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About Eugene weekly. (Eugene, Oregon) 1993-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 16, 2004)
BY ALAN PITTMAN Mayor Jim Torrey answers questions from reporter Edward Russo. Publicity Stunt Torrey used write-in to push conservative agenda. E ugene’s Republican Mayor Jim Torrey squeezed every last drop of media attention he could get out of three weeks of headline grabbing speculation that he would run as a write-in candidate for mayor against Kitty Piercy. With cameras from three TV network af- filiates and The Register-Guard trained on him, Torrey waited until 15 minutes into his speech to answer the question of whether he was running, the reason the media were there. But first, Torrey used the spotlight to continue to pump himself and his conserva- tive agenda, as he had done in a host of sto- ries about the write-in over the past three weeks. • Torrey claimed he was a political “mod- erate.” In fact, Torrey’s voting record is far right. In the past five years, Torrey broke tie council votes 13 times, always siding with big business and developers against the envi- ronment, livable planning and efforts to re- form corporate welfare and increase govern- ment accountability. • Torrey claimed he was a political “bridge builder.” But while Piercy has reached out to business and development in- terests to be a “mayor for all Eugene,” Torrey has never made a similar effort to reach out to environmentalists and government reform advocates. • Torrey claimed he had brought “civility” to the city council. But Torrey, one of the city’s most controversial mayors, has applied his call for civility to only his political oppo- nents. He sat in his car and did not question the police pepper spraying and gassing of tree sitters on June 1, 1997. He instead praised po- lice for the attack. He did not criticize the Gang of 9 for its attack ad campaign against council progressives. Instead he went on local conservative talk radio to join the attacks. Even now, Torrey refuses to acknowledge that Piercy is the city’s mayor-elect. Such a display of incivility by a sitting mayor for his/her re- placement is unprecedented in Eugene. • Torrey tried to take credit for a number of city successes, including the new library, fire, parks and schools measures. But Torrey was not the leader and initiator of any of these campaigns, and they passed thanks to harder work done by many other councilors and citizens. Torrey didn’t take credit for the dramatic failure of the Eugene Police Department under his tenure, which has twice lost police building votes and is now embroiled in an officer sex abuse scandal. At the press conference, Torrey used the spotlight to continue to push his conservative agenda: divert money from schools and serv- ices to fund corporate and developer tax breaks and give-aways; divert money from city services for an unpopular, extravagant new police station; and damage a protected wetlands park to build a freeway to serve land speculators and urban sprawl. Not until he’d exploited media attention to get all his plugs in did Torrey announce, with slow, baited words, “I will” (pause) “not be a candidate for mayor of Eugene.” Asked why he dragged out the announce- ment in his speech and for the last three weeks for so long, Torrey admitted that he did it to call attention to his conservative is- sues, like building the wetland freeway. “I didn’t think the issues were sufficiently sur- faced and discussed in the primary,” he said. The publicity stunt worked like a charm. Over the past three weeks when Torrey was supposedly musing a run-in, The Register- Guard gave the Republican and his devel- oper supporters a total of 17 articles and edi- torials, almost all with a positive spin. That’s more coverage than the 15 stories the paper gave the May mayor’s race when there were five actual declared candidates. Piercy bested all the candidates with 52 percent of the vote, avoiding a runoff and earning her a spot as the only name to appear on the November ballot. But at his press con- ference, Torrey refused to acknowledge that Piercy’s election meant any kind of voter mandate for her moderate campaign in sup- port of both a strong economy and environ- ment. Torrey claimed turnout in the election was low, “I don’t think that vote indicates what direction” the city should go in, he said. However, 3,683 more people voted for Piercy in May than voted for the West Eugene Parkway in 2001, when the wetland freeway squeaked by with a 1 percent mar- gin. Torrey has repeatedly claimed that vote represents a strong mandate to build the park- way. But in her campaign, Piercy openly said she opposed the project, and won. Was Torrey’s write-in stunt part of the Republican’s campaign for another elected office, perhaps secretary of state or Congress? Torrey refused to answer the question from Eugene Weekly at the press conference. Instead, he questioned whether EW would endorse him, and said he would only answer questions from reporters whose coverage he liked. ew “Now Pouring Beer” Bowls, Burritos & Beyond... Fresh, homemade whole foods with lots of veggie and vegan options ... mixed together with goofy artwork, fun tunes & an oxygen-based atmosphere. Tasty, Quick & Convenient... call 868-0668 for FAST take-out 760 Blair Blvd at 8th, Blair & Monroe Open Mon-Sat 11 ’til 10 pm; Sun 11-9 pm SEPTEMBER 16, 2004 9
