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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Oct. 25, 2000)
Oregon Daily Emerald 25TH OF OCTOBER, 2000 VOTERS' GUIDE For expanded coverage of the election, visit the Emerald’s Web site at www.dailyemerald.com. The Oregon Voters’ Pamphlet is available on the Internet through a link at: www.oregonvotes.com. Decisions, decisions, decisions By Darren Freeman Oregon Daily Emerald This is an election of big dimen sions: a 376-page state voters’ pam phlet. Twenty-six state ballot meas ures. Dozens of candidates running for state and federal offices. And repord levels of political dollars buying hundreds of television ads and radio spots, with each ad trying to draw attention to a single issue. It might seem overwhelming, es pecially to students who are al ready struggling just to keep up with school. But make no mistake, the stakes are high in this election, the first ex clusively vote-by-mail election in the nation. On Nov. 7, voters will choose the next president of the United States, a decision that will affect the flavor of legislation for at least the next four years. Furthermore, the next president will likely appoint be tween one and four justices to the Supreme Court, which could make landmark decisions in the immedi ate future about abortion, gay rights and campaign finance. Polls show presidential candi dates Al Gore and George W. Bush are neck-in-neck in Oregon and throughout the nation. This is an election that will likely be a dead heat until Nov. 7. Within Oregon, legislative seats and the offices of the secretary of state, treasurer and attorney general are up for grabs. Whoever voters put into these positions will have a direct effect on the state’s lawmak ing, financing and law enforce ment. The product of Oregon’s initia tive system, 26 ballot measures are now before voters, and several of them would significantly change life in Oregon. Three tax reform measures — Measures 8,91 and 93 — would af fect all state-funded programs, in cluding state universities. Measure 9, sponsored by the Oregon Citizens Alliance, would ban schools from sanctioning or en couraging homosexuality. Though this measure wouldn’t directly af fect the University, it would signifi cantly change the way homosexu ality is addressed in K-12 schools and community colleges, including Lane Community College. Another measure should pique the interest of those who feel politicians are too beholden to campaign contributors: Measure 6 would offer public funding to can didates who agree to limit the pri vate contributions they accept. Measure 94 would repeal mandatory minimum sentences for violent crimes, an aspect of Oregon law enforcement voters put in place in 1994 with Measure 11. In Eugene, a levy measure would give the city more than $25 million to build a new police station and buy land for a new fire facility. A similar but more expensive levy was shot down by voters last May, but supporters of the new levy hope the smaller price tag will seem like a fair price to get the po lice department out of its cramped City Hall headquarters. This voters guide contains more information about these and other issues on the ballot. Though this guide is intended to help students make sense of the issues and candi dates this election year, the Emer ald recommends readers also pe ruse the state voters’ pamphlet.
