Thursday
Editor in chief: Jack Clifford
Managing Editor: Jessica Blanchard
Newsroom: (541) 346-5511
Room 300, Erb Memorial Union
P.O. box 3159, Eugene, OR 97403
E-mail: ode@oregon.uoregon.edu
EDITORIAL EDITOR: MICHAEL J. KLECKNER opededitor@journalist.com
Think globally, vote locally
This is the second half of the Emerald's endorsements for the 2000 election.
Ballots can be returned to any drop box location or to the Lane County Elections office by 8 p.m. Nov. 7.
State
Representative,
41st district —
Vicki Walker
District 41,
which includes
the campus
area, is lucky to
have two strong
candidates for
the state House
of Representa
tives. Jeff Miller
and Vicki Walk
er both have the experience and
drive necessary to make a differ
ence for us in the Legislature.
Both candidates profess to work
in a bipartisan manner, and this
endorsement was a difficult deci
sion. The current Republican-con
trolled Legislature, however,
showed during this past session
that their priorities don’t include
campus issues like education
funding and health care. For that
reason, and for her experience,
we endorse Vicki Walker for Dis
trict 41.
Jeff Miller spent eight years in
local government as a city council
member and mayor of Eugene.
Miller accomplished much, work
ing to create jobs and helping es
tablish the Human Rights Com
WALKER
mission in Eugene. When he
spoke with us, Miller emphasized
the bipartisan nature of his hu
man rights efforts in Eugene.
Many of Miller’s ideas were fine,
but he seemed a bit too polished
and slick. His down-home style
felt calculated, as when he told us
that local leaders are good choic
es to work in state government
because “mayors think differently
than partisan folk.” We applaud
Miller’s emphasis on children’s lit
eracy, but he sidestepped ques
tions about business and growth,
saying that we “want to preserve
quality of life,” but offering no
concrete commitment to nodal
development or protecting the
Urban Growth Boundary.
Vicki Walker spent the last two
years in the Legislature, working
from the minority side of the aisle
but still accomplishing many of
her goals. Her focus has been edu
cation funding and a variety of
health issues. Walker used parlia
mentary procedure to bring a bill
requiring pesticide-use tracking to
the floor and got enough biparti
san support to get it passed in
spite of the agricultural industry’s
opposition. She helped pass a bill
providing deafness screening for
newborns, worked on youth sui
cide prevention, fought to have
HMOs cover mental illness as well
as physical illness, and won tax
deferrals for senior and disabled
homeowners.
Walker also worked extensively
to secure adequate funding for
schools. Her two children are in
college (one attends the Universi
ty), so she understands student
needs. Walker’s efforts for educa
tion funding were overrun, how
ever, by the Republican majority
in the Legislature, who Walker
said was unwilling to sit down
with Democrats to talk about
funding. Instead, the 1999 legisla
tive session was the third-longest
in Oregon history because of a
lack of consensus on the school
budget.
Walker’s personal style seemed
a bit brusque and perhaps conde
scending. And for all her biparti
san efforts, she seemed bitter to
ward the majority party. She is
certainly a no-nonsense, shoot
from-the-hip kind of politician —
and that could help her deal with
the partisan attitude in the legis
lature. But Walker’s personal style
aside, the Republicans’ unwilling
ness to work democratically
makes us want to send a Democ
rat back to the Legislature. If
enough districts around the state
do this, the Republican majority
will be smaller. Perhaps then
they’ll decide they have to com
promise and let all Oregon voters
have a say in state government.
Vicki Walker will fight for students
and campus issues effectively.
u.s.
Representative,
4th District —
Peter DeFazio
Peter De
Fazio has
served the 4th
District in the
U.S. House of
Representa
tives since
1986. His
record on high
er education is
sues is clear — he has fought for
more funding for higher educa
tion on the state level and has
worked with the president to pro
cure more money for financial aid
and student loans. He wrote legis
lation protecting GTFs. DeFazio
has regularly been given out
standing grades by con
servation groups for his voting
record on the environment. He
has voted for every piece of cam
paign finance reform legislation
to come before the House. Such
legislation has been minimal, he
says, and ultimately denied by the
Republicans, but he’s trying. De
Fazio helped write Oregon’s Mea
sure 6, which is a well-crafted
measure that would put Oregon
at the forefront of the campaign
finance reform movement.
We also met with David Duem
ler, the Socialist candidate for De
Fazio’s seat. He had some impor
tant concerns about more voices
being heard in the political
process, but ultimately he lacks
the experience to represent us in
Congress. DeFazio told us that he
shares Duemler’s concerns about
our narrow democracy, and that’s
why he’s been fighting for cam
paign finance reform.
John Lindsey, the Republican can
didate in this district, was unable to
meet with the editorial board due
to a busy campaign schedule, and
he did not return our cal Is to sched
ule a phone interview.
We could say much more about
DeFazio’s record, but suffice to
say that he has, for 14 years, been
an outstanding, principled politi
cian. Opposed to Congressional
pay raises, DeFazio has used his
raises to establish scholarships for
college students. He has the expe
rience to get things done in Wash
ington. We do have some concern
that DeFazio may appear at times
to represent only the most liberal
constituents of his district. He
should be sure that all citizens in
his district have their concerns ad
dressed. Let’s give him that
chance with another term in
Washington.
City of Eugene measures
Measure 20-36
NO* Would spend $47.5 million to
1 build a new, central police
headquarters downtown. Almost $22 million of
this money would be spent on interest, noton
public safety. City leaders seem to really want a
law enforcement edifice in the heart of the city.
Voters have rejected this idea before, but the
city has retooled it and focused on marketing
the idea to citizens rather than coming up with
new ideas. Eugene residents have expressed
their desire, by rejecting previous measures and
through surveys, to have a focus on community
policing and crime prevention rather than pun
ishment. We agree that the police need im
proved facilities. City headquarters needs retro
fitting. Substations need more money, and more
substations need to be built. But Measure 20-36
is not the right solution.
Measure 20-37
VCC Would raise $3.5 million over
Tat two years to spend on commu
nity programs for youth. Eu
gene residents have also expressed their desire
over the years for improved opportunities for
children. Crime prevention starts by keeping
kids involved in their community and off the
streets. This is an inexpensive way to develop
more programs for kids and deserves our sup
port.
Lane County measures
Measure 20-38
VEC ♦ Wou*d impose a local option
T levy to raise approximately $40
million over four years for ex
panding the Forest Work Camp, increasing juve
nile corrections and rehabilitation programs
and maintaining current services. While this is a
bit of money, some of it is being used to replace
lost federal funding and some of it is being used
to increase residential alcohol and drug treat
ment and risk assessments for youth. This
seems to be a good mix of a conservative in
crease for services and additional spending on
rehabilitation. Voters would be wise to make
this investment.
Measures 20-39
VCC ♦ Wou*d float 3 bond to spend
Yt3t just over $8 million for con
structing a new county jail in
take center, increasing county jail beds and
most importantly, renovating the county jail
heating and cooling system. This is a prudent
investment in our facilities. It is a small price to
pay for a structurally sound building.