paign finance reform, medical marijuana and
sustainable forestry ballot measures.
Attending will be mayoral candidate Kitty
Piercy and forest activist Tim Hermach, who
is seeking the Green Party nomination for
U.S. Senate. Call.684-3927 or visit
www.pacificgreens.org
• City Club of Eugene is continuing its se-
ries on politics in April with a luncheon talk
by Portland attorney Dan Meek on cam-
paign finance reform Friday, April 9 at the
Hilton. Jefferson Smith of the Oregon Bus
Project will speak April 16 at Mallard Hall on
West 1st Avenue. City Council candidates
will be debating April 23 at the Hilton.
And mayoral candidates will debate
April 30 at the Hilton. All programs begin at
11:50 am and lunch is optional. Visit
www.cityclubofeugene.org for more infor-
mation.
• A Take Back the City Council House
Party in support of Andrea Ortiz is planned
• Our cover story this week is an admittedly subjective attempt to chart the voting
records of city councilors on issues we believe are important to the health and livability
of our community and valley. Not all the councilors are up for election this time around,
but tracking votes is a way to make all our elected officials accountable. As we’ve
learned in the past, candidates might say all the right things, and even be sincere in
their words, but the pressures of public office can alter perspectives, for better or
worse. Let’s study these votes carefully, and let’s use this information as a framework
to question candidates in public forums. These contests might easily be decided in May,
so don’t even think about not voting in the primary.
• The initiative campaign to refer the Riverfront Urban Renewal District to the voters
was floundering last week and organizers had given up hope. But a last-minute blitz by
several petition gatherers may have saved the day. The deadline for turning in signa-
tures is 5 pm Thursday, April 8. Petition organizer Ruth Duemler says 70 people had
originally taken out petitions but turned in nowhere near the targeted 4,500 signatures
as of Friday, April 2. She figures people were spread too thinly working on key local
election campaigns to get excited about a complex and wonkish government financial
issue. But as of Tuesday this week, more than 3,000 signatures had been gathered.
One person alone turned in 1,000 signatures, another person turned in 500. Who says
one person can’t make a difference? Here’s a heads up: Councilors will soon be voting
on renewing and expanding Eugene’s other urban renewal district downtown.
Darin J. Ward DDS PC, F.A.G.D.
Fellow of the Academy of General Dentistry
Health Centered Dentistry
300 Country Club Rd. Ste. 290 • Eugene, OR 97401
At Health Centered Dentistry, we focus on your overall wellness. By tak-
ing a holistic approach and arranging for health rather than merely treating
disease, we offer an opportunity to restore your oral health to its optimum.
We look at the whole picture, consider sys-
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take steps to perfect your smile while pre-
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for 5:30 Saturday, April 10 at 1439 W. 4th
Ave. in Eugene. Ortiz is running for City
Council in Ward 7. The event includes an
Easter egg hunt, vegetarian Mexican dinner,
speech by Ortiz and a Baja slide show by
Michael Carrigan. RSVP to 342-1953 or to
carrigan@efn.org
CORRECTIONS/CLARIFICATIONS
• The article “Under, Underground” in last
week’s Swizzle incorrectly stated twice that
the band Stacked performed a Madonna
cover song. Stacked is a female-fronted rock
band, not a cover band.
• In our cover story on plans for a power
plant in Coburg last week we wrote that Gary
Marcus “founded the Eugene Jewish
Federation.” But Marcus tells us he was not
the founder, but “just moved it into my office
at Frontier Technology and provided the staff
for its administrative functions as well as be-
coming its largest contributor.”
• Gov. Ted told the Eugene City Club last Friday that his #1 environmental priority is
restoring the Willamette river. He said he’s going to lead a “major effort” over the next
three years to improve the water quality, restore wetlands, and generally bring back the
river. His effort will include what he calls a “coalition of willing businesses.” We applaud
this Kulongoski campaign and hope he will institute long-term practices and regulation
to protect this treasure yet again.
• It’s been more than a year since the U.S. invaded Iraq and some Eugene area military
personnel are returning home soon as part of the troop rotation. Most people won’t
want to hear their stories, but they will carry in their minds images of savage warfare
and harsh living conditions in strange lands, as soldiers have for thousands of years.
Some elements of war haven’t changed over the millenia. But the technology of war
continues to advance, sometimes with unexpected effects. An April 2 story in the New
York Daily News reports that four New York reservists have been contaminated with
radiation likely caused by inhaling dust from depleted uranium (DU) shells fired by U.S.
troops. The soldiers were not directly involved in combat where these shells were used,
but rather they were providing guard duty for convoys, running jails and training Iraqi
police. DU, which is twice as heavy as lead, makes deadly armor-piercing weaponry, but
the radioactive contamination it leaves behind is persistent and prone to drifting with
the wind. Such is the nature of war.
SLANT includes short opinion pieces, observations and rumor-chasing notes compiled by the EW staff. Heard
any good rumors lately? Contact Ted Taylor at 484-0519,
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THE DOCTOR IS IN EUGENE!
RE-ELECT
Bonny
Bettman
EUGENE CITY
COUNCILOR
SERVING
WARD 1
“One of the main ingredients for a successful
community leader is a person who is honest,
sincere, looks after the welfare of their constituents
and the duties for which they were elected. I believe
that Bonny Bettman is such a person.
I have worked with her on the naming of
Rev. Martin L. King, Jr. Blvd. which was a major step
for diversity in Eugene. I support Bonny Bettman’s
reelection without reservation.”
— Dr. Edwin L. Coleman, II
Professor Emeritus
University of Oregon
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
www.efn.org/~bonny
PAID FOR BY ELECT BONNY BETTMAN
8 APRIL 8, 2004