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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (April 27, 2000)
Candidates target downtown ■ warn 3 uty council seat hopefuls aim to improve the downtown area, police relations and ‘city mirth’ By Andrew Adams Oregon Daily Emerald A local activist campaigning for “more mirth” in the city, a tavern owner and a retired intensive care nurse are the three very different and unique candidates running for the Ward 3 City Council seat. Despite their differences, all three candidates see changing the downtown area and giving Univer sity students a stronger voice in the community as two of the most pressing issues facing the ward. Ward 3 encompasses the Uni versity neighborhood and most of the downtown area. University graduate Bobby Lee currently rep resents the area but is stepping down from the seat when his term expires in January 2001 to explore other career opportunities. A retired intensive care nurse, Bonny Bettman, 47, believes she is the most qualified candidate for the council seat and decided to run because she feels the other candi dates lack experience. Prodding by local and state politicians to enter the election also convinced Bettman to run in the race, she said. Bettman said her 10 years of ex perience gained while serving on local committees, task forces and neighborhood associations make her the best candidate for the posi tion. “I know how the city works, and I know many other elected of ficials,’’she said. Making the downtown area more pedestrian accessible, pro tectmg the environment and pro moting sustainable development are the key issues of Bettman’s plat form. She said these issues are not new to her as they have been the fo cus of much of her prior civic work. “My run for council is the cul mination of 10 years of dealing with these issues,” she said. Tracy Olsen, the 30-year-old owner of Doc’s Pad Sports Grill & Lounge, is a Eugene native and a University graduate with a bache lors degree in management. He said keeping the downtown area economically active is his top pri ority. To do so, Olsen would like to increase the housing and busi ness space in the area,. “We can continue to push for housing downtown and to push for density and not sprawl,” he said. As a downtown resident, Olsen said he “walks through the heart of the ward everyday” and is con cerned about the young people who hang out in the downtown mall. If he were elected to City Council, Olsen said he would open youth centers offering productive activities to these adolescents. Olsen is not concerned by his lack of government experience be cause he sees himself as a student eager to learn. “As a student I really have been diving down into it,” he said. “I’ve really been able to bring myself up to speed.” Ron “Misha” Seymour, 49, who is running to increase mirth in Eu gene, said his friends convinced him to run for City Council to per haps bring a new voice to Eugene government. A former child psychology and development teacher at Blackfeet Community College in Browning, Mont., Seymour said the preserva BETTMAN I. :§ SEYMOUR OLSEN tion of open space and better rela tions be tween police and citizens are the issues most impor tant to Ward 3 residents. “1 feel that I am one of the few candi dates address ing the issue that at times, police are the problem,” Seymour said. “Peo ple’s rights are being taken away under the guise of the war on drugs.” The preser vation of the scenic corri dor along the banks of the Willamette river north of the Universi ty is also one of Seymour’s top priorities. He said the city should buy land to leave it open, not for development. To increase city mirth, Seymour suggested featuring street perform ers in the downtown mall and adding “benches around the city for the worried to rest for awhile. ” This is a part in a series of articles the Emerald will publish profiling local and state ballot measures and candidates during the weeks leading up to the^May 16 Eugene primary elections. NJ CO C/3 T) O. O o LOW STUDENT AIRFARES Europe • Africa • Asia • South America More Than 100 Departure Cities! Eurailpasses • Bus Passes • Study Abroad ■g sfudenr universe •com IT’S YOUR WORLD. EXPLORE IT. www.StudentUniverse.com 800-272-9676 CO ODE tfcoriei ore archived on-line at www.dailyemerold.com Know Your LIMIT? Approximate Blood Alcohol Percentage jn fjrst Body weight in pounds hour 100 120 140 160 180 200 220 240 CAUTION Driving Impaired /* *> 1 oz. 80 proof liquor 12 oz. beer (Not a “40.” A “40” is over 3 beers.) The chart is only a guide. Each person’s response to alcohol will vary, based on individual tolerance for alcohol, food intake, fatigue, and other factors. A person’s driving can sometimes be impaired after only one drink. Office of Student Life