Editor in chief: Laura Cadiz
Editorial Editors: Bret Jacobson, Laura Lucas
Newsroom: (541)346-5511
Room 300, Erb Memorial Union
P.O. Box 3159, Eugene, OR 97403
E-mail: ode@oregon.uoregon.edu
Monday
May 15,2000
* Volume 101, Issue 152
Emerald
HMAjtif SAc,
Oregon has only seven electoral votes to of
fer in a presidential election, and it shows
by the way candidates rarely visit. Vice
President A1 Gore, who came to the state
Friday, didn’t even talk about issues important to
the state when he was here but instead focused on
a Social Security discussion to a crowd at Port
land Community College. To recognize the impor
tance of Oregon voters, Gore and Texas Gov.
George W. Bush should show up and talk about
the issues Oregonians care about.
Gore continued to beat his dull drum by talking
to an invitation-only, supportive audience about
the need for a safe retirement program. While
that’s a perfectly valid political stance, and one
hopes presidential wanna-bes have clear visions
for such important social issues, it would seem
obvious that there are other, more pertinent topics
for state voters and college students. Gore should
have the integrity to speak honestly to the needs of
the audience he faces. Though he touched on the
topic of higher education and the need for better
funding, the main topic of his argument was the
need to shore up the retirement program.
Oregon has its fair share of hot topics that de
serve comment by presidential candidates, and it
is rather disrespectful for Gore to speak to a na
tional script instead of talk to the needs of state
voters. On Oregonians minds are issues such as
assisted suicide, environmental concerns and me
dicinal marijuana. Bush and others have criticized
Gore for not taking a stance on environmental is
sues such as dam breaching, claiming that the vice
president is politically waffling. To ignore such lo
cal concerns is to take the state for granted or,
worse yet, to not care at all about the state’s voters
because the seven electoral votes are often incon
sequential. And for Gore to give his nationally
scripted speech to a supportive group who de
serve to hear more about the vice president’s
stance on state concerns betrays the trust between
politicians and the citizens they represent.
While some leadership on the national agenda
should be demonstrated by presidential candi
dates, there is no acceptable reason to skip over
important local issues. Obviously candidates
don’t want to jeopardize nationwide voters on
stances they may take here, but that is a political
dodge and not an acceptable out for those who
want such an important duty. The original point
of political debates was to let voters choose candi
dates based on their views of the world, as op
posed to the modern trend of candidates choosing
voters and forming their opinions based on that
polling data.
All this discussion about Gore’s insensitive vote
is not to let Bush off the hook. The Republican
hopeful hasn’t even come to the state yet, and his
plans to arrive have only been loosely set for May
16, the deadline for state primary ballots. Candi
dates should take the state seriously enough to
give firm plans whenever possible, giving voters
the opportunity to perform their civic duty to
make an informed vote.
We all must live within the reality that Oregon
is, and will be, a small state with few electoral
votes. But that doesn’t excuse politicians from
coming to our state and discussing the important
issues that voters care deeply about. Nor does it
excuse them avoiding positions on those issues in
the name of political expediency.
?-■ ■ . O jag
This editorial represents the view of the Emerald editorial ,
board. Responses may be sent to ode@oreg6n.uoregon.edu
Letters to the editor
Olsen is what Bettman wants
Bonny Bettman’s platform calls for locally
owned, sustainable small businesses located in
downtown. Specifically, she says that “economic
development should foster local small businesses.”
Who is already doing this? Tracy Olsen — a na
tive Eugenian and owner of a successful small
downtown business.
Bettman wants more people like Olsen in Eu
gene, so do I. That’s why I am voting for Olsen for
Eugene city council, Ward 3.
David Haushalter
Eugene resident
Tracy Olsen doesn’t even vote
If you go down to the Lane County Elections of
fice you can find out who is registered to vote and
how often they have voted. I decided to do this for
Olsen, one of the candidates for the Ward 3 City
Council Seat. Guess what? He hasn’t voted since
1997. That means that he didn’t even bother to vote
in the gubernatorial race in 1998 and has ignored
the smaller elections since then. If he can’t manage
to take a few minutes to vote once or twice a year,
then do we want to elect him to a position where he
may be required to work up to 40 hours a week? I
don’t think so.
Bonny Bettman is the clear choice for Ward 3
Councilor. She has experience with local trans
portation, livability and community issues and has
worked with a number of citizen groups. Friends of
Eugene named her “Activist of the Year.” The Sierra
Club has endorsed her. The Lane County Democrats
has endorsed her. A number of local elected offi
cials including David Kelly, Betty Taylor and Peter
Sorenson have endorsed her. She has solid commu
nity support.
I urge you to vote for Bettman.
Chris O’Connor
Eugene resident
Piercy has credentials, too
Monday, the Oregon Daily Emerald endorsed,
among others, Bobby Green Sr. in his race for the
Board of Lane County Commissioners. At no time
did your editorial board attempt to contact his op
ponent, Kitty Piercy for an interview relating to this
endorsement.
Here is some information that you overlooked in
making your endorsement. Kitty has:
• Advocated for improved child care for students
• Fought to keep students covered by the Oregon
Health Plan.
• Stood shoulder to shoulder with students over
the right to vote for how student dollars are spent.
She has a relationship with the University
stretching back more than a quarter century. Cur
rently, three of her staff members are graduates of
the University.
It is the height of arrogance for your editorial
board to believe that it can assess the relative quali
fications of candidates for office without taking the
time to learn about them. When a newspaper makes
assumptions about political candidates without tak
ing the time to study the relative merits of each, it
loses credibility.
As a second generation University alumnus I am
shocked that your newspaper would make political
endorsements without having an impartial decision
process in place. In the future, I hope that the Emer
ald Editorial Board will take its journalistic respon
sibility seriously enough to warrant an actual inter
view of the candidates. Otherwise, the Editorial
Board could best serve the public interest by not
commenting on public policy issues that it knows
little or nothing about.
Christian Kaylor
Campaign Manager
Kitty Piercy for
County Commissioner
To a big Mother’s
Day march
The Million Mom
March took to
Capitol Hill Sunday
to send Congress a
“Mother’s Day”
message that more
mainstream Amer
icans are ready to
fight the gun lobby
in an effort to
make the country
safer.
To some good oT
boys never
meanin’noharm
The Dukes ofHaz
zard, that wonder
fully whimsical TV
show of the 1980s,
ishittingTinsel
Town with CBS’s
“Dukesof Haz
zard: Hazzard in
Hollywood” to air
May 19.
To a little stumble
The Portland Trail
Blazers hita little
roadblock Sunday
when they lost to
the Utah Jazz for
the first time in the
best*of-seven se
ries they previous
ly led three games
to none. No team
has ever won a se
ries after digging
themselves a
three-zero deficit.
To poisoned
funding
Since 1978, nearly
600 poison-control
centers have been
forced to close,
mainly because of
funding problems.
Now, there are
only a total of 71
such centers to ad
vise the two mil
lion annual callers
urgently seeking
help.