As the mother of two Pendleton graduates, a volunteer mentor with the PHS ASPIRE program (helping students with their path after high school), and an active community member, I was thrilled to see so much interest in filling the upcoming school board vacancies. An engaged community is important for the health of our schools.

When I found out that Patrick Gregg was one of the candidates, I was even more encouraged. I have known Patrick and his family for the past 11 years, and have watched as they grew their family to three boys as he quickly advanced to partner at the local law firm of Corey, Byler & Rew.

Patrick has the qualities that I believe will serve the school district and our community well. He is whip smart, measured in his thought, and works well with others. Beyond his passion for ensuring that our schools best support our students, he is adept at understanding the nuances of education policy, curriculum assessment, funding, and the correlation between the success of our schools and standards of living in our community.

We are living in unprecedented times, and there will be hard decisions coming down the pike in response. I feel confident that Patrick Gregg is someone that can hit the ground running, helping navigate our schools to a better future. He is the son of an educator, father of school-age children, and a respected attorney who will be prepared, informed and diligent in the pursuit of an excellent school district, and ultimately, Pendleton as a thriving community.

Please join me in voting Patrick Gregg for Pendleton School Board, Position 7, ensuring that our students have a qualified advocate working hard for them.

Tiffany Hegarty

Pendleton

The East Oregonian does not run endorsements of more than 400 words.

The East Oregonian will institute a deadline for letters to the editor, so we can be fair with all the letters we receive and allow for responses before Election Day, if necessary.

We run the letters on a first-come, first-served basis.

Please submit your endorsement letters to the editor by 5 p.m. on Friday, May 7. You can email them to editor@eastoregonian.com, or mail them to East Oregonian, c/o Andrew Cutler, 211 S.E. Byers Ave., Pendleton, OR 97801.

We will publish our last letters on Saturday, May 15. Any letters received after the deadline will not run. Election Day is May 18.