TO THE EDITOR
SO LONG, TONY
GUTTING PERS
I was disappointed to see that Tony
Corcoran is resigning his state Senate seat,
although I am pleased with his appointment
to the Employment Appeals Board. His con-
firmation by the Senate should be a no-
brainer (which, in today’s political climate,
may mean a one or two vote margin).
As a Republican, I certainly haven’t al-
ways agreed with Tony, but I’ve always re-
spected his candor, his commitment and his
integrity. No matter how wrong-headed I
sometimes thought he was, I always knew he
was doing what he thought was right and not
just what was politically expedient. And no
one ever had to wonder where he stood on an
issue after talking to him.
When he was selected to head the PERS
reform committee in the Senate, my
Republican friends in Salem were saying
that this was either the best possible selection
or the worst. While many of them feared the
latter, I predicted it would be the former. I
was right. Thanks to Tony, the impetus for le-
gitimate PERS reform did not degenerate
into public employee-bashing. Nor did he
allow the full cost of bringing the system in
compliance with fiscal realities fall entirely
on new hires and future public employees.
I was reluctant to write this letter because
I’m sure Tony is tired of having Republicans
congratulate him on the courageous and
principled stand he took on this issue. But
what I would like to point out is that this was
not an anomaly for Tony. Throughout his
years of public service — which are by no
means over — he has never been afraid to
stand up for what he thinks is right.
Unfortunately, too many of us are willing
to acknowledge this only when we agree
with what someone is doing. I figure this is a
good time to belatedly confess that I have ad-
mired this quality in Tony even when we dis-
agreed. And, I’m pleased to say, I don’t ex-
pect him to change.
Jack Roberts
Exec. Director, Lane Metro Partnership
Most mainstream media are businesses
— big businesses, even — and as such are
generally opposed to organized labor and all
it stands for. The thoughtful observer should
keep this in mind when a prominent labor
“leader” such as Tony Corcoran begins to be
lionized in the press as one whom, despite a
strong union background, “nobly sacrificed
everything for what he believed in.”
One should also remember that, even
though there is a hiring freeze in state gov-
ernment right now, Corcoran nevertheless
managed to get “appointed” to a cushy state
job by his PERS-gutting cohort, Ted
Kulongoski, one wherein he will eventually
be making more than he ever did with SEIU.
Bill Smee
Eugene
READ THE DIRECTIONS
In response to yet another complaint
about punch cards and hanging chads in your
lovely Best of Eugene issue, I’d like to say
that only a careless fool would have trouble
with them. Anyone who bothers to take the
time to read the directions, punch out the cor-
rect chad, and check for any hanging chads,
deserves to have their vote counted.
Darwinism clearly weeds out the rest.
Unfortunately, in this day and age, the direc-
tions could be in flashing neon lights, and
most people would ignore them.
People who blame a piece of stiff paper
for their problems have more important is-
sues.
Dayna Terry
Eugene
CRAP SHOOT
This is for the scurvy sauce who ripped
off my diabetic medications from my car
parked at Willamette Plaza where I work.
This happened at about 6.30 am on Sept. 17.
Can you believe it?
Look, if I had opiates or synthetic opiates,
I wouldn’t leave them on the passenger seat.
All those medicines will do is lower your
blood sugar until you go into a diabetic
coma. See ya.
You are no doubt a junkie sifting through
crap to be happy. Ironically, I’m for Rx for
addicts and 24 hour liquor stores — all legal.
Hey, idiot, you missed the Rolex and the
’59 Fender Stratocaster. You can’t do any-
thing right.
Greg Hume
Creswell (I hate Eugene)
ONLY KUCINICH LEFT
In response to Jim Johnson’s letter (9/25)
criticizing Kucinich backers, I suggest that
those who insist that Dean is the only candi-
date with a chance of beating Bush are wear-
ing blinders. Unfortunately, since Americans
love generals and he is backed by the
Clintons, Clark may have a better chance.
Shouldn’t we instead vote for him?
If Kucinich has no chance, that is because
most Americans know little about him. The
mass media choose to tell us about a few can-
didates and to ignore the others. In doing so,
they think to control access to the
Democratic nomination and make sure that
no one who threatens their interests will be
elected. Americans without cable television
have been able to watch only the first of the
ongoing series of debates. And it’s no acci-
dent that the California gubernatorial debate
received more news coverage, though most
of us cannot vote in California.
The missing information can be found on
the Internet, where I have learned that
BY TOM LININGER
Tony the Tiger
Corcoran has been a tough, honest
legislator; he’ll be missed.
T
uesday, October 7: Arnold Swarzenegger wins his first elective office, and Tony
Corcoran resigns from the Oregon Senate. On balance, there is a net decrease
in the toughness of America’s politicians.
Arnold may be “the Terminator,” but Tony is “the Terminator Stout.” (I stole this
nickname from a beer at McMenamins, where Tony and I used to compare notes on
our political campaigns in 2002).
Whether it’s challenging conservatives or standing up for underprivileged kids, Tony
has never backed down from a fight. In 1999, when I was president of the South Lane
Family Relief Nursery, our program faced a significant loss of public funding. We knew
that bad ideas were floating around the Legislature, including a proposal to make dras-
tic cuts in programs that help low-income children. The Relief Nursery was on the
verge of closing its doors when we called Tony. With his own background as an orphan
in Ireland, Tony understood better than any other legislator that all children need a fair
chance. Tony agreed to help us make our case to the Legislature, and the next thing
we knew, our funding was secure for the following two years.
A lot of people in Lane County have similar stories to tell about Tony Corcoran.
He has been a steadfast advocate for schoolchildren, veterans, seniors, and poor
families without health insurance. In 2003, Tony was the only Senate Democrat who
voted against the budget package, insisting that the state was neglecting its obliga-
tions to the neediest Oregonians.
One of Tony’s greatest accomplishments was beating Cedric Hayden in a close
4 OCTOBER 16, 2003
Senate race that no other Democrat could have won. Vying to represent rural
Lane and Douglas counties, Tony had the hardest race of any Democratic
Senate candidate in 1998. At the time, Tony was serving in the Oregon House.
He could have easily retained his House seat that year, but the state
Democratic Party convinced Tony that he should take a chance on the Senate
race. Tony’s victory gave the Democrats the momentum that we needed to end
the Republican dominance in the Senate.
Long odds never discouraged Tony. When he first ran for the House in 1994, he
squared off in the primary against the popular mayor of Cottage Grove. Because
Cottage Grove was the biggest city in the district, most observers thought the
mayor would win. But Tony was a tireless campaigner, and he knocked on all but a
few hundred doors in Cottage Grove. He won the primary by a couple hundred
votes. “Good thing I didn’t visit those last 200 voters, or I probably would have lost,”
Tony would later joke.
T
ony was a great mentor for young candidates like me. When I ran for county
commissioner, Tony watched me debate my Republican adversary Ed Kemp. I
argued strenuously with Ed, and then Tony pulled me aside to give me some
advice. He said I was being a little too tough on my opponent. (Too tough for Tony
Corcoran? That’s like Rasheed Wallace chiding a teammate for being too hard on the
referee!) Even though I snickered, I heeded Tony’s advice. This guy wrote the book on
effective campaigning.
Tony is one of a kind. He’ll be a tremendous asset to the Employment Appeals
Board, but you can’t blame the Lane County Democrats for wishing that Tony will
return to politics one day. Let’s hope that the Terminator Stout echoes the
Terminator’s most famous phrase: “I’ll be back.”
Tom Lininger is a law professor and former county commissioner.