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About Just out. (Portland, OR) 1983-2013 | View Entire Issue (Nov. 18, 1994)
/ ju st o u t T n o ra m b er 18. 1 9 9 4 ▼ 19 ELECTION ’ 94 ^ ^ Continued from page 17 any other place in the country.” says Jackson. Reps. Gail Shibley (D-Portland) and Cynthia Wooten (D-Eugcne) won their contests w ith wide majorities, as did Reps. George Eighmey (D-Port land) and Kate Brown (D-Portland). Openly gay Republican candidate Chuck Car penter appears to have won a very close race with Democrat Jeanne Atkins in the House District 7 race. That may ultimately prove beneficial to gay and lesbian Oregonians, because the GOP-con- trolled Legislature will have to deal face-to-face with an openly gay colleague who is also in the majority party. Such exposure may educate some lawmakers and put a face to the negative stereo types promoted by the OCA. Another openly gay Republican candidate— Portland attorney Jerry Keene— lost his bid for a House seat. Other notable races around the state: • Labor Commissioner Mary Wendy Roberts narrowly lost her re-election contest against Re publican challenger Jack Roberts (no relation). Mary Wendy Roberts, you may recall, made pas sage of Senate Bill 34 a cornerstone of her legisla tive agenda last session. That bill barred discrimi nation in housing, employment and public accom modations based on sexual orientation. Though the measure did not pass, Roberts and her staff lobbied tenaciously—some of her opponents would say aggressively—on its behalf. Don’t expect Jack Roberts to do the same, say political observers. • The OCA scored big with Republican Jim Bunn’scongressional win over Democrat Catherine Webber in the 5th District. Bunn was the only candidate to openly support Ballot Measure 13. The race between the OCA-backed Bill Witt, a Republican, and Democrat Elizabeth Furse in the 1st District, still remains too close to call. • In House District 8 (representing parts of Washington County), Republican Eileen Qutub— who was endorsed by the OCA—won a tight race over Democrat Jean Ayers. In House District 30 (representing parts of Marion County), the OCA- endorsed Larry Wells, a Republican, defeated Democrat Karla Wenzel. ational conservative organizations like the Christian Coalition and Focus on the Family sent hundreds of thousands of letters to Oregon urging voters to cast their ballots in favor of measures 13 and 19, which would have allowed localities to define what is “obscene.” Along with The board and staff o f the No on 13 Committee celebrate victory on election night the Roman Catholic Church, the groups also urged voters to reject Ballot Measure 16, which legalizes doctor-assisted suicides. Stop “special rights for those who participate in aberrant sexual behaviors” by voting for Ballot Measure 13, ordered a letter signed by Focus on the Family President James Dobson, a Colorado resi dent. Regarding Ballot Measure 16, he wrote, “The nightmare of the Nazi era appears to be raising its ugly head again in our time.” Despite such pleas and the hundreds of thou sands of dollars they poured into these campaigns, the right-wing groups did not convince enough Oregonians to vote their way. Ballot Measure 13 was defeated, with 51 percent voting no; Ballot Measure 19 lost, with 54 percent voting no; and Ballot Measure 16 squeaked hy, with 51 percent voting yes. "We’re pleased, although I was hoping we'd win with at least 56 percent of the vote,” says a worn-out Julie Davis, campaign manager for the Noon 13 Committee. A similar initiative. Propo sition I, lost in neighboring Idaho by the same margin. The Noon 13 campaign raised nearly $2 million and attracted 2,(XX) volunteers The OCA sponsored the unsuccessful Ballot Measure 9 two years ago along with several suc cessful discriminatory local initiatives (including two that passed Nov. 8—one in Lake County, the other in Grants Pass). Despite its defeat, the OCA has already filed two discriminatory initiatives for 1996. Because of the ongoing threat, Davis says. No on 13 is trans forming into a permanent organization that will assist citizens statewide with electoral politicking. “Unfortunately this threat from the OCA is far from over, and we think it’s important there be an organization in place that can concentrate on these issues on a full-time basis,” she says. M eanwhile, the Cascade AIDS Project, Oregon’s largest HIV and AIDS service organiza tion, says it will likely pull together a list of physicians who would prescribe lethal doses of medication to patients diagnosed as having less than six months to live. That’s the gist of Ballot Measure 16, the nation’s first “death with dignity" law, which will take effect Dec. 8. Many doctors say they would not assist in a patient’s suicide. According to the text of the initiative, a doctor’s participation is strictly voluntary. “We haven’t had calls from any of our clients, just lots of media inquiries,” says Susan Stoltcnberg, CAP’s executive director, “CAP didn’t take a stand on Measure 16, but we feel it’s important we have the necessary information on hand if we get a call from a client who is looking for a doctor referral. We’ll be working on that.”