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Originally published on January 22, 2021 3:21 pm
A handful of emails that landed in Kathleen Mason’s inbox this month filled her with dread.
As the executive director and sole staffer at the Monmouth-Independence Chamber of Commerce, it’s Mason’s job to worry about anything that might hurt business in Independence, a city of roughly 10,000 people southwest of Salem.
The riverside town has its share of charm as Mason, the mayor, and any local businessperson will readily attest but the COVID-19 pandemic has cast a pall, shuttering restaurants and slowing the burgeoning tourism sector.
It’s another foe, however, that Mason and other Independence boosters have found themselves grappling in recent weeks: A state representative who, they must stress, does not represent them.