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Quite a journey * Death be not proud
If Oregon cross country runner Michael Kasahun Hindu traditions and perceptions are discussed as
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Death be not proud
Hindu traditions and perceptions are discussed as
part of an educational series. PAGE6A
Thursday
November 9,2000
Volume 102, Issue 52
Weather
TODAY
RAIN LIKELY
high 50, low 30
Lawsuit, grumbles regarding Florida election
While
lawyers
argue, a
presidential
race hangs
in mid-air
By David Royse and Karin Meadows
The Associated Press
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. —
Election officials on Wednesday
disqualified more than 19,000
ballots in a Florida county where
confusion over the punch-card
system led to a flood of com
plaints and a lawsuit.
Three people filed suit
Wednesday to seek a new elec
tion in Palm Beach County,
claiming the punch-card ballot
was so confusing that they acci
dentally voted for Reform Party
candidate Pat Buchanan instead
of Vice President Al Gore.
Hundreds of Gore supporters
also called the county elections
office Wednesday, saying they
feared they had mistakenly voted
for Buchanan.
Lawyers for the Democratic Par
ty said that the design of the Palm
Beach County ballot is illegal and
that they may ask for a re-vote, but
the party took no immediate ac
tion.
Election officials said 19,120
ballots in the county were nulli
fied because they showed more
than one vote for president.
Statewide, Gore was behind
Texas Gov. George W. Bush by
fewer than 1,800 votes, and Flori
Turn to President, page 3A
Inside
The media are
flabbergasted by
this historic
presidential
election. PAGE 5A
Dan Brunell Emerald
Rep. Vicki Walker talks with Springfield School Superintendent Jamon Kent at the Lane County Fairgrounds Tuesday.
Walker takes tight race
State Rep.
Vicki Walker
pulls out a
comeback
victory
By Rebecca Newell
Oregon Daily Emerald
State Rep. Vicki Walker,
D-Eugene, has claimed vic
tory in her re-election bid
to represent District 41, but
her opponent, former Eu
gene Mayor Jeff Miller, isn’t
yet conceding defeat.
Wire reports show that as
of 7 p.m. Wednesday, 100
percent of the precincts had
been counted, and Walker
had won by 632 votes.
But Miller said he was
told the race is still too
close to call, and he will not
concede defeat, despite the
polls now being closed for
Turn to Walker, page 5A
Reactions
are varied
By Kristy Hessman
Oregon Daily Emerald
Tuesday night, University stu
dents nestled snugly in their beds,
with visions of presidential candi
dates dancing in their heads.
Turn to Students, page 4A
Oregon’s votes
still undecided
■The state fallout is broad, as the
presidential race and several local
contests remain unresolved
By Jeremy Lang
Oregon Daily Emerald
Oregon voters began filing their bal
lots more than three weeks ago, but now,
two days after the election, the fate of
several candidate races and ballot meas
ures remains uncertain.
At 7 p.m. Wednesday, with 93 percent
of the vote counted, Texas Gov. George
W. Bush led Vice President Al Gore in
Oregon by only 197 votes. A number of
pivotal state ballot measures and a hand
ful of local races also remain undecid
ed. Measure 9, which would ban sanc
tioning homosexuality in public
schools, is failing by 3,615 votes, but
election officials haven’t publicly re
ported the measure’s outcome.
With the exception of Florida, which
is in the midst of a vote recount, Oregon
is the last state in the nation to announce
its final vote totals and award its elec
toral votes to the winner. Jen Stineff, as
sistant to Oregon Secretary of State Bill
Bradbury, said the mail-in ballot system
played a major role in the ballot backup.
“It’s our first general mail-in election,
and we’re treading some new ground,”
Stineff said. “A number of ballots in the
larger counties still need to be counted. ”
She said election offices statewide
faced a last-minute rush of voters deliv
ering their ballots from noon to 8 p.m.
Tuesday, when Oregon polls closed.
The Lane County Election Office was
no exception. Keri Brunig, a volunteer for
Turn to Fallout, page 5A
Inside
Professors react to
the many election
undercurrents.
PAGESA
I have
never seen
so many
people get
excited
about
licking
stamps.
Dick
Cheney
Republican
candidate
for vice
president^^
EPD conducts investigation of its relationship with DPS
The Eugene
Police
Department is
examining
officers’
complaints,
but the two
departments
remain on
good terms
By Andrew Adams
and Rebecca Newell
Oregon Daily Emerald
The Department of Public Safe
ty’s relationship with the Eugene
Police Department is under
scrutiny, a Eugene police sergeant
confirmed recently.
EPD Sgt. Tim McCarthy of In
ternal Affairs confirmed that his
unit is conducting an investiga
tion into both departments be
cause of complaints from DPS pa
trol officers and officers working
the EPD campus detail. McCarthy
said he could not speak about de
tails of the investigation.
“There was a personnel matter
— an internal conflict and per
formance issue going back and
forth,” he said. “This includes
line officers and management of
DPS.”
In addition to the current inves
tigation, the University depart
ment also has faced allegations of
age discrimination and a hostile
workplace from former DPS em
ployees, as well as the question
able status of a lieutenant from
the department’s management
team. Lt. Marte Martinez was
placed on administrative leave for
undisclosed reasons at the begin
ning of the school year and is still
off the job, using personal vaca
tion time. DPS management will
not say if she can or will return.
The investigation also comes at
a time when the police and DPS
are stalled in renegotiating their
contract. DPS Director Tom Fitz
patrick said the negotiations have
been “on and off for several
months” because of issues be
tween the two departments that
have yet to be resolved. He said
key officers in both departments
have had scheduling conflicts,
which prevented discussion.
He said he would not discuss
what those issues were.
“It’s negotiations - I wouldn’t
say if it was good or bad,” he said.
He said that relations between
the two departments are general
ly positive.
Fitzpatrick said he was not
aware of any current investigation
into DPS by the Eugene Police
Department. He said there was an
Turn toEPD, page6A
ii There
are reasons
police carry
weapons
and...secu
rity guards
don’t.
Anthony
Hensley
steward
opeu yy