Three Minutes with Nancy Peterson

Published 9:27 am Tuesday, November 10, 2020

Hermiston city councilor-elect

When and why did you move to Hermiston?

I’ve lived Hermiston specifically for 12 years, but moved to the Umatilla/Morrow county region 20 years ago. Even though I’d grown up in Alaska, I knew Oregon was where home was. After graduating from Montana State University, I loaded everything I owned into the back of a U-Haul, put my cat in a crate in the front, and hit the road. Boardman Elementary School had called the day before my planned departure, so I stopped for a night, got the job the next day, and have been here ever since.

Where is your favorite place to eat in Hermiston?

There’s a taco place on the corner of 395 near the high school called Tacos Y Mas that makes awesome street tacos.

What do you like to do in your spare time?

My family and I enjoy doing puzzles and playing board games together. I’m very passionate about diversity rights activism, so I spend a great deal of time writing and studying issues.

What surprises you about Hermiston?

Just when you think you’ve really gotten to know it, you turn a corner and there’s a business you’ve never visited, either because it’s new or you never got the right kind of lost to find it before. I tell folks that we have at least one of everything you need, and two of everything you want.

What was the last book you read?

I’m a huge sci-fi/fantasy fan. I just read book 4 of The Warrior Chronicles, “Invasion,” and have started book 5, “Siege.”

What website or app do you use most other than Facebook?

My daily relaxation is the website Imgur. It’s user-provided content, some personal and some simply interesting. It’s also a culture that is found within the comments, and even has a worldwide Secret Santa.

If you could travel anywhere, where would you go?

I want to go to Disneyland! Really, that would be the best.

What is the funniest thing that’s ever happened to you?

I’m very pragmatic, so the day that I went to work and a team member asked me how a recent first date had gone, and I admitted that I was pretty sure I was engaged. … Well anyway, the ceremony at Hat Rock 10 months later was beautiful!

What is one of your goals for the next 12 months?

I want to honor the reasons I was elected.

What is your proudest accomplishment?

Every time I hear from someone I’ve motivated to take action on their own or a group’s behalf, every time someone I’ve mentored outgrows me, and every time one of my sons gives me a hug because they think I’m a good mom, that moment is my proudest accomplishment.