ju st out ▼ Juno 1 6 . I M S ▼ IS
Honoring their own
Rural activists gather to exchange strategies and give kudos
T
For Those Who
Appreciate
Superior Service.
Deborah Betron
(.RB, GRI
Broker/Owner
Chris Bonner, (,R1
Associate Broker
by Inga Sorensen
ommon vision and cooperation—
those are the key ingredients to creat
ing healthy and more inclusive com
munities, so says Marcy Westerling,
director of the Rural Organizing
Project, a grass-roots group that continues to
assist dozens of local human dignity groups in
striving toward that lofty goal.
“W e’re currently working on our ‘Enough is
Enough’ campaign, which helps citizens collec
tively name problems facing
their communities and offers
specific strategies they can use
to tackle those challenges,” says
Westerling.
Members of rural and small
town civil rights groups gath
ered March 18 to swap strate
gies and share do’s and don’ts
during the third annual Rural
Caucus and Strategizing Ses
sion in Albany.
More than 60 such groups
have sprung up during the past
three years; the vast majority
were formed in response to the
O regon C itizens A lliance’s Marcy Westerling
campaigns specifically targeting gay men and
lesbians.
“There is currently a lot of anti-people senti
ment out there,” says Westerling. “It manifests
itself through anti-gay campaigns, or anti-welfare
or anti-affirmative action or anti-immigration
campaigns. This creates a very negative and divi
sive atmosphere. We trying to reverse that trend.”
In addition to sharing ideas, participants in the
strategizing session honored those whose ideas
have made a difference. Some activists were
given Grassroots Leadership awards from ROP
which recognized their “outstanding work in elimi
nating intolerance in rural Oregon.”
C
Jim Moeller
Running proud
endorses Jim Moeller
Running Proud, a civic organization based in
Olympia, Wash., is backing openly gay candi
date Jim Moeller, who is making a bid for the
Vancouver City Council.
The group, which encourages sexual minori
ties to run for elective office, is also providing
campaign services to the 39-year-old Moeller.
He is currently the only announced candidate for
the seat being vacated by incumbent Royce Pol
lard, who is running for mayor.
“I don’t think I’ll be unopposed for long,”
One award went to the West Valley Human
Rights Coalition, a group operating in Polk and
Yamhill counties. WVHRC hosted a series of
exhibits including the Anne Frank Community
Exhibit, a Women’s History Exhibit, and a show
exploring issues surrounding censorship. Those
exhibits, says Westerling, helped to build bridges
and foster community cohesion.
Josephine County Human Rights Alliance was
also singled out for its human rights work. JCHR A
produces a monthly newsletter
designed to build understand
ing among community mem
bers, and it also hosted the Anne
Frank Community Exhibit.
Westerling says JCHRA, which
has an excellent speakers’ bu
reau, was instrumental in shap
ing productive responses to the
Josephine County recruitment
drive of the racist group Aryan
Nation.
Hispahos Unidos, a human
rights group in Lake County,
also received an award for ad
dressing the growing tide of
anti-immigrant feelings in that
region. The group, all the members of which are
Latino/a, has established a scholarship fund for
Latino/a youth, and it sponsors an annual Cinquo
de Mayo event to celebrate the culture of people
of Mexican heritage.
“There’s a lot of great work going on through
out Oregon,” says Westerling. “But it can be very
hard and tiring. We think it’s very important to
acknowledge each other’s work and share strate
gies that people can use in their respective com
munities.”
For more information, contact the Rural Orga
nizing Project, PO Box 919, Scappoose, OR 97056,
543-3978.
says Moeller, who is a chemical dependency
counselor for Kaiser. “The filing deadline is July
31, so I expect others to jump into the race.” If
that’s the case, Moeller could face a primary
challenge in mid-September, followed by the
November general election.
“It’s been an interesting experience so far,”
says Moeller, who announced his political inten
tions last year. “Some people recently told me that
I’m perceived as only a ‘gay rights’ candidate.
Certainly that’s important, but I’m also concerned
about the economy, safe neighborhoods, and a
whole host of other issues.”
Moeller says he has spoken with openly gay
Oregon state Rep. George Eighmey and openly
gay Washington state Sen. Cal Anderson, about
the problem of being perceived solely as a gay
rights candidate.
“What they both told me was that you say
‘Yes, I am gay, but I’m also concerned about this,
and this, and th is...’ They told me that some
people just are not going to support me because of
who I am, but that many will as long as they
realize I’m working on behalf of my entire com
munity. It’s good advice that I plan to follow,” he
says.
Moeller is involved in several civic activities,
and he is a writer for the gay and lesbian publica
tion Vancouver Voice. For more information,
contact the Committee to Elect Jim Moeller, PO
Box 5754, V ancouver, WA 98668-5754,
(360) 693-0804. For more information about
Running Proud, call or fax (360) 943-4662.
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