Image provided by: Clackamas Community College; Oregon City, OR
About The Clackamas print. (Oregon City, Oregon) 1989-2019 | View Entire Issue (Oct. 30, 2002)
October 30, 2002 The Clackamas Print INTERNET PHOTO Democratic candidate Ted Kulongowski has served In all facets of state government. INTERNET PHOTO Republican candidate Kevin Man nix has been a state representative and senator. INTERNET PHOTO Libertarian candidate Tom Cox currently works as a management consultant. Race for governor tightens Copy Editor With Oregon’s General Election less than a week away, many tough decisions are facing voters as they decide who will lead them in local and state governments, and who will represent them in the United States Senate and the House of Representatives. Oregon Governor John Kitzhaber must give up his seat as the state’s top man due to term limits- and the race between Democrat Ted Kulongoski, Republican Kevin Mannix and Libertarian Tom Cox is heating up in the final weeks. Kulongoski has served in all facets of state government, including stints as a state legislator, state insur ance commissioner, attorney general and a seat on the Oregon Supreme Court. Mannix has been a state repre sentative and a state senator, as well as the assistant U.S. Attorneys General for Oregon and the territo ry of Guam. Cox has no state governmental experience, but has been active in the Oregon Libertarian Party and works as a management consultant. Kulongoski has a slim lead in the latest polls, but upwards of ten per cent of Oregonians are still undecid ed about their choice with a little over a week left in the race. In the U.S. Senate race, Republican incumbent Gordon Smith of Pendleton is taking on Democrat Bill Bradbury, Oregon’s current Secretary of State, Libertarian candi date Dan Fitzgerald and Constitution Party Candidate Lon Mabon. Smith has served in the U.S. Senate since 1996 and has previous experience as a state senator in Oregon. Bradbury was elected Secretary of State in 2000 and has served as a state senator and state representative in the past. Fitzgerald has no prior govern mental experience and works as an independent consultant in database management. Mabon, well known to Oregon voters as the chairman of the Oregon Citizens Alliance, has served on sev eral statewide committees in the Republican and Constitution parties. All five of Oregon’s House of Representative seats are up for grabs.. Locally, Democratic Representative Earl Blumenauer hopes to hang onto his seat in Oregon’s Third District, while Democrat Darlene Hooley is running against Republican Brian Boquist in Oregon’s Fifth Congressional District. Fifteen state senate seats and all 60 state representative seats are being contested in the Oregon Legislature, and these people will be the ones at the forefront when the Legislature convenes in January to tackle the state’s ever- growing budget problems. Many local races are being contested as well, with Democrat Larry Sowa attempting to hang on to his seat as Clackamas County Commissioner against Republican Paul Kraxberger and Constitution Party candidate Dale Winegarden. The cities of Canby, Estacada, Happy Valley, Lake Oswego, Milwaukie, Oregon City, Sandy, Tualatin and West Linn have races for various city council and mayoral positions, as well as tax measures on the ballot in Canby, Estacada, Gladstone, Happy Valley, Lake Oswego, Milwaukie, Oregon City and Wilsonville. Voters face twelve new ballot measures Measures may change minimum legislature age, create new state-wide health plan, include 'none of the above' on judicial ballots, label genetically-altered food, raise minimum wage Copy Editor ing. The legislature would have to repay the bonds using only lottery proceeds, tobacco settlement monies or other sources, but not through property tax collections. Ballot Measure 14 Ballot Measure 17 This measure would remove racial references in the wording of the state’s constitution. These ref erences no longer affect state law, but they remain in the constitution. References such as the state’s “white" inhabitants, “white popula tion,” “free Negroes" and “mulat- toes.” If the measure passes, histor ical wording in the constitution, except those with racial overtones, would not change. This measure would lower the minimum-age requirement for serv ing in the Oregon Legislature from the current 21 years of age to 18. In Oregon, 18-year-olds can run for attorney general, secretary of state and a variety of local offices, but not for the state legislature. z Ballot Measures 15 & 16 Passage of these measures would allow the state to issife gen eral-obligation bonds to cover retro fitting or reinforcing of the state’s public buildings. Measure 15 applies to the state’s universities, community colleges and public schools. Measure 16 applies to fire and police stations, hospitals, sher iff’s offices or similar buildings. These amendments are required because the state is limited to $50,000 in general-obligation bond Ballot Measure 18 This measure would allow newly formed taxing districts to create new tax zones and set rates for that partic ular zone. Currently, new districts are allowed tq set one tax rate for an entire district. The measure would allow taxing districts that have never levied a property tax the authority to do so. Ballot Measure 21 This measure would allow the use of “None of the Above” on all ballots in judicial elections. If “None of the Above” wins an election, a new elec tion would be required. Candidates who lose to “None of the Above”could run for the same office again in a new election. Currently, judicial candidates run in a primary election in May of an even-num bered year. If no candidate receives 50 percent of the vote, then the top two candidates in the vote face off during the general election in November. If Measure 21 passes, the candidate with the most votes in the primary would win, even if less than 50 percent of the total vote, as long as that candidate received more votes than "None of the Above." The financial impact would be the cost of staging a special election if “none of the above” wins. Oregon residents. It would replace almost entirely the many public and private programs that currently fund health care, including individual health insurance, most employer- sponsored health plans, claims from worker's compensation plans and the federal Medicare program for retirees. Financing would come from individual income taxes, an employ er payroll tax and from the budgets of existing governmental health plans. The state estimates that the plan would cost individuals and employ ers at least $1.7 billion in the first year. Ballot Measure 22 This measure would change Oregon statutes to allow denture technicians with a state license to make, fit and fix dentures and to fit partial dentures for missing teeth. This measure would require can didates for the Oregon Supreme Court and the Oregon Court of Appeals to run from geographic dis tricts instead of statewide. Each of the seven judges on the Supreme Court would run from a separate district. The Court of Appeals would have five districts, with two judicial positions open from each district. Ballot Measure 23 This measure would create a sin gle, statewidfe health plan for all lion in 2004 and $1.26 million in 2005. Thereafter, expenditures will increase with inflation. Ballot Measure 26 This measure would make it ille gal to make payment to people who are employed as signature gatherers for initiative or referendum petitions to be paid per signature. The ban would cover payment of money or anything of value and would apply to statewide and local petitions. The measure would not affect those gathering signatures being paid an hourly wage or a salary, or those doing so on a volunteer basis. Ballot Measure 24 Ballot Measure 25 This measure would raise the state’s minimum wage from the current $6.50 per hour to $6.90 per hour, with future increases in the minimum wage tied to annual inflation adjustments. The state estimates the increase would require state expenditures of $1.19 million in 2003, $1.22 mil Ballot Measure 27 This measure would require all food and beverages for human and animal consumption to have label ing to identify foods that have as little as one-tenth of one percent genetically-modified ingredients. It would apply to all food and bev erage grown, sold or distributed in Oregon. The Oregon Department of Agriculture estimates that it would cost $11.2 million annually, mostly for regulation and enforcement, and an additional $6.3 million the first year for startup costs.
