Attorney general race heads into home stretch
■ Republican Kevin Mannix
and Libertarian Thomas Cox
are looking to unseat
incumbent Hardy Meyers
By Andrew Adams
Oregon Daily Emerald
Of the three candidates facing off
in the race for attorney general, one
says he’ll be tough on crime, the
current office holder contends he’ll
improve society in general and the
third just
hopes he’ll
get enough
votes to be
noticed.
In the
race, in
u m b e n t
Democrat
Mey
ers is facing
a challenge
from Re
publican Kevin Mannix and Liber
tarian Thomas Cox.
Cox, a database engineer from
Salem, is frank about his slim
chances of winning the race, saying
that all he hopes to do is garner
more votes than the margin of
difference between Mannix and
Meyers. Doing so, he said, would
amount to recognition to his small
party.
“I hope the loser is going to look
at my votes and say, ‘Oh man, why
did I leave those votes on the table?
Why didn’t I go after them?’” he
said.
As a Libertarian attorney general,
Cox said he would work to ensure
that government is as non-intrusive
into people’s lives as possible.
“I’ve got a slightly different
vision on what government and the
attorney general should do,” he
said. “I’ll be accountable to voters
with an eye toward protecting
people from government
encroachment.”
He doesn’t view his lack of
government or legal experience as
a drawback because he says it lets
him view the office in a new light.
“Lawyers try to be helpful, and if
your vision as attorney general is
that you work for the government,
then you’re going to help them and
not people,” he said.
Cox received a bachelor’s degree
from the University of Chicago in
1986, and worked in public rela
tions and management consulting
prior to becoming a database engi
neer.
Drawing on his experience in
state government and law, Republi
can contender Mannix said his
chief goal as attorney general
would be to protect Oregonians
from violent crime and fraudulent
companies. He said during his serv
ice in the state legislature, he draft
ed several crime bills, including the
mandatory sentencing act Measure
11, as well as an anti-stalking law.
“Nobody in elected office can
claim to be more effective in fight
ing crime than I have,” he said.
Mannix received both a bache
lor’s and a law degree from the Uni
versity of Virginia. He has served as
an administrative law judge, an as
sistant attorney general in both
Guam and Oregon, a circuit court
judge and a state senator and repre
sentative. He said his law experi
ence is one of his best attributes,
but also said he has not lost touch
with the average voter.
“I’m going to go after property
crime like I went after violent
crime,” he said. “The nitty-gritty is
the guy who takes his car to the
shop and the mechanic says it will
be $700, then he does the work and
says it will be $900 and holds the
car. In a $200 consumer rip-off, I’ll
step in immediately.”
“I expanded the law to include
any sexual relationship, regardless
of gender or orientation,” he said.
Meyers, the incumbent, has said
he will be tough on crime, and
added that his office would protect
society in general and not just pros
ecute crimes.
“I think of the [attorney general’s]
office very much in terms of the se
curity and safety of individuals, but
also in the social health,” he said.
Prior to being elected attorney
general, Meyers served as a state
representative and speaker of the
house, held a chair on the Oregon
Criminal Justice Council and
served on the Oregon Law Commis
sion. He received his undergradu
ate degree from the University of
Mississippi and his law degree
from the University of Oregon.
As attorney general, Meyers said
he has worked hard to ensure that
the state has received the most ob
jective and unbiased law counsel,
and acted within proper accor
dance of the law.
He noted his work to assist vic
tims of domestic violence, establish
an automated telephone notifica
tion system to update crime victims
on the trials of suspects in their cas
es, and the movement of the state’s
anti-trust litigation against the pro
posal of the planned merger be
tween British Petroleum-Amoco
and ARCO.
The main goal of his office’s
work, Meyers said, is to ensure that
Oregonians’ basic rights are pro
tected.
“We pursue the end of law as re
ally the foundation of the ability of
people to live free,” he said.
Grad school becoming a reality
■The McNair Program gives
support to students wanting
to continue their education
By Brooke Ross
Oregon Daily Emerald
University students who don’t
want their education to end with a
bachelor’s degree can get a head
start with their graduate school ap
plications through the McNair Pro
gram.
The program, part of the Acade
mic Learning Services’ TRIO Pro
gram, helps qualifying undergrad
uates prepare for graduate school
by offering specialized classes,
workshops and paid summer in
ternships. A general information
session will be held Thursday.
The program currently has 13
participants, but there are more
openings available.
“Because of the program, I feel
much more confident about the
whole graduate school application
process,” said Deana Dartt, a senior
anthropology major and McNair
student.
Dartt said she particularly appre
ciates that the program offers stu
dent assistance in writing graduate
school personal statements and
gives students vouchers for the
Graduate Record Examination.
“It’s nice because I only have to
go to one place,” she said.
The McNair Program, a nation
wide organization, is designed for
low-income, first generation col
lege students or students from
groups under-represented in grad
uate schools.
This is the second year the Uni
versity is offering the McNair pro
gram through the University’s
broad TRIO Program, which was
launched on a national level in the
mid-1960s. Congress created the
McNair Program in 1986 in honor
of Ronald E. McNair, one of the as
tronauts killed in the Challenger
explosion of 1986. McNair came
from a low-income background,
but he pursued a higher education,
earned his Ph.D. and was accepted
into the NASA program.
Today there are 155 McNair Pro
grams nationwide, said Gail Un
ruh, McNair coordinator. Unlike
some branches of the program, the
University’s chapter does not limit
areas of study in which students
can participate.
Unruh said he is confident of the
program’s ability to prepare stu
dents for graduate school.
“Even though it’s technically an
undergraduate program, universi
ties across the country have recog
nized the value of McNair,” he
said.
John Lopez, an architecture and
international studies major and a
McNair student, agrees that the
program is valuable. He said he
thinks it gives him the ability to
McNair Program
What: General Information session
Who should attend: Students
interested in joining the McNair
program
When: Thursday, Oct 12 from 7 p.m.
to 9 p.m.
Where: 125 Grayson Hall
compete at a university level.
“First generation college stu
dents are not as well off as second
and third generations, but the pro
gram gives me the foundation to
pursue my Ph.D.,” Lopez said
The University’s McNair Pro
gram also offers students a paid
summer internship in which they
work with faculty and McNair staff
to produce written and oral re
search.
“I think what attracts students
most to the program is the opportu
nity to do the research and get paid
for it,” Unruh said.
Susan Lesyk, project director of
the McNair Program, thinks stu
dents who participate in the pro
gram increase their chances of be
ing accepted to their first choice
graduate school because of the ex
perience they gain.
“It opens up doors for students,”
she said. “They enter graduate
school understanding the culture
of a research university.”
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