Economy: Kerry wants to cut taxes for businesses that create jobs in America to prevent
outsourcing, cut taxes for middleclass incomes and cut the national deficit in half to
create a balanced budget.
Education: Kerry would offer a College Opportunity Tax Credit for up to $4,000 of
tuition for every year of college, establish a National Education Trust Fund to increase
school funding, reform the No Child Left Behind Act and implement a "School's Open
Til Six" after-school program.
Health care: Kerry plans to give every American access to the health-care plans avail
able to members of Congress and reduce prescription drug prices by allowing the
re-importation of safe prescription drugs from Canada.
t Environment: Kerry would enact a Conservation Covenant with America to ensure balanced protection
r- for public lands and enhancement of national parks, reform the Clean Air Act, work to curb emissions and
acid rain, and implement a “Restore America's Waters” campaign to restore waterways.
Reproductive rights: Kerry plans to promote increased stem-cell research, require insurance plans to
cover contraception, fight for a meaningful Patients’ Bill of Rights to guarantee women direct access to their
obstetrician-gynecologists and only nominate individuals to the federal bench who will uphold the right to
privacy and the ri#it to choose.
Economy: Bush plans to focus on reforming education to build a skilled work force,
simplifying the tax system, fostering small business growth, promoting home ownership
and lessening energy dependence.
Education: Bush wants to reform hi#i schools by funding extended state assessments of
reading and math skills, strengthening the Head Start program and other services for pre
kindergarten and childcare services, and increase outreach to minority students.
Health care: Bush plans to implement a billion-dollar campaign to extend coverage for
children, work to create a tax credit for low-income families to purchase health insur
ance, and allow small businesses to band together to get better rates from insurance
companies. He also wants to open or expand health centers in rural areas.
George W. Bush
Environment: Bush would work to pass the Clear Skies Initiative to reduce power-plant emissions of sulfur dioxide, ni
trogen oxides and mercury. He also plans to push for caps on general mercury emissions, implement programs to re
store wetland habitats and conserve water, and will seek to promote environmentally sound domestic oil production in 1
percent of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
Reproductive rights: Bush wants to provide funding for adult embryonic stemcell research without further destruction
of human embryos and pass a law banning all human cloning. He also plans to defend the ban on partial-birth abortion,
prevent federal funding for abortion and support parental notification of decisions by minors who seek abortions.
U.S. PRESIDENT
The president acts as commander in chief of
the armed forces and the chief executive of
the federal government. As commander in
chief, the president can send troops into
combat. As chief executive, he enforces laws,
treaties and court rulings. He prepares the
national budget, proposes bills to Congress
and approves or vetoes acts of Congress.
The president also appoints federal officials,
Supreme Court justices and ambassadors
to other nations, and can grant pardons
for federal crimes.
1
Education: Wyden supports Federal
Pell Grants and HOPE Scholarship tu
ition tax credits.
Health care: Wyden would work to
pass legislation to ensure an affordable
drug benefit for all seniors on
Medicare.
Economy: Wyden plans to increase
transportation funding for Oregon and
fight to close loopholes and tax breaks
for companies that outsource jobs
U.S. SENATE
U.S. senators work to pass legislation
through Congress and are responsible
for confirming presidential
appointments, including federal judges
and cabinet secretaries. Senators also
ratify international treaties and are
charged with trying presidents and
federal justices who are impeached by
the House of Representatives.
By: Kira Park, Steven R. Neuman, Jared Paben, Ayisha Yayha and Meghann M. Cuniff
Sources: Emerald interviews with candidates; www.leg.state.or.us; official campaign Web sites
Education: King plans to support leg
islation to remove the federal govern
ment from education and promote com
petition through the voucher systems,
charter schools and home schools.
Health care: King would support
tort reform legislation to reduce frivo
lous malpractice lawsuits, legislation
that encourages privatization of
health insurance and expansion of
Health Savings Accounts.
i
Economy: King would support a national sales tax to replace federal
taxes on income and property, work to eliminate the Internal Revenue
Service, support a freeze on all non-defense discretionary spending
and oppose any law, regulation, or tax policy that rewards and en
courages businesses to outsource jobs.
NATIONAL
CANDIDATES
SECRETARY OF STATE
The secretary of state acts as the state's
chief auditor, working with government
agencies to ensure public dollars are
well-used and that government records and
public information are easily accessible. The
secretary of state also oversees the election
process and serves on the State Land Board
with the governor and state treasurer.
Jobs and education: Bradbury
^ disapproves of using resources from
the public education system to fund
private schools, citing a need to focus
on efficient spending. Bradbury says
the school system will improve if we
continue to use audits to closely
regulate how public schools use
Bill Bradbury
l-V' Fair and honest elections: Bradbury says he has a history of
M combating election and campaign fraud. He found thousands of bal
lot petition signatures for presidential candidate Ralph Nader invalid
because of procedural problems, a decision that prevented Nader
from appearing on the Oregon ballot. Bradbury also eliminated all
punch-card ballots in the state.
V!9| Economy. Bradbury cites his history of safeguarding tax dollars as
c££ 3 prime reason for his re-election. Bradbury says he writ continue to
audit public schools. He says these audits lead to a more efficient
use of tax dollars.
Job* and education: Close says she will
^ use her position on the State Land Board to
efficiently manage school funding and ensure
our natural resources benefit schools. She
sponsored a bill in 2003 that would amend
the Oregon Constitution to increase the
amount of taxes spent on higher education.
/ Fair and honest elections: The
M Close campaign has been critical of
Bradbury’s handling of the Nader ballot Close
petition, saying Close will protect the ini
tiative system and treat all petitioners equally. Close plans to strengthen
the election process by investigating any complaints of fraud or other
forms of misconduct.
Economy: Close wants to use financial and performance audits to
maximize efficiency in the spending of tax dollars. She voted for a 2003
bill that gave tax breaks and special credits to businesses that invest in
research and development.
-- ★AMERICAVOTES2004 ★ —-——
ELECTIONS
UNRAVELED
The Emerald is featuring these candidates because of the impact of their decisions and their involvement
in issues pertaining to the University community. The issues were chosen based on relevance to the position.
The arrangement of the candidates and issues is intended to allow for easy comparison.
{g USA PATRIOT Act: Feldkamp, a
former FBI agent, supports the USA
PATRIOT Act. He says it gives the United
States the tools to hunt terrorists and still
have "strong judicial oversight."
Health care: Feldkamp says improving
businesses and the economy allows
employers to provide better insurance
packages for their employees. He also
supports putting caps on lawsuit
settlements and reforming the courts to
stop frivolous lawsuits against
health-care providers.
Higher education: Feldkamp supports Pell grants, saying that
hard-working students who aren't from affluent families should re
ceive them. He also said improving the economy is key to correcting
higher education.
|im Feldkamp
STATE
CANDIDATES
STATE LEGISLATORS
Members of Oregon’s state Senate are
elected for four-year terms and serve on
the state's legislative assembly and on
different interim committees and task
forces when the legislature is not in ses
sion. With the state House of Represen
tatives, the senators create, amend and
repeal laws by proposing, discussing
and voting on different bills.
0
Crime and safety: Myers
supports continuing work in
the area of victims' rights. He
helped enact a crime victim's
compensation progam and a
crime victim’s assistance
progam in Oregon.
Hardy Myers
S Economy: Myers concentrates his efforts on protecting
the consumer from bad business practices. He expanded
the Consumer Hotline and has worked to combat con
sumer fraud by pharmaceutical companies with unlawful
marketing practices.
Same-sox marriage: Myers declared same-sex marriage
licenses a violation of state law in March but questioned
whether the law was in line with the constitution.
ATTORNEY GENERAL
The Oregon attorney general works as the5"':'#®
state’s lawyer, in charge of ensuring the
Department of Justice works efficiently
and effectively. The attorney general
makes hiring decisions for state attorney
personnel, provides legal direction for all
attorneys in the Department of Justice
and directs and reviews the actions of the
department’s operating divisions.
Crime and safety: Connolly
supports mandatory prison
time for methamphetamine
users and distributors, an in
crease in jail capacity and po
lice force, and a strengthening
of anti-drug law enforcement
teams.
0 Economy: Connolly favors reducing state regulations on
businesses, citing regulation as the reason the state’s unem
ployment rate is so high. He also favors cutting government
spending to reduce taxes and regulating the number of law
suits facing businesses and medical professionals.
yf Same-sex marriage: Connolly is critical of Myers’ stance
on same-sex marriage, saying it hasn’t been strong enough.
Connolly supports a ban on gay marriage.
Peter DeFazio
USA PATRIOT Act: DeFazio voted
against the USA PATRIOT Act. He says
"secret, warrantless searches through
library and bookstore records put our
constitutional freedoms at risk," and
endanger our civil liberties.
Health care: DeFazio wants a basic
insurance package for every American,
with the government helping those who
can least afford it to pay for coverage.
He also supports allowing the importa
tion of FDA-approved drugs to drive
down pharmaceutical costs
U.S. HOUSE OF
REPRESENTATIVES
Members of the U.S. House of Representatives
sponsor, debate, alter and vote on bills in the
U.S. House of Representatives. Those bills are
later approved by the U.S. Senate and presi
dent before they become laws. There are 435
representatives in the House, all of whom are
elected by the approximately 600,000 con
stituents in their districts. All members must
serve on two or more House committees.
%
Higher education: DeFazio wants to expand Pell Grants and give
federal loan subsidies to students, rather than tenders. He also sup
ports giving tax breaks to students with college debts.
STATE SENATE
DISTRICT 4
Education:
Thomas said
he is not ''well
versed" in issues
of higher educa
tion but that he
would become
better informed
when he is
elected.
Environment: Thomas supports using the state’s
natural resources to help boost the bgjng industry
and Oregon's economy, while still protecting endan
gered species. Thomas said we should log new
gowth timber and roll back rules restricting human
access to forests. The state should clean out dry fuel
from burned areas and salvage what it can, he said.
Health care: Thomas said the most effective
way to address higi healthcare costs is to create
healthcare savings efforts, which would depend
on how the state budget is used. He does not sup
port state funding of contraception and says con
traception should be "left up to the family.''
Floyd Prozanski
proposes sotong
the state's higher
education funding
voes by establish
ing a "dedicated
funding source"
such as an
endowment to be
used exclusively
for higher education. He wants to increase the
minimum corporate income tax and put some
of the revenue toward education.
. Environment: Prozanski said he supports the
Northwest Rural Employment and Forest
Restoration Act, which would require the thin
ning of second-growth timber and protect old
growth, because it would help stifle forest fires.
Health cere: Prozanski voted for reduced costs
for prescription drugs and the creation of a bulk
purchasing progam for prescription drugs to
lower the healthcare costs.
STATE HOUSE
DISTRICT 8
Paul Holvey
Health care;
Holvey wants to
fight cuts to the
Oregon Health
Plan and work for
accessible and
affordable health
care. He also sup
ports a woman’s
right to choose.
0 Economy: Holvey wants to provide livingwage
jobs for working families and a level playing field
for Oregon businesses. He also proposes a
series of tax reforms that will re-establish tax fair
ness for Oregonians.
4
%
Environment: Holvey wants to protect road
less areas and practice sustainable forestry. He
said he is concerned about land management
and will work to prevent water contamination.
Education: Holvey wants increased state fund
ing for higher education. He wants to fuHy fund
K-12 education and strengthen already success
ful job training and workforce development.
Health care:
Young says doc
tors and patients
must be put in
charge of health
care decisions.
Bill Young
Economy: Young wants to eliminate wasteful
government spending. He says local business
es must be given the flexibility to create better
paying jobs.
* Environment: Young wants to protect the
environment for future generations and pro
pose incentives that encourage the develop
ment of reliable alternative energy programs.
Education: Young wants to match stable
^ school funding with accountability for admin
istrators to meet achievement standards. He
also wants to work toward maintaining afford
ability in higrer education.