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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Oct. 17, 2000)
State treasurer candidates enhance the ballot ■ Five very different office hopefuls share their varied goals for Oregon’s fiscal future By Lindsay Buchele Oregon Daily Emerald Oregon State Treasurer Jim Hill has served his two terms in the of fice, the maximum allowed by Oregon’s term limit requirement, and voters must now choose a new state treasurer. The state treasurer serves as the central bank manager for the state, manages the state’s pension fund, issues all state debt and manages Oregon’s state-owned land along with the governor and the secre tary of state. Five very different candidates each feel they would serve the position best. Democrat Randall Edwards wants to increase funding for edu cation. Republican Jon Kvistad wants to launch a home buyer bond program and a family farm retention program. Libertarian Mitchell T. Shults wants to end all taxes on investment income and open land sales to the common public. Constitution Party member Carlos F. Lucero wants to be the Hispanic voice in the government and provide better funding for schools. Reform Party Candidate Leonard Zack wants to end spe cial-interest control of government funds. A voice for education funding Edwards, currently a state repre sentative from Portland, recently launched the College Savings Plan, which allows parents to create tax free savings accounts for their chil dren’s college education. “Education is my passion. I grew up in a family of educators and know the challenge of funding schools,” Edwards said. Edwards, who spent four years working as a senior advisor for the Oregon State Treasury, said his governmental experience gives him an edge in the race. “In the legislature, I’m seen as the loudest voice for funding our schools,” Edwards said. “The leg islature has also been a good place to learn about working with fi nances and elections. I’ve had a record of working in a partisan en vironment.” His work in the state treasury of fice, and owning his own manage ment and marketing consulting business, make him the most qual ified for the post, Edwards said. “I know a great deal about the office,” Edwards said. “Having worked there, I’ve gained the re spect and trust of the staff. Based on my financial background, I have the ability to immediately ac complish what needs to be done.” Rich in financial experience Kvistad also says he’s rich in ex perience. Owning and operating his own data and direct mail busi ness for the past 16 years has given him his own financial experience, Kvistad said. He’s also served on the Portland Metro Government since 1992, and has been elected three times to the office of presiding officer, the organization’s head policy maker, helping create policies for land use, transportation and recycling for the 750,000 people who live in the Beaverton, Tigard, Tualatin and Wilsonville area Kvistad said. “I am the only candidate that has direct municipal experience,” Kvistad said. “I helped push the $140 million Green Spaces Bond Measure, which purchased over 6,000 acres to turn into state parks and disperse to local governments for their use.” Kvistad said he would look out for Oregon’s environment while overseeing state-owned lands. He mentioned his activism in the Salmon Recovery Act, which pre serves and protects the habitat of Oregon’s salmon population. The experience Kvistad has had in Portland government has helped him bring a non-partisan view to the office, he said. “I am the only Republican in the [Portland Metro Government], and yet I’ve been elected three times by my peers,” Kvistad said. “I feel the office of treasurer should be non partisan and not support any spe cific political group.” Doing a better, faster job Like Kvistad, Shults feels he would be the best steward of Ore gon’s state-owned lands. He said he would open all state lands sales — except parks and beaches — to the general public. “Currently, environmental groups and the common man can’t buy public lands,” Shults said. “I want to change this. By selling to anyone, the revenue made off of the sales can be put into the com mon school fund [which funds state schools] and forever benefit the school system.” Shults has no political experi ence, but he said his last 20 years at Intel as director of business de velopment for the fabric compo nents division give him the neces sary financial experience. “My resume far exceeds the oth er candidates,” Shults said. “Not only do I have financial experi ence, I also worked on the staff of the House Committee on the Over sight of the Interior, which helped force the resignation of Jim Watt.” Shults thinks the treasury is run well, though he feels he could do the job better. “It took Hill more than a year to implement the College Savings Plan,” Shults said. “I could have done it faster.” Shults said he would implement several plans, including ending all taxation on investment income, beginning an investment in a re tirement plan and allowing Orego nians to opt out of receiving feder ally-funded social security and instead receive state-funded social security. Stop the ‘revolving door’ Lucero has never held office ei ther, but hopes to be the voice for Hispanic people living in the Ore gon. Lucero said he would bring fi nancial experience to the office of treasurer. He came to the U.S. in 1970 and began working in the software industry and currently owns his own software contracting business. Lucero said that if elected, his goal would be to create a more clean, efficient, and accountable state government. He said he would also increase education funding and eliminate the number of juvenile criminals. “I want to make Oregon No. 1 in education,” Lucero said. “There are too many youths being pun ished and getting caught up in the ‘revolving door’ effect, meaning they go in when they are young and emerge as hardened criminals who end up in and out of prison for the rest of their lives.” Lucero feels this “revolving door” process can be stopped if ed ucation improves and the number of student drop-outs decreases. Focus on environment Zack said he also hopes to im prove education, but in a way that develops the full mental potential of each student. He said he would focus on pro tecting the environment through the development of renewable, safe, non-polluting energy sources. Zack said he also wishes to invest in preventive healthcare rather than the current disease-care plan. Such preventative healthcare, he said, would include meditation. But Zack said his main focus as treasurer would be to invest in in dustry that is profitable and sus tainable. “Our future needs to be secure for our children, and the only way to guarantee that is to invest in sus tainable agriculture and have sur pluses given to our schools.” Executive’s plate is full as registration deadline passes ■Abuu transitions into the second of three phases of its campaign to increase student voter registration By Emily Gust Oregon Daily Emerald With a successful voter registra tion drive ending Tuesday, the ASUO Executive is faced with the daunting question — what now? r As the deadline for first-time vot ers to register passes, the Executive is transitioning into the second of a three-part effort to increase voter participation, said Brian Tanner, ASUO state affairs coordinator. The effort includes registering voters, educating them on the issues — specifically those impacting higher education — and encouraging them to use their right to vote. But that’s not the only thing on the ASUO’s plate these days. ASUO members are mounting a campaign against a response fee or dinance that is scheduled for a Nov. 13 vote before the Eugene City Council. The fee ordinance would require renters to pay the cost of re peated police response to disorder ly parties. Last week, members of the ASLIO presented their own version of the ordinance, originally drafted 010225 FREE LEGAL SERVICES t Legal Services handles a wide range of legal problems from divorces to landlord tenant disputes, t There is never a consultation or settlement fee. * Legal Services staff members are experienced, qualified professionals. t Legal Services are FREE to current fee-paying U of O students. Contact Legal Services, EMU, Room 334 (Third floor above the Fish Bowl). Or call 346-4273 to set up an appointment. http://darkwing.uoregon.edu/~legal r by the Eugene Police Department, to the Council. Their version calls for more lenient regulations, as well as placing fine-issuing respon sibility into the city court system’s hands, rather than those of the city manager. The ASUO is also gearing up for Oct. 24, when “Weaving New Be ginnings” — the annual reception for students and faculty of color — takes place. It is an important event, ASUO President Jay Breslow said, because it will be the launching pad in the University’s and the ASUO’s struggle to retain students and faculty of color. We're doing good things, and we are going to keep doing them. jay Breslow ASUO President But even when the elections have come and gone, the special re sponse fee has been voted on, and the reception has kicked off the campaign for campus diversity, there is no letup in sight for the ASUO Executive office. Its busy agenda is only going to get busier, Breslow said. “We’re doing good things,” Bres low said. “And we’re going to keep doing them.” With Halloween approaching, Breslow said the ASUO intends to reach out and discourage out-of control holiday parties and help students become involved with their community. Of the many issues Breslow said the ASUO wants to tackle, encour aging campus democracy has re emerged as a priority. ASUO University Affairs Co-Co ordinator Chad Sullivan said he would like to form a coalition of students to promote democracy and encourage students to become more active on campus. His goal, Sullivan said, is “to make this campus one where peo ple know they have a voice, and ac tually do have one.” The ASUO Survival Center first brought up complaints that campus democracy is nonexistent last year during the protests over the Univer sity joining the Worker Rights Con sortium. Sullivan is in the process of plac ing about 80 students on roughly 30 committees around campus, with goals ranging from environmental issues to academic requirements. With two students splitting the University affairs job this year, Sul livan said there is more of an op portunity to establish a system of student selection. He said he hopes to have a system in place by the end of the year. Turn to ASUO, page 5 Oregon Daily Emerald P.O. Box 3159, Eugene OR 97403 The Oregon Daily Emerald is published daily Monday through Friday during the school year and Tuesday and Thursday during the summer by the Oregon Daily Emerald Publishing Co. Inc., at the Univer sity of Oregon, Eugene, Oregon. A member of the Associated Press, the Emerald oper ates independently of the University with offices in Suite 300 of the Erb Memorial Union. The Emerald is private property. The unlawful removal or use of papers is prose cutable by law. NEWSROOM — (54nWvS511 Editor in chief: Jack Clifford Managing Editor: Jessica Blanchard Community: Darren Freeman, editor. Lindsay Buchele, Rebecca Newell, reporters. Freelance: Serena Markstrom, editor. Higher Education: Andrew Adams, editor. Brooke Ross, Kristy Hessman, reporters. In-depth: Ben Romano, reporter. Perspectives: Michael Kleckner, editor. Jayna Bergerson, Bret Jacobson, Pat Payne, Eric (Pfeiffer, columnists. Pulse: Monica Hande, editor. Josh Ryneal. Ma son West, reporters. Sports: Jeff Smith, editor. Scott Pesznecker, asst, editor. Peter Hockaday. Adam Jude, Rob bie McCallum, reporters. Student Activities: Jeremy Lang, editor. Emily Gust, Beata Mostafavi, Lisa Toth, reporters. News Aide: Suzanne O’Kelley. Copy: Sara Lieberth, Katie Mayer, copy chiefs. Jessica Davison, Lori Musicer, Tom Patterson, Jessica Richelderter, Rebecca Wilson, copyedi tors. Photo: Catharine Kendall, editor. Dan Brunell, Kevin Calame. Erin Swanson-Davies, photogra phers. 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