Residents met with Grant County’s commissioners in a packed county courtroom Aug. 4 to study a plan to flip Eastern Oregon counties into Idaho.

The meeting came after just over 60% of people who voted in Grant County approved a measure requiring county commissioners to meet three times a year to discuss a proposal to include 18 Oregon counties, including Grant, as part of Idaho.

According to the initiative, the county will meet the first Wednesday of April, August, and December, “to discuss whether it is in the best interest of Grant County to promote the relocation of the Oregon-Idaho border.”

Shifting the borders would require the approval of both the Oregon and Idaho legislatures and Congress.

Sandie Gilson, a county resident and one of the leaders of the grassroots group Move Oregon’s Border for Greater Idaho Grant County, said Grant is one of seven counties to require county officials to study or promote joining Idaho. The others include Wasco, Malheur, Baker, Jefferson, Sherman and Union.

She said Harney County would vote on the measure in November, and Klamath County voters will see it on their ballots next year in May.

Gilson said the idea behind becoming a part of Idaho is about having the kind of government they want in the region.

She said many issues affect many people, whether schools, land use laws or homelessness.

One example she mentioned was the Oregon Legislature’s law that mandated that all municipalities, including states, cities and counties, allow homeless camping on public property.

Under House Bill 3115, local governments would be prohibited from making it a crime for people to camp or rest on public property when shelters are full and they have nowhere else to go. The bill goes into effect in July of 2023.

Commissioner Sam Palmer said during the July 28 county court session that the voters spoke, and he wanted to hear what citizens in the county have to say.

Gilson said many people had asked her what would happen to the Oregon Public Employee Retirement System for Oregon’s state employees if they were to become Idaho residents.

Gilson said she would be willing to serve on an advisory committee to work on those issues and create a government representing the region’s values.

Grant County Judge Scott Myers said the court would need to find out how best to create a committee and that he did not know if it would be wise to have a county committee. He said some committees are very functional while others are not. Myers said Friday he is opposed to establishing an advisory committee.

During the meeting, Palmer asked Gilson how she would respond to an email that he received from a resident in opposition who said, “If you do not want to live in Oregon, why not move to Idaho?”

Gilson said someone on Facebook responded to similar criticism by asking if they would react to their Black neighbor with that sentiment if they felt uncomfortable living in their white neighborhood.

She said the comment is akin to telling someone to move back to Portland if they do not like it in Grant County.

John Day resident Paul Sweany said he joined via conference call to ask the court members to commit a “revolutionary act.” He asked the court to request that the Eastern Oregon Counties Association put out a statement to join Idaho.

He said elected officials have “played it safe” to protect their positions, budgets and livelihoods during the pandemic and have not lost anything while others have. Sweany said good people compromising because of fear of losing their budget and livelihood is a form of corruption.