Democrats lead local house race
Local house candidates lead the race,
hut Republicans will still have the
majority in the state legislature
By David Ryan
Oregon Daily Emerald
Election results Wednesday showed every state
house district in Eugene was going to a Democrat.
If that remains the case when all the absentee bal
lots are counted Friday, local house Democrats
will enjoy total superiority in Eugene House dis
tricts.
But when they show up for legislative work in
Salem, recent state election results show the Re
publicans will probably hold a majority in the
capitol.
Local Democrats know this and feel they can
work with Republicans while still maintain Democ
ratic political agendas in the 1999 Legislative ses
sioii, wmcn Degins in January.
Vicki Walker, a probable lo
cal state representative who
was leading by more than 20
percentage points in the con
tinuing election results
Wednesday, said she has
mixed feelings about the
prospect of a Republican-dom
inated legislature.
“I’m concerned about that
because I’m not sure Democrats
are going to be in the majority,”
1 ft._I
PROZANSKI
sne saia. l Mere s a lot or work we have to do. I
hope we can cooperate with the Republicans and
come to compromises on issues because if we don’t
work together, we’ll get nothing done."
Walker said one of her priorities was to help high
er education.
“I absolutely want a tuition freeze,” she said.
Walker said she has a child who is a student at the
University and another who attends Lane Commu
nity College. Walker said it is important provide
more need-based grants and funding to support
child care.
State Representative Floyd Prozanski, who was
leading by 60 percent in the polls above his near
est challenger Wednesday, was reserved about
what he thought the makeup of the state house
would be.
Prozanski focused on what he feels Democrats
would try to accomplish in the next legislative ses
i( I hope we can cooperate with the
Republicans and come to compromises
on issues.
Vicki Walker
Democrat candidate
sion.
“I think it’s going to allow for us to have consis
tency and allow for us to implement some policies,”
he said. "It also tells me that voters want to see our
work carried through from the last session.”
Prozanski said the first major Democratic goal
would be to provide stable educational funding for
the long term.
The second goal is to secure Oregon’s land use
laws in order to curb growth, while working on Ore
gon’s tax system, he said.
“I also think we need to bring the tax system back
into balance so it’s equitable,” he said.
Equitable, according to Prozanski, means making
Oregon corporations pay their fair share. Prozanski
said he wants to take away those tax breaks so indi
viduals will shoulder less of the burden while mak
ing the tax system less friendly to people with high
er incomes.
One potential way to do many of those things
would be to broaden the reach of state taxes.
Prozanski gave an example of people state taxes
can’t reach.
“Tourists aren’t paying income or property tax
es,” he said “They pay a room tax or a gas tax if we
have one, but that’s all.”
A sales tax would make tourists contribute to the
Oregon government.
“The sales tax would broaden who contributes to
services in the state,” Prozanski said.
Although a sales tax is a good example of a
broader tax than income and property taxes,
Prozanski said he is doubtful it could be passed
in Oregon.
Prozanski said many of the major Democratic
goals have been disturbed by 1990’s Measure 5,
which cut property taxes and reduced state in
come.
David Ryan covers the Eugene City Council, commit
nity groups and politics for the F.merakl.
Student Senate hears
requests, grievances
Senators agreed to
change the policy
concerning office hours
and their their location
By Kristina Rudinskas
Oregon Daily Emerald
The ASUO Student Senate al
located $353 to the Vietnamese
Student Association to buy a
new phone and Audix for its
new office in EMU room 27.
"We need a phone to pretty
much get out to the outside
world,” said Co-director Mike
Nguyen.
Although VSA’s new office is
shared with the Black Women of
Achievement, BWA has been in
active and has had internal prob
lems. BWA is unable to use its
funds for the purchase of the two
group’s shared phone.
Debate ensued over the loca
tion of the senators’ office hours
in places outside the actual sen
ate office in EMU room 319.
An open discussion was
fielded by Senate Ombudsman
Jereme Grzybowski regarding
the option for senators to spend
their hours in other student
group offices like the MCC, the
School of Law and other stu
dent unions.
“It’s silly to have them (office
hours] there. It’s inaccessible,”
said Senator Ethan Knight. “It
took me two weeks to find this
office.”
Most senators agreed a new
policy should be implemented
and an amendment to the execu
tive rule requiring office hours in
the senate office will be forward
(( It's inaccessible. It
took trie two weeks to
find this office.
Ethan Knight
Student senator
ed to the rules committee for ap
proval.
In committee reports, the acad
emic committee met with Uni
versity President Dave Frohn
mayer to discuss placing all nine
academic student senators on the
University Senate, the Riverfront
Research Park Proposal and the
recent Halloween riots.
“We had a great time,” said
Senator Selena Brewington.
“We’re going to meet once a
term.”
The Senate’s grievance table
fielded several requests from stu
dents regarding sporting events,
student access to tickets, more
bike racks on campus and ATM
use.
The ASUO Executive is look
ing for a student to take on the
daunting task of Programs Fi
nance Committee at-large seat.
Currently the PFC committee
consists of six female students
and Senator Reid. Five of the
members are in Greek life.
The senate stipend committee
plans to write a recommendation
to the PFC regarding consistency
of ASUO stipends.
“There’s a pretty wide range of
stipends of what groups can get,”
Reid said.
hiviu board approves
mural project for MCC
The board also discussed
last year’s unusually
high budget increase
and next year’s budget
By Peter Breaden
Oregon Daily Emerald
The EMU board’s house com
mittee met Wednesday and vot
mously to
encourage a
mural project
for the ASUO
Multicultural
Center. A
group repre
senting the
MCC said the
proposed mur
al would occu
py the wall
across from
the first floor
Buiiuc siuueni unions
“We do have the full support of
all the unions that it would in
volved,” said Ari Sternberg, co
chair of MCC board.
The mural proposal is in the
early stages of a collaborative ef
fort that aims to bring together
the MCC and ethnic student
unions.
“This is just the first step in a
long process,” said Huy Ong,
MCC program advocate.
The group would need to con
sider the mural’s physical dimen
sions first, said Debby Martin,
program advisor from the EMU
Cultural Forum.
“It would have to be remov
(i A big thing we want is
to drive revenue —
marketing the EMU,
making it a place ivhere
people will want to come
out of their way to. ”
Campbell Kidd
Budget Committee Chair
able,” Martin said. The mural
could be stored as a part of the
Cultural Forum’s permanent art
collection, she said.
The EMU board’s budget com
mittee met Wednesday to begin
discussion of the EMU budget
benchmark increase. Among-the
committee’s concerns was last
year’s especially hieh budeet in
crease.
"I know
we’re trying
not to cut, but
trim the fat off
budgets,” said
Finance Sena
tor Jessica
Timpany.
EMU Direc
tor Dusty
Miller present
ed an estimate
of a $115,539
budget increase over this year’s
$2.4 million budget. He said the
increase would take into account
increased pay for unionized EMU
staff.
"The best possible scenario for
us is if it’s over budgeted, the
money comes back to you,” said
Budget Committee Chair Camp
bell Kidd. “What happens if we
don’t leave enough room for
growth?
“We have a lot of work to do,”
Kidd said. “A big thing we want is
to drive revenue — marketing the
EMU, making it a place where
people will want to come out of
their wajrto.”
One day; ail children in
Lead us there...
Now.
First Deadline is
January 11, 1999.
Don i miss your chance 10 become
pun ot the national corps o! outstand
ing and diverse recent college graduates
ot all academic majors who commit
two years to teach in under-resourced
rural and urban public schools. Our
first deadline is approaching; tor more
information or an application, call us
at the number listed below, visit our
website, or stop hv vour career
service office.
TEACHFOR AMERICA
! SOU XJ2 \2M) wwwae.uhl.M.murK.i.org