Ducks fly to 3-3 against Wildcats | 7
An independent newspaper
www. dailyemerald. com
Since 1900 | Volume 106, Issue 37 | Monday, October 18, 2004
★ AMERICA VOTES 2004 ★
THE
POLITICAL
GAME of
Oregon state Senate
candidates promote
various strategies to
increase economic growth
BY TONY LUCERO
NEWS REPORTER
The economy is a key issue
that voters want candidates to ad
dress in the upcoming elections. Both
Democrats and Republicans have used Ore
gon as an example of how their party can
solve economic concerns such as
unemployment, outsourcing, health care and
education.
Oregonians have suffered in the recent eco
nomic slump, ranking third in the nation with
a 7.4 percent unemployment rate, according
to a U.S. Department of Labor report complet
ed in August. At 6.8 percent, Eugene is a clear
reflection of the high rate of unemployment in
the state.
Different candidates have proposed several
plans to tackle economic problems.
In the U.S. Senate seat race, incumbent Ron
Wyden said the federal government has
turned a blind eye to the outsourcing of Amer
ican jobs overseas and has failed to make the
kinds of investments that lead to long-term
economic growth.
“To encourage job creation in Oregon, I’ve
fought for key investments in areas that lead
to economic growth, like higher education,
worker training and transportation infrastruc
ture construction,” he said.
Steven Newman | Managing EDrroR
WHAT IS YOUR KEY
ECONOMIC CONCERN
IN THIS ELECTION?
"The biggest concern for me is tuition. When you can't
take care of people at home, we shouldn't be at war.
Bush has made it clear he's not concerned about Ameri
can people and the state of things here at home."
Caitlin Porter | Undeclared
"I think health care is way too high and tuition is spiral
ing out of control, which hinders students from getting
an education. A tot of jobs created now are tower quality
and paying."
Anthony Green | Undeclared
"Overall the deficit because it confronts a new genera
tion, and I want our generation to have it planned for.”
Lance Lucas | Business Administration
added that he has also
worked to make the state a jobs leader
e growing nanotechnology industry by
ng legislation to provide $3.7 billion for
nanotechnology research in the country.
“I’ve already begun working to direct fund
ing to Oregon researchers,” he said.
Republican A1 King, who is running against
Wyden, said he believes that no tax breaks or
incentives should be given to companies that
outsource jobs.
On the other hand, David Brownlow of the
Constitution Party, a minority political party
running for the Senate seat, said there is a
need to stop the government from hurting
jobs.
“Ron Wyden refuses to look at the Consti
tution and understand that the federal govern
ment needs to stop trying to help the econo
my on the state level because it does a poor
job of it,” Brownlow said.
Brownlow added that 8 percent of federal
expenditures are unlawful and could be put
back in Oregonians’ hands.
Another minority political party candidate,
Dan Fitzgerald of the Libertarian party, cites
the federal income tax as a burdensome eco
nomic cost hurting Oregonians.
“That is $3.2 billion dollars into
ECONOMY, page 5
Interim DPS director nears end of run
Despite accolades from co-workers, Tom Hicks may be required
to compete on a national level to maintain his current position
BY KARA HANSEN
NEWS REPORTER
Plans to appoint a full-time director at the
University’s Department of Public Safety will
remain on the fence for at least a few more
months, but Vice President for Administration
Dan Williams hopes to resolve the situation
by the time he retires in July 2005.
Former DPS Associate Director Tom Hicks
has served as interim director since April 1,
2003. The interim position cannot be extend
ed past December 2005 under the University’s
policies, said Williams, who is Hicks’ direct
supervisor.
“It’s a little unusual to have someone in an
interim position for this length of time,”
Williams said. “I asked Tom to be interim un
til such time has passed to decide whether
we’re going to continue to maintain the status
quo or whether we’re going to make some
changes in the nature of the department’s ac
tivities and responsibilities.”
Williams said he wasn’t entirely satisfied
with the University and Eugene Police
Department’s relationship when former DPS
Director Tom Fitzpatrick retired in winter
2003 because EPD focused on general crime
while the University prioritized combating
property loss. But making changes to DPS be
came less urgent when a new EPD police
chief was appointed in January 2004 and
when Sgt. Mark Montes was hired in March
2004 to lead the EPD campus security team,
he said.
“The question we need to answer is: Do we
need to make changes in the authorities and
the size of our DPS staff in order to be as ef
fective in providing security for the campus?”
Williams said. “My feeling early on was that
we probably do. But when things began to
improve in our relationship with the Eugene
Police Department, I thought we ought to give
it a bit of time to see if we will be satisfied
with the way things are.”
Hicks, who has worked for DPS for about
20 years, said he will continue to expand and
improve the department regardless of whether
he becomes a candidate for the official direc
tor's position.
A $10,275 stipend has bumped his $68,495
associate director salary to $78,770 annually.
Williams said the increase offsets Hicks’ ad
ditional responsibilities because he is “really
doing almost two people's jobs.”
Since Hicks became interim director, the
department has created a public safety
advisory group to examine how DPS func
tions in regard to the University’s needs, ex
panded the authority of officers to issue mu
nicipal citations and started to review the
school’s emergency response plan and park
ing needs.
“It’s not just a caretaker position,” he said.
“I think the expectation from Dan Williams is
that I take the steps necessary for the
department, regardless of my interim role. I
like working at the UO and I love working at
the Department of Public Safety, but I
honestly want to see what’s best for this de
partment and for the University. And if it’s de
cided that they want to bring somebody in
with some fresh ideas, 1 would support that
fully. ”
Hicks said the search for a full-time direc
tor will likely be national. Williams said he’s
uncertain when the University will form a
committee to find candidates for the position,
but he hopes to know within a few months
HICKS, page 5
Violations
by ASUO
senators
debatable
The Senate defends its 'artful
interpretation of public notice
statute for executive sessions
BY MEGHANN M. CUNIFF
NEWS REPORTER
Confusion brewed in the ASUO Student
Senate in the past two weeks regarding the
proper execution of executive sessions under
Oregon’s Public Meetings Law, causing the
Senate to violate the law repeatedly.
A total of four violations occurred — three
during the Oct. 6 Senate meeting and one dur
ing the Oct. 13 meeting. Both Senate President
James George and Senate Vice President Colin
Andries said the Senate believes because the
executive sessions were not the only item on
the meeting agenda, no type of notice needed
to be given.
Jack Orchard, a private attorney in Port
land, said this interpretation is incorrect.
“If they anticipate that there’ll be (an execu
tive session), then it needs to be on the agen
da, and it needs to be noted as to reasons for
the executive session,” he said.
Andries, a law student, said he “respectful
ly” disagreed.
“ORS 192.60 says only if we have solely an
executive session do we have to” notify the
public or news media, he said.
However, Oregon’s Public Meetings Law
also requires notice of all regular meetings be
given to the public and news media. Kyu Ho
Youm, a University professor and John Mar
shall First Amendment Chair at the School of
Journalism and Communication, said an ex
ecutive session held as part of a regular meet
ing is considered part of that meeting. Any
thing included in a regular meeting must be
SENATE, page 5
IN BRIEF
Michael Moore brings
voting tour to Eugene
Political filmmaker and author Michael
Moore will urge people to vote for
presidential candidate John Kerry at noon to
day when he brings his controversial "Slacker
Uprising Tour” to the Lane County Events
Center.
Moore will deliver a monologue and read
letters he has received from soldiers in Iraq at
the show, which is sponsored by the UO Cul
tural Forum.
Moore’s shows often include surprise
guests and interaction with the audience.
In an event press release, Moore said the
tour is designed to spur people who might not
vote into action. His goal is to see more than
56 percent of the voting public vote in this
election, something that has not occurred
since 1968, according to the release.
“It is not the wealthy and the elite who
don’t vote,” Moore said. “The non-voters are
the poor, the disenfranchised, the single
moms and young people. I am calling for a
non-voter uprising, led by thousands of cam
pus slackers who proudly sleep ‘til noon and
who believe papers are for rolling, not
reading.
MOORE, page 5