4J School Board votes to name school after Chavez
Supporters of naming the
school after Cesar Chavez
carried signs to the meeting
and celebrated afterward
By Moriah Balingit
Freelance Reporter
One of Eugene's two new elemen
tary schools will be named after the
late labor-rights activist Cesar
Chavez, the 4J Eugene District
School Board decided Wednesday
night, marking a victory for commu
nity activists and members of the
Latino community.
More than 150 people crowded the
auditorium of the 4J District Educa
tion Center, with supporters carrying
banners and signs and wearing red
clothing, a sign of unity and struggle.
A substantial amount of the two
and-a-half-hour meeting was dedi
cated to public comment, all of
which was in fervent support for
naming the school after Chavez.
Marshall Peter, chair of the Eu
gene School District Equity Com
mittee and father of two students
who attend schools within the dis
trict, commented on Chavez's con
tribution to the community beyond
just the Latino demographic.
"Naming of a school after
(Chavez) sends an important mes
sage to all of our community and
our students about our core beliefs
and the difference that a determined
individual can make," he said.
Former Lane County Republican
Party Chairman Jim Hale invoked a
common saying in his comments.
"Mi casa es su casa (my house is
your house) ... mi escuela es su es
cuela (my school is your school),"
he said to the audible satisfaction of
the crowd.
Local NAACP Chapter President
Marilyn Mays spoke about her
nephew, a student in the 4J District.
"I want him to stay faithful that
he's growing up in a community
that's inclusive," she said.
After public comment was com
plete, the board members proceed
ed to vote on the names for the two
new elementary schools after re
vealing their preferences and a brief
explanation. The members stated
preference did not necessarily re
flect their vote.
Board members Thomas Her
rmann, Craig Smith and Mike Fox
stated "Blue Heron" as their prefer
ence, citing the school's proximity to
the Amazon wetlands, a site fre
quented by the bird, and the con
nection to nature it elicits.
"I think that it evokes a theme
that can be used at an elementary
school level," Smith said.
Vice Chair Virginia Thompson
chose "Chinook" as her preference
because of the significance of the
fish in Oregon's history.
The remaining members, Chris
Pryor, Anette Spickard and board
chair Beth Gerot chose "Cesar
Chavez" as their preference and
echoed the sentiments of earlier
public commentators.
"He serves as a role model and
has great symbolism for our growing
Latino population," Gerot said.
After the board voted in favor of
the name, the crowd exploded into
cheers, and some were moved to
tears. About half the attendees
flooded into the parking lot for a
celebratory rally and a candlelight
procession, chanting the name of
the night's hero, Cesar Chavez.
The board also decided by a close
vote to name the Northside school
for local hero Bertha Holt, the
famed founder of an international
adoption agency.
Moriah Balingit is a freelance
reporter for the Emerald.
CANDIDATES
continued from page 1
without doing everything we can to
facilitate their education," he said.
Norm Thomas is the treasurer for
the Lane County Republicans and the
only person running for his party's
nomination. He filed to run on Satur
day, just days before the Tuesday
deadline to apply for office.
Thomas is also a member of Unit
ed Way of Lane County, where he
serves on the Information Technolo
gy Committee.
Thomas did not return calls from
the Emerald.
Representative,
House District 8
House District 8 includes the Univer
sity area and covers most of west Lane
County. Four candidates are vying for
that district's seat in the Oregon House
of Representatives.
Lane County commissioners ap
pointed Paul Holvey to the seat in Janu
ary after Prozanski was appointed to
the Senate.
Holvey, a Democrat, is a union or
ganizer for the Pacific Northwest Re
gional Council of Carpenters.
Holvey said he is a voice for working
class people and will advocate for liv
ing-wage jobs, health care, social servic
es and education.
He said he wants to look at reducing
tax breaks for large businesses and oth
ers kinds of tax reform to bring more
money to the state
"We need to come up with a differ
ent source of revenue that isn't so re
liant on income tax and the support of
working class people," he said. "We
need some tax fairness in this state."
Certified Public Accountant Marlene
"Mitzi" Colbath, a Democrat, sees the
state's economic status as the most im
. portant issue facing the Legislature
"Everything relates back to
Senator, District 4:
Floyd Prozanski-D
Norm Thomas-R
STATE LEGISLATIVE CANDIDATES FOR EUGENE AREA
Representative, District 8: Representative, District 12: Representative, District 13:
Paul Hoivey-D Elizabeth Terry Beyer-D Robert Ackerman-D
Marlene “Mitzi" ColbattvD Gary Pierpoint-R
HartWilliams-D
Bill Young-R
Representative, District 14:
Debi Farr-R
Rich Cunningham-D
Bev Ficek-D
Prozanski
Senate District 4
incumbent
Colbath
House District 8
candidate
Holvey
House District 8
incumbent
Williams
House District8
candidate
Young
House District 8
candidate
finances," she said.
She said before the Legislature can
address education, job training, or
health and human services, it needs to
have a balanced financial base.
"We need to work on the revenue is
sues, " she said, adding the state needs to
look into auditing all the government
organizations more often.
Colbath serves on the Eugene Plan
ning Commission and the West Eugene
Task Force, and she has been a munici
pal budget and finance manager.
Tax preparer Hart Williams, a Demo
crat, said he entered the race because he
didn't think Holvey and Colbath
would represent the interests of the
University community.
"I saw the campaigns of the other
candidates and felt like there was a large
portion of this district that would not
be served, "he said.
Williams filed on Tuesday, the last
day to apply, and his application is
pending while the state confirms that
he lives in District 8.
He said he wanted to protect educa
tion and extracurricular programs, and
support public infrastructure such as
roads and parks.
Williams said compromise and bal
ance between the two parties are the
most important parts of his platform.
He added that a balance should exist
between taxing and spending.
Williams is the vice chairman of the
Democratic Party for House District 8,
but he said he is resigning from that po
sition because he believes it is a conflict
of interest.
Bill Young, the only Republican
in the race, filed for the position on
the deadline day, and his applica
tion is pending.
He said accountability in state
spending is the focus of his campaign.
He said government agendes should
justify their budgets every two years on
a "more or less line-by-line" basis, ac
counting for exacdy what they spend.
"We need to make sure that the
funds they have are used appropriate
ly, "he said.
Young said proper spending would
fund education, law enforcement and
care for the elderly, and it would provide
enough room for criminals in prisons.
He said the Oregon Health Plan
could also be cut by eliminating what
he said are ineligible users eating up the
plan's services.
The veterinarian ran for the House
District 40 seat four years ago.
Representative,
House Districts 12,13,14
House Districts 12,13,14 collectively
represent the rest of Lane County,
including Eugene and Springfield.
Elizabeth Terry Beyer, the incumbent
and a Democrat is the only person run
ning to represent House District 12. She
has served one term thus far.
Competing to represent House
District 13 are Robert Ackerman,
the incumbent and a Democrat,
and Republican Gary Pierpoint.
They will face off in the November
general election.
There is no incumbent in the
House District 14 race, though Re
publican Debi Farr is campaigning to
replace her husband, Rep. Pat Farr, R
Eugene. Campaigning for the Democ
ratic nomination are Rich Cunning
ham and Bev Ficek.
Contact the city/state politics reporter
at nikacartson@dailyemerald.com.
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