Sided by community leaders, Walden, R-Ore., used a pair of king-sized ceremonial scissors to cut a red ribbon in front of the office at 1211 Washington Ave.
“The 2nd District is the seventh largest in the nation,” Walden said. “Given the issues we deal with — especially natural resources — it will help us having a boot on the ground here.”
Besides the opportunity to better represent people in Northeast Oregon, Walden said he is pleased to have a presence in La Grande for personal reasons as well.
“My mother was born and raised in La Grande, and my father worked at KLBM radio,” he said. “They were married here in 1940, so I’ve always felt a felt a genetic connection to this place.”
Walden aide Colby Marshall has been readying the office since January. One task was to install a video teleconferencing system that will link the La Grande office with Walden’s other offices in Bend, Medford and Washington, D.C.
The system will allow live face-to-face communication between people in those locations.
“We can put all four of our offices on at once,” Walden said in some post-ribbon cutting remarks. “We can do it so everybody is on at the same time. It’s easy as making a phone call.”
Walden said he expects timber and natural resource issues to take up a good deal of Marshall’s time. But he added his aide will be on hand to help resolve any issue related to the federal government.
“This will be a good intake place to help veterans and senior citizens,” he said.
In addition to working one-on-one with constituents, Marshall will stay in close touch with public offices in the region, Walden said.
“He’ll be going to a lot of meetings and doing a wide range of outreach activities,” Walden said.
“We hope to integrate interns from the college,” he said. “They will be a big help to Colby.”
Marshall was raised in Burns and is a graduate of the EOU-Oregon State University satellite agriculture program. He is a former EOU student body president.
Walden said Marshall is a good fit for the Eastern Oregon office because of his extensive background in agricultural and natural resources.
Marshall said he expects to do a lot of work in those areas, though he stands ready to help resolve other kinds of issues as well.
“The job is to be the conduit for Eastern Oregon,” Marshall said. “It’s to make sure the concerns are being directed to Greg and the right people on his staff.”
Marshall said people should feel free to drop by the office to talk.
He also can be reached by phone at 541-624-2400, or by e-mail at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .
Walden’s web address is www.walden.house.gov .
