City of Newberg Questions Role in Sister City Relationships

NEWBERG, Ore. — Newberg is considering scaling back its role in sister city partnerships with Wadayama, Japan, and Poysdorf, Austria, as city staff and councilors question the cost of supporting the programs.

During the Dec. 1 Newberg City Council meeting, Human Resources Manager Alison Seiler presented an analysis of the sister city relationships, questioning the validity and necessity of the formal connections — particularly financially — in a technologically connected world.

“The questions are: why did we enter into these relationships; are the reasons we entered into these relationships still valid in 2025; and then I felt the last question was: would the residents of Newberg support us using their dollars to send people on trips to either Poysdorf or Japan?” Seiler said.

City Manager Will Worthey said he directed Seiler, an impartial party with international relations experience, to review the partnerships. His main concern was dedicating staff time and city funds to maintaining the relationships, sending city delegates every four years, and paying to house visiting delegates from Poysdorf.

Worthey and then-Mayor Rick Rogers visited Poysdorf during the last delegation in 2022, paying their own expenses. While the trip was culturally enriching, Worthey said he questioned the purpose of sister city relationships and whether they were something the government should continue to pursue, especially if they’re asking city-related delegates to pay their own way. City Recorder Rachel Thomas added that when delegates visited Newberg in 2024, the city spent roughly $8,000 on events and entertainment, highlighting that it wasn’t only the trips to the sister cities, but also when the sister cities visited Newberg.

Councilors agreed that during difficult economic times, it would not be financially prudent to budget for a delegation and instead rely on community funding to support the trips. Worthey said the city needed to establish a clear policy around government involvement in sister city relationships, including what types of gifts and funding can be accepted, and whether to create a budget line item.

Councilors requested more information and clarity from staff, and did not vote on any resolution during the meeting. However, the discussion raised broader questions about the purpose of sister city partnerships and their place in a digitally connected world.

Newberg’s Two Sister Cities

While both relationships were discussed, one received particular scrutiny.

The Asago City connection was less contentious, as it is largely maintained through Chehalem Valley Middle School and funded independently of the city. Seiler noted a stronger business presence between Newberg and Japan, including four Japanese-owned companies in town, and that Japan is Oregon’s largest foreign investor.

According to the City of Newberg, the sister city relationship with Wadayama, Japan — now part of Asago City following a 2005 regional merger — began in 2000. Newberg reestablished the connection with Asago on Feb. 6, 2007. The partnership is rooted in the CVMS student exchange program, which began in 1990.

The relationship with Poysdorf, however, has fewer economic ties. While similar in size and known for wine production, Seiler said she found no economic connection comparable to Japan’s other than wine, and no established youth exchange.

“All I’ve really been able to discover is that it was resident advocacy that started a relationship with Poysdorf,” Seiler said. “I understand the wine connection … but it was a bit mysterious to me as to why that was set up in the first place.”

Brandon Slyter, Chehalem Parks & Recreation District board director, recently began coordinating sister city work after expressing interest in the Wadayama exchange. His nonprofit, Connect JPN, focuses on purchasing and restoring homes in Japan for community use. That work led to additional involvement with Poysdorf as well.

Seeing the city council agenda item to reexamine Newberg’s sister city relationships took him by surprise, he said.

“It threw me off a bit,” Slyter said. “I just kind of wish the timing would have worked out a little differently so that they could let the community share what we’re working on.”

He said organizers are in the early stages of forming Connect Newberg, a 501(c)(3) to support sister city programs by raising funds for accommodations and coordinating visits.

“I started thinking about a Japanese summer festival for the Wadayama exchange, or an Oktoberfest for Poysdorf,” Slyter said. “I think there’s really an opportunity to celebrate our sister cities and invite them over.”

Newberg and Poysdorf’s Connection

Waltraut Goertzen first encountered Oregon through a $99-for-99-days Greyhound Bus promotion after college. She later settled in the state, raised four children, and frequently returned to Austria to visit family near Poysdorf. Noticing similarities between Newberg and the Austrian wine region, she began laying groundwork for a sister city relationship in 2004.

Mayor Bob Stewart signed a proclamation for the partnership in 2006 while visiting Poysdorf with Chehalem Valley Chamber representative Lynn Weygandt. The City Council formally approved Resolution 2007-2697 the following February. A Poysdorf delegation visited Newberg in September 2007, coinciding with Austrian-American Day.

The initial resolution emphasized cultural, educational, and economic exchanges — particularly for youth. The Austrian-American Council also endorsed the effort, citing opportunities for shared economic goals and international understanding.

Delegations continued, with plans for collaboration in wine and engineering programs at George Fox University, but momentum slowed during the COVID-19 pandemic.

As part of renewals, Slyter is working to develop a student exchange between Poysdorf’s Nö Mittelschule and Newberg’s Mountain View Middle School to mirror CVMS’s exchange program, as well as strengthening wine industry connections.

David Adelsheim, founder of Adelsheim Wines, joined the 2022 Poysdorf delegation after a spring frost delayed harvest. He later wrote an essay titled Wahnsinn — “Craziness” in German — reflecting on the visit. He described places he visited, food and drinks he tried, and people he met, all while musing on why he was there in the first place.

Adelsheim noted that many sister city programs were first established after World War II as a way to foster peace between former enemies, and he believes the original intent still holds value.

“The easiest answer is because it already exists,” he wrote. “It exists to expand the experience and the vision of the people in both cities. We are better people, friendlier people, more tolerant people, when we get to experience life through another person’s eyes, and in that other person’s world.”

Goertzen said the relationship has never depended on city funds, though occasionally surplus community development money has been requested.

Worthey acknowledged this, but said his concern is how to reasonably expect staff and councilors to participate if travel costs thousands of dollars and what the city’s policy will be if Poysdorf’s government assists with lodging costs and Newberg’s government is expected to do the same.

Even without city funding, Slyter and Goertzen said the partnership could continue as long as the council does not formally end it.

“I think severing the ties would be a real disservice to the people who are thoroughly engaged,” Slyter said. “And to speak a little harshly, I think it would be kind of an international embarrassment for Newberg to end that connection. I think the people in Poysdorf would be left wondering what they did wrong, if they offended us, or why we wouldn’t want to be associated with them.”

City councilors plan to revisit the conversation in a future city council meeting.