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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Dec. 8, 1978)
House Democrats split over speaker Rural ‘Hornets’ buzz urban liberals By DANA TIMS Of the Emerald Two popes were selected in the time it will take members of the House Democratic caucus to agree on a speaker for the 1979 legislative term. But the dead locked cardinals in the Capitol don't promise to send up the white smoke of decision anytime soon. House Democrats, have met periodically for the past month and are divided into three factions: the liberal, urban majority, led by Rep. Hardy Myers, D-Port.; the conser vative, rural "Hornets," headed by field burning proponent Jeff Gil mour, D-Jefferson; and a mixture of hopeful moderates who have aligned with Gilmour’s Hornets in the name of “party unity." The split has left both groups short of the 31 votes necessary to elect a speaker—and far apart in demands and expectations. It may, however, be as close as they are going to get, leaving the pos sibility some Democrats might de fect to form a coalition with the Republicans. “Quite frankly," says Rep. Grat tan Kerans, D-Eugene, “they (the Hornets) are political reac tionaries and are paying off old slights.” Kerans claims the Hornets felt mistreated by last session’s Speaker Phil Lang, and now are “being obstructionists, with very narrow ends. “It's not a matter of philosophy, it’s a matter of personalities,” says Kerans, a Myers supporter. "They don’t want concessions, they want unconditional surrender of all power to them." A coalition between the Hornets and the Republicans is a real pos sibility, according to Kerans. He says his group is not about to grant the Hornets chairmanships ~i i 1 -I i 1 ir ‘'-i I of the Ways and Means, Revenue and Agriculture committees—all positions they’ve demanded. “Talent and ability have played a big part in determining positions in the past,’’ says Kerans. “These people haven't shown me very much." Keran s charge that the Hornets are “obstructionists,” and “anarchists,” is echoed by former House Speaker Dick Eymann. "Their goal is to embarrass the majority of the party,” says Eymann, who served as speaker during the 1973 session, when the Hornets first banded together. “They’d do something like vote with the minority party on some thing as trivial as adjournment, just to cause embarrassment to the majority,” he says. Eymann noted that the Demo cratic caucus adopted a rule dur ing that session requiring all members to support the majority in decisions of leadership and procedure. “If that rule were being en forced, there would be no prob lem,” states Eymann. “During that session I fired Dick Magruder and Jeff Gilmour as chairman and vice-chairman of the Consumer and Business Affairs committee for not following the majority of the Join us in the woods. 2165 W. 11th Ave. woodslde ^brewery RESTACJRAffT • TAVERN • DISCO [ CHINA BLUE RESTAURANT Moo Koo Guy Pan Juicy breast of chicken blended with water chesnuts, bamboo shoots and mushrooms. $4.35 China Blue 879 E. 13th Ave. 343-2832 Hours Mon. - Thurs. 11 to 10 Fri. 11 to 11 Sat. 5 to 11 Sun. 5 to 10 V. ✓ JOIN ART ALEXANDER Every Saturday Right After JAZZ ALIVE From 10 PM ’Til Midnight for FUNK ’N STUFF . . .Funk. . .Soul. . .Afro-Latin.. .Jazz. . . 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Bill Grannell, D-North Bend, one of the five who joined Gilmour’s Hornets, represents a middle group. Because of con tinued polarization, he predicts the speaker will come from the Democratic caucus but, like each of the last two popes, may be a compromise candidate. "It’s basically a rural-urban split," explains Grannell, who orig inally planned to run for speaker himself. "Hardy and the Port landers have decided they want to control it. But that won’t hold the ruralites.” Grannel concedes that to follow ihe 1973 rule would allow for easier election of a speaker. "But ultimately,” he adds, “if ruralites don’t participate, you still don’t have control of the Legislature.” In the name of “party unity” Grannell, Rep. Ed Lindquist, D-Milwaukie, and three other moderates joined the Hornets. Yet the centerpiece of a de mand received by Myers late Monday night dealt with a guaran tee of Lindquist remaining, or Grannell becoming, majority leader—second-ranking position in the House. It underscores the point that a Legislative Issues lot of power is being handed out and people are scrambling and bargaining mightily for it. For his part, Myers credits the stalemate to the rise in conser vatism among caucus members. ‘There were no real key races that have altered the Legislature," Myers assesses. "But among re turners, there is a more cautious mood, a conservative air." "It's hard to say exactly where we are," says Myers. “But I don’t see the prospec of an agreement with the Hornets. Our lines are pretty well drawn." Kerans, the liberal, predicts the Hornets will form a coalition with the Republicans. Grannell, the moderate, says if a coalition had been possible, it probably would have formed by now, but adds a "maybe.,'~Gllmour, the conserva tive, claims there is "no way” his Hornets will join the Republicans. But as the Democrats continue to claw and inflict damage on each other, as well as the taxpayer—they’ll run up a bill of $35,000 per day for each day they remain deadlocked after the Legislature convenes on Jan. 8—the Republicans are waiting quietly. (Continued on Page 9) % lb of any of our over 40 Pri vate Blends of Tobacco with purchase of a Pipe Just Bring in ThisAdS The Gift Shoppers Paradise for Men and Women We Mail Anywhere $ipe 'M $ouefc-jpf 1016 Willamette Downtown Mall (near 10th & Willamette) Open 7 Days Ad effective thru Xmas L-COUPON --------
