (Jeff) Merkley and (State Treasurer) Tobias Read, and they were great,” she said. “They gave us federal updates and state updates on the economy.”

Levy said there were two main reasons behind the decision to cancel the event. The first is that the organization didn’t want to put added strain on a hospital that is already feeling stress due to COVID-19. The other reason is Gov. Brown’s mandate requiring masks be worn at outdoor gatherings.

“We didn’t want to become the police and walk around and say, ‘Put your mask on, put your mask on,’” she said. “We didn’t want to be responsible for trying to police masks.”

Levy said the luncheon began with a visit from Gov. John Kitzhaber and even though it’s called the Governor’s Luncheon, if COVID-19 backs off it will be held in 2022 and coming years whether the governor is there or not.

Photo: Gov. Kate Brown at the 2016 Pendleton Round-Up via Facebook