Commentary
Bipartisan House would benefit state
I knew something was wrong an hour after I was
sworn in.
All 60 representatives had just taken an oath to
work for the people of the state of Oregon, yet when
it came time to elect the Speaker of the House, 33 Re
publicans voted for one person and 27 Democrats
voted for another. Not one representative, including
me, was willing to breach party loyalty.
Equally sobering, the two contenders for Speak
er had just spent a year raising money for their par
_ ty's candidates running
GUEST
COMMENTARY
for the Legislature. Their
strength was their politi
cal prowess, not their
- policy expertise.
That's when 1 began to think this process needs
to change.
In fact, in those first few days of my term I noticed
other problems that most Oregonians never hear or
read about.
Maybe I was naive, but I could have never imag
ined what happened to Dr. Alan Bates in his first
term. Bates is a respected family physician from
Ashland who helped write the Oregon Health
Plan. He is a Democrat. And because of that, the
Republican leaders refused to assign him to the
health care committee. Apparently his formidable
expertise in health care might have interfered with
the Republican agenda. Or it might have made Dr.
Bates look good.
What kind of system is this?
It is not just Republicans. Democrats are just as
guilty when it comes to legislative strategies that of
ten have as much to do with winning elections as
doing the right thing for Oregon.
The 2001 Legislature met in five special ses
sions, each more gut-wrenching than the last.
Our state faced monumental budget woes. So
how did we sort through our options? The Re
publican representatives went into one caucus
room; the Democrats went into another. Such
separation breeds suspicion, mistrust and con
flict.
Both parties spent hours strategizing how to
blame the other for any painful, unpopular pre
scriptions. Caught in the crossfire were schools, vul
nerable citizens and taxpayers.
In my tenure in Salem, I've seen countless
examples of party leaders protecting the special
interests that supported their party during the pre
vious election cycle. As the parties compete for the
money that brings them power, the interests of
our citizens are too often left by the side of the
road.
There is a better way.
We should make our Legislature nonpartisan.
Primary elections would consist of a single contest
open to all; the top two vote-getters would advance
to the general election. Party labels would not ap
pear on the ballot.
Crazy? Hardly. Look at Nebraska, not exactly a
land of wild-eyed radicals. The Cornhusker State
has had a nonpartisan legislature for 70 years.
Oregon faces daunting challenges: aching un
employment, crowded classrooms and a dys
functional tax system. It's hard to find solutions
in partisan warfare. But those challenges will be
easier to meet if we can tap the talent of Oregon's
best leaders — regardless of their political stripes.
Democratic State Sen. Charlie Ringo represents
Northwest Portland and the Sunset Highway Corridor.
March division separates feminist allies
There have often been articles or
editorials or opinions stated in the
- Emerald that have frustrated me.
Generally,
these frus
trations
make for
some good
conversa
tion with
my peers or at least provoke some
good internal dialogue. Not until
recently have I actually had the urge
to write something down, hoping it
would be published. The news in
brief outlining the decision of the
f*
■ COUPES i
COMMENTARY
segregation of marchers for the Take
Back the Night scheduled April 29
("Take Back the Night march will
feature three sections," ODE, March
3) exasperates me.
Activists will be "divided" into
women, gender-queer and gender
neutral. I know what a woman is, I
am not sure what is meant by gen
der-queer and gender-neutral, and
furthermore, I don't think it matters
what the difference is. 1 don't under
stand why when the grounds for the
demonstration are so uncomplicat
ed and clear (i.e. education of and
prevention of sexual violence
against women) it needs to be
turned into an intricate division of
who can march with whom.
This is also along the same vein
as the protesting and heated emo
tions that were brought about by
"The Vagina Monologues." Do
people not realize that the whole
point of these two events is to in
form about women's issues and
help put a stop to the prevalent vi
olence against women? Why are so
many people who have the same
goals and objectives spending time
arguing the minor points? This
only serves to detract from and
lessen the strength that is amassed
by groups of the populace, who
are, on the whole, fighting for the
same thing.
Everyone is different; no one lives
the same experience regardless of
gender, sexual orientation or race. To
say that someone hasn't truly expe
rienced something, because they
don't fit into the categories that you
have defined those experiences to
fall into, is absurd.
Laura Shirtcliff is a graduate student
studying chemistry.
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