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The Clackamas Print
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>- People 18 to 20 can vote, can't be legislators
3gi
An 18-year-
old in Oregon
can
run
for
attorney general
or state treasur
er. A 19-year-
old can run for
the mayor of
Portland and, as
Jake Oken-Berg
proved in 2000,
grab 27 percent
of the vote.
Society accords 18- to 20-year-olds adult
status in nearly every endeavor except buying
and consuming alcohol. Thousands of 18- to 20-
year-old Oregonians demonstrate an adult grasp
of citizenship and duty. They work, sign con
tracts, attend school, pay taxes, drive responsi
bly, qualify for credit and vote regularly. Any
number of 20-year-olds may soon be enlisted
for a war in Iraq. However, unlike 17 other
states, including Washington and California, 18
to 20-year-olds are prevented from running for
the Oregon legislature.
Measure 17 would amend the Oregon consti
tution by lowering the age of eligibility to serve
in the Oregon Legislature from 21 to 18.
Portland, Grants Pass, Coos Bay and Pendleton
permit 18- to 20-year-olds to run for school
board and city council. It seems only logical
that they should be allowed to hold state office
as well.
The idea of lowering the minimum age to
serve in the Oregon Legislature has caught on
with some of Oregon’s most prominent political
leaders: Governor John Kitzhaber supports the
measure, as do former governors Mark Hatfield,
Neil Gojdschmidt, Victor Atiyeh and Barbara
Roberts. Governor hopefuls from both parties,
Ted Kulongoski and Kevin Mannix also support
the measure.
The arguments against Measure 17 sound a
lot like echoes — was it truly 30 years ago? —
against letting 18-year-olds vote. And their ring
is just as hollow.
If maturity were a requirement, a lot of law
makers would be out of office. Indeed, it’s
probably not fair to compare young adults who
may be well-suited to public service to their
elders who showed themselves so spectacularly
ill-suited to the task during the past five special
legislative sessions.
Some may question whether an 18-year-old
has the life
The average age of the
experience
necessary
Oregon Senate is 58.
to serve in
the
state
The average age of the
legislature.
Age alone
Oregon House is 51.
has never
been
a
Twenty percent of the state good indi
legislature is 65 or older. cator of a
person’s
In 1 976, the last time such an auda
cious suggestion was on the ballot,
the initiative was crushed 70 percent
to 30 percent. Based on history and
the voting record of 18- to 21 -year-
olds, Measure 17 may walk like an
equity issue and talk like an equity
issue, but it seems destined to drown
like a sales tax campaign.
ability to carry out a position of responsibility
and contemporary politics offers many exam
ples of leaders with years of “life experience”
performing their work irresponsibly.
Age alone should not be a measure of
whether a person is qualified to serve in public
office. Measure 17 does not guarantee 18 to 20-
year-olds a seat in the legislature, and it doesn’t
mean that the legislature will be overrun with
18-year-olds anymore than it’s overrun with 21-
year-olds now (there are currently no Oregon
legislatures in their early 20s and only a hand
ful in their late 20s); what it does is allow vot
ers to decide which candidate is best qualified
to represent their community, regardless of age.
The success of Measure 17 will send a message
to the youth of Oregon that they are welcome in
all aspects of the political process.
Health Care Plan bad timing, too costly
Creates Health Care Finance Plan for medically necessary services; creates additional income, payroll taxes
Measure
23,
health care for all
of Oregon, is a
great
idea.
Everyone
in
Oregon could ben
efit from having
health care. If it
was the right plan.
Unfortunately,
Oregon is in a
highly fast paced
down fall economically, and it doesn’t look like it’s
going to get better anytime soon. A risk measure
23 supporters seem to ignore is job quantity.
Health care insurance is big business.
If
Oregonians go to a single pay method, insurance
companies will be forced to move out of the state,
taking the jobs with them.
At a time that
Oregonians cannot afford such ‘a- risk, businesses
will be forced to pay a higher payroll tax to pay for
the new health care system. Most small businesses
have a hard time paying current tax rates, which
will force prices to rise. Suddenly, the cost of liv
ing rises in Oregon.
It’s not just business owners that will be paying
the load for healthcare. Up to an eight- percent
income tax increase will be forced if this measure
passes.
Only those under 150 percent of the
poverty level would be exempt from any payments.
How many programs does the government need
to help the lazy? The more the government gets
involved, it seems the less people have to
look for jobs. Under this new plan, every
one will be covered. Even Joe Shmoe j
who has been living in mommy’s house
for the past thirty years, and has never j
held a job in his life. Employers use
the health care business as a ben
efit to their employees. It’s part
of what makes a career so attrac
tive. Why make it that much harder to keep
Vote-by-mail for dummies:
the process made simple
Copy Editor
The 2002 Oregon General
Election is on Nov. 5 and in this
vote-by-mail election, the, voters of
this state will be asked to select our
next governor, a U.S. senator, all
five of our U.S. representatives, fif
teen state senators, all sixty of our
state representatives, as well as
many county and city council and
mayoral elected positions. Not to
mention 12 statewide ballot meas
ures and many local bond levies and
school levies.
If you did not register to vote by
Oct. 15, however, it is too late for
/
you to register to vote in the Nov. 5
election. For those of us who did
register in, time, your ballot should
have already reached your place of
residence. If you have not received
a ballot, you will need to contact
your county elections office and
have them send you a ballot.
Once you have filled out your
ballot, place the punch card in the
secrecy envelope provided. Then
place the secrecy envelope in the
white (with colored edge) envelope
and seal it. You must sign the white
envelope on the line provided on the
outside, or your vote will not be
counted. Attach sufficient first-class
postage to the envelope and drop it
in the mail. The ballot must arrive
at the county elections office’by 8
p.m. on Tues. Nov. 5 or it will not be
counted (Postmarks do not count).
If you do not wish to mail your
ballot, there are several drop sites all
over the Portland Metro area that
you can take your ballot to. All
public libraries in Clackamas
County have drop box^s to place
your ballot, and the county elections
office is at 825 Portland Avenue in
Gladstone. There is also a drop box
in
the
Associated
Student
Government office in CC140 here
on campus.
The Multnomah
County elections office is located at
1040 SE Morrison Street in
Portland. The Washington County
elections office is located at 3700
SW Murray jloulevard, Suite 101,
in Beaverton.
employees happy?
The government will be controlling the health of
Oregon. Do we want our health care decisions to
be based from the lowest bidding doctors? Will the
highly skilled specialist move to another state to
insure proper payment for their services? It’s a
scary thought, but one that deserves to be looked
at
The new plan will be monopolizing about three
million people. I bet Bill Gates wishes he had that
**"kind of monopoly authority.
People
deserve a choice.
A .few years ago, I had a medical crisis of my
own. I was fresh out of high school with' no
insurance. Somebody mentioned to try the
Oregon plan, and I did. My experience was a
good one. They took care of me. While the sys
tem is not perfect, at least it’s there.
Instead of risking the livelihoods of so many
Oregonians, we should be working to straighten the
wrinkles out of the current system.
r
Election information websites
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Federal Election Commission:
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www.fec.gov/elections.html
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Rock
the Vote: www.rockthevote.org
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The legal voting age wasn't lowered
to 18 from 21 until 1971
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