Campaign finance issues on forefront
■ A proposed ballot measure could limit campaign
spending and level the candidate playing field
By Darren Freeman
Oregon Daily Emerald
Thirteen Oregonians from as far
as Clackamas County gathered in
West Eugene to discuss a pro
posed campaign finance reform
ballot measure, which will likely
appear on the Nov. 2000 ballot.
In an informal setting, the meet
ing was led by former South Eu
gene High School teacher Larry
Perry, who is currently the Ore
gon state chair of Common Cause,
a national activist group that co
authored the measure with sever
al other groups including the
League of Women Voters, OSPIRG
and Public Campaign.
After stating that large cam
paign donations are playing too
large a role in elections, Perry said
he supported the measure, which
proposes allotting public money
for campaigning candidates who
agree to adhere to spending limits
and forgo soliciting campaign dol
lars from private donors.
The measure would also allow
offering additional money to par
ticipating candidates who are be
ing outspent by candidates using
private funds.
Though nobody at the meeting
voiced opposition to the measure,
opponents argue that private cam
paign contributions are healthy
acts of political speech and should
n’t be eliminated from elections.
Perry, on the other hand, ar
gued that political contributions
are often used by special interests
to gain political influence.
“The cost of running for office
has increased so rapidly that [can
didates] have to go after big mon
ey sources.” Perry said.
“Whether it’s true or not, the ap
pearance is that elections are being
bought, and that contributes the
corrosive public view of govern
ment,” Clackamas County volun
teer activist Matt Chambers said.
Because state and federal courts
decided campaign contributions
Low salaries
continued from page 1A
for cost-of-living increases for all
faculty rather than merit increas
es for a select few.
“We haven’t received a cost-of
living increase in four years,” said
Greg McLauchlan, associate pro
fessor of sociology and co-author
of the resolution. “ [The cost of liv
ing] has gone up 10 percent in that
time. Many faculty have effective
ly taken a pay cut. It’s a significant
decline in the standard of living. ”
Resolution US9900-7 was first
given at the Dec. 1,1999 Universi
ty Senate meeting. The resolution
recognizes that faculty have been
receiving merit increases designed
to reward excellence, achieve
ment and a contribution to the
University and the state of Oregon,
McLauchlan said.
The merit increase, however,
has been instead of rather than in
addition to a cost-of-living in
crease. Merit increases, which are
distributed within each depart
ment, have been distributed un
equally, he said.
“In a nutshell, I'd say it’s a ques
tion of basic fairness. If there is
money available it should go to cov
er cost-of-living increases across the
board, ” McLauchlan said.
“Faculty who do perfectly good
service but don’t get merit increases
lose salary,” he said. “Everyone I’ve
talked to without exception feels
that [faculty morale] is at the lowest
point it has been in 10 years. ”
This disparity is causing the gap
between the income of the highest
and lowest paid faculty to grow to
perhaps its largest in the Univer
sity’s history, he said.
The resolution “does not re
quire the expenditure of addition
al funds, nor does it result in cost
savings,” according to the resolu
Average faculty
salaries among peer
universities
1. University of North Carolina
$65,400
2. University of California,
Santa Barbara $64,400 ‘
3. University of California, Davis
$63,300
4. North Carolina State $62,300
5. University of Iowa $61,500
16. Oregon State University
$52,300
17. University of Oregon $51,300
SOURCE: American Association of University
Professors, Annual Report on the Economic
Status of the Profession, 1997-98.
tion’s financial impact statement.
A report on the resolution from
the University Senate Rules Com
mittee confirms that there is no di
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If it reaches the Nov. 2000 ballot,
the measure would propose allo
cating public campaign funding to
candidates who adhere to spend
ing limits and foigo collecting pri
vate campaign contributions.
and campaign spending are acts of
free speech, Perry said, voluntary
participation in a public financing
program is the best way eliminate
potential improper influence.
With similar measures have
passed in four other states, sup
porters of the measure are opti
mistic.
rect fiscal impact; there is, however,
a high indirect cost in the ability for
the various departments and ad
ministrations to make future hires.
While University administra
tion recognizes the lack of cost-of
living increases, it feels that more
exploration is necessary.
“Salary increases have lagged
behind the cost of living,” said
Lorraine Davis, vice provost for ac
ademic affairs. “This resolution is
a little premature.”
A University Senate Budget
Committee is working on a plan
that will look more broadly at the
issue of faculty salaries, she said.
The committee has come out
with a “White Paper,” dated Jan.
10,2000. This long-term plan aims
to elevate the average instruction
al faculty compensation to “95
percent of parity to comparat or in
stitutions.”
According to the 1997-98 Annu
al Report on the Economic Status
Calendar
Monday, Jan. 10
Exhibition: organized by jenny
Young, architecture, this show
features student work from the
department’s summer program in
Rome. 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. week
days. LaVerne Krause Gallery,
Lawrence Hall, 1190 Franklin Blvd.
Free. For information, call 346
2057 or 346-3610. Reception 7-9
p.m.Jan. 10.
of the Profession by the American
Association of University Profes
sors, the University pays its faculty
85.6 percent of what faculty at oth
er peer universities receive. These
peer universities include the Uni
versity of North Carolina, Chapel
Hill, the University of California,
Santa Barbara and the University
of California, Davis.
McLauchlan calls his resolution
“the cornerstone of the whole
process.”
The paper will be discussed at a
University Town Hall Meeting
Jan. 26. This meeting will include
the University Senate as well as
administration representatives.
Discussions of faculty salaries
have historically taken place at the
legislative level. Under the new
Oregon University System budget
model, which went into effect July
1,1999, individual campuses have
more flexibility and autonomy in
negotiating salaries, Davis said.
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