Congressional candidates district four
Weaver:
'trim
the fat'
Jim Weaver, a 46-year-old
Eugene builder, is running for
John Dellenback's District Four
Congressional seat this year for
the third time. If he gets the
democratic nomination, this
Wafergate-shrouded year will
probably be the most favorable
time for Weaver to try to unseat
the incumbent.
"If people are as angry in the fall
as they are now about Watergate,
inflation, unemployment, there
will be a big turnover in
Congress," Weaver says.
Before November, though,
Weaver will have to fight for the
democratic nomination, and he
sees State Sen. Jack Ripper as his
strongest opponent.
Weaver, of course, predicts he'll
win. If he does, Weaver will
concentrate his campaign against
Dellenback on the decline of the
economy and the country, on
what Dellenback and the
Republicans haven't done to
correct the situation, and on what
Weaver would do to improve
things.
Spending large amounts of
money on super weapons and
military forces abroad, while
freezing domestic expenditures is
sending the country down the
road to another depression,
according to Weaver.
"That Pentagon's fat," he says.
If Weaver gets into Congress, he
wants to start trimming some of
the fat from the military and
reallocate that money for job
producing programs at home. The
environment, schools and mass
transit are a few of the things
Weaver sees that have been
neglected by freezing domestic
spending.
On the problems of the oil
shortage, exploitation of
geothermal power and the use of
our forests. Weaver points to two
main solutions: less waste and
more government control.
Weaver advocates taxing the big
oil companies for what they take
out of the ground instead of
codding them. He also proposes
breaking up the huge verticle
conglomerates and encouraging
more competition.
On public lands Weaver wants to
stop the big companies from
exploiting geothermal deposits
altogether. "What we can do is
prevent them from monopolizing
public land, possibly exclude them
entirely. That's what I'd like to do.
I want to see the (state)
Legislature and Congress pass
laws and appropriate monies to
assure that the public has a
position in geothermal power."
Weaver believes there was and is
an oil shortage to a certain extent,
but that the oil companies seized
upon the situation to hold up oil
deliveries until prices went up. He
sees the Alaska oil fields as a
supply that should be kept in
James Weaver
reserve. Weaver opposed the oil
pipeline but says, “they've won
the fight. There's nothing we can
do now."
The great demand for oil and
new resources such as
geothermal power is the main
cause for the rush on these
resources, according to Weaver.
Government control has to be
accompanied by less waste and
more conservation by the public,
Weaver says.
Conservation is the key to the
use of our forests, too, according
to Weaver. He says that sustained
yield reforestation programs can
work, but that the increasing
demand has to be reduced.
Weaver would reduce the
demand by stripping exports of
trees to Japan at a time when
lumber resources are needed at
home, and by encouraging public
conservation of what we do have.
A stable demand can be handled
by reforestation programs, and
would take the pressure off of
wilderness areas such as French
Pete, says Weaver.
Weaver proposes a lot of things
that he would like to do to im
prove the situation here. With the
apparent trend of persons voting
against incumbant Republicans,
Weaver may get his chance.
"Third time's a charm," they say.
But first there's the primary.
Phil Waldstein
State representative candidates
Ellickson:
Oregon,
place for
reform
Donald Ellickson, 66, said the
other candidates for district 41 -s
democratic state representative
primary seat are concerning
themselves with trivia —the real
issue is government reform.
"Our government isn't run by
majority rule, it's not a true
democracy,” he said. "Our
legislators are bought and sold,
the system is corrupt."
Ellickson, a retired school
teacher, spent his last six years of
teaching in Alberta, Canada
where he became familiar with
parliamentary government.
"In Canada, there are ministers
Donald Ellickson
elected by the people such as the
minister of education, and the
minister of agriculture, who are
directly responsible to the
people," Ellickson said. "If a
minister doesn't do his job, he
resigns at the request of those
who elected him."
Ellickson considers himself a
( Continued on Page 18)
Reed:
'not a
typical
politician'
Jim Reed, 41, is "not a typical
politician." He wants all citizens
to have the option of defending
themselves in court instead of
being obligated to hire a lawyer.
"Lawyers don't have the
competency in offering their
services," Reed, a candidate for
the democratic state represen
tative for district 41, said, "but,
the public accepts their (lawyers')
control of the courts."
The government is corrupt, Reed
said, when lay persons can't
receive the same fee for
defending themselves, from the
prosecution, as a lawyer would.
If elected, Reed would minimize
lawyers' power, put free legal
forms in the public library and
encourage the public to use them,
he said.
Although he is not a lawyer,
Reed prepared the defense for
seven trial cases last year in
cluding one case involving an
unpaid past wage of Reed's. A lay
person is not allowed by law to
defend another person in court,
he said.
Because of recent moving, Reed
has been hard to reach but if
elected, he would be very ac
cessible to public comments, he
said.
Reed favors the decriminal
zation of marijuana with
reservations. "A government
can't solve anything with a
punitive mentality," he said.
"People in prison aren't as
criminal as some businessmen."
But, Reed views drinking and
drug usage as escapisms caused
by ills in society and signs of
Re-elect an
effective representative
Larry
The next legislative session must
provide greater funding for higher
education if we are to retain quality
faculty, improve facilities and avoid
pricing students out of the university
with higher tuition. Education should
be viewed as a right, not a privilege.
erry
Dist. 40 Democrat
PERRY
Paid Political ad. Larry Perry tor State Legislature Comm., Elinor
McLendon Trees. MOW. 29th PL., Eugene, Or. 9740S 5 21-74
Jim Reed
frustration. Both "ills" should be
treated medically, he said.
The nuclear power plant
question should be brought to a
public vote, Reed said. 'The
legislature should stop putting
energy clauses onto bills and then
sneaking them through (for
ratification). People should say
what they want and draw up a
referendum that wouldn't be
amended."
Since we claim to be a Christian
nation with Christian ideology,
Reed would ''not be for en
couraging" a bill giving equal
housing and employment rights to
persons regardless of "sexual
orientation" (the gay rights bill),
he said.
"If an effeminate person comes
in looking for a job as a com
pany's representative, the
business has a right to hire who
they want working for them," he
said.
As far as abortion is concerned,
Reed said, the man has just as
much right to a child as the
woman. He would like to see
equal divorce rights and child
custody rights for men.
Reed, who doesn't tie himself
strongly to one party, doesn't
consider people any different
because of their party affiliation —
"they all have problems," he said.
Reed has three billboards ($175
each) situated around Eugene and
he "doesn't like them either." He
expects to win the primary
election by the "creditability and
independence" he has shown, he
said.
Shewn Rossiter