Gov. Tina Kotek’s politics are never going to be very popular in places like Wallowa County, but the state’s top elected official deserves some credit for taking the trip out from Salem to visit the eastern part of the state and listen to voters.

Kotek’s political stances represent to many in Eastern Oregon all that is wrong with the state, a gulf in perception that is nearly unbridgeable. Still, Kotek’s trip clearly signals she doesn’t just represent three or four counties in Western Oregon and she does want input from voters in the state’s easternmost counties.

At her stop in Wallowa County, she was asked about the movement to allow Oregon counties to leave the state and become part of Idaho.

Kotek indicated she found the idea to be depressing. She said it “hurt her heart” to think people in Eastern Oregon felt their voices were not heard on the other side of the state and would rather be in another state.

The idea to move Oregon’s border so eastern counties of the state will become part of Idaho is one with plenty of reality gaps and a long shot — to say the least — politically. Yet, if the border idea has accomplished anything it is that it has raised awareness of the broad dissatisfaction across Eastern Oregon counties regarding what goes on in Salem and a cultural gap that exists between Western Oregon and our part of the state.

Kotek said she believes more communication between different parts of the state could help heal the rift. Her idea has merit but doesn’t go far enough. For example, what does “better communication” mean exactly? If it means the governor will make more trips to Eastern Oregon and truly listen and then try to solve problems, then “better communication” is a great idea.

Yet, the first step to solving a problem is realizing there is one. The governor knows — if she was unaware before — there is a perception and cultural difference between Eastern Oregon and other portions of the state.

Those kinds of differences, though, can actually make a state and a people stronger, if the items that separate us are addressed in a proactive manner.

We hope they will be in the future and we hope last week’s visit was the first of many to our region by the governor.