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About Eugene weekly. (Eugene, Oregon) 1993-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 7, 2004)
BY MELISSA BEARNS Working the Crowd Voter registration banned from some big stores. I f you’ve left your house in the last month you’ve probably seen them. Maybe you caught a glimpse of one working the crowd at the Saturday Market. They might have walked up to your table while you were having a drink at a local bar. Or maybe they approached you while you were waiting in line to get into a concert. “Are you registered to vote?” they ask. They are the canvassers working for the New Voters Project (NVP), a nonpartisan group registering voters with a focus on 18- to 24-year-olds. They spend their days talk- ing to total strangers in public places, outside of small businesses and even in the parking lots of some of huge national companies such as Wal-Mart. property. Then came Measure 9 in 2000, a highly controversial, anti-gay measure spon- sored by the Oregon Citizens Alliance. “They (people col- lecting signatures for Measure 9) were very aggressive and just plopped themselves down in front of our stores,” said Bridget Flanagan, director of public affairs for Safeway in Oregon and southwest Washington. “We literally ended up having fist fights in front of our stores … to maintain this policy and establish our pri- vate property rights. This is important to Fred Meyer because our customers come to us for the purpose of shopping and we do not be- lieve our stores should be used for political purposes. Our customers should not have to walk a gantlet of aggressive petitioners and supporters of often highly controversial is- sues in order to shop at our stores.” NVP canvassers have been kicked out of dozens of locations in Eugene including Safeway, Fred Meyer, Albertson’s, Oakway Center and Valley River Mall. In other cities in Oregon secu- rity guards have even threatened to arrest canvassers. said. At locations where they’re not allowed, NVP canvassers go low-profile — guerrilla canvassing they call it. “I just said forget it, I’m not dealing with these people. We’re just going to go to these places and we’re going to stay mobile. … Officially I guess you could say we’re trespassing but I’m willing to tres- pass for democracy. We’re not breaking the law. We’re registering voters. Forget these corporations that are trying to push us around.” After more than three months of guerrilla canvassing, Cox is a pro. “We tell our canvassers to go into places where they’re technically not allowed,” she said. “We stay mobile. We approach people where we can, sometimes in their cars. And if we’re asked to leave, we’re very polite. We say thank you and we leave. That’s what we’ve had to resort to. Every day we go places people tell us we can’t go.” But both Loftin (Fred Meyer) and ‘I guess you could say we’re trespassing but I’m willing to trespass for democracy. We’re not breaking the law. We’re registering voters.’ – Justin Barker But you probably won’t see them at Fred Meyer, Albertson’s, Safeway, the Oakway Center or the Valley River Mall. That’s be- cause those companies won’t let them on their property. “We’re nonpartisan,” said 31-year-old Sura Cox, who has been canvassing since June. “We’re not pushing any issue. We’re not trying to sway anyone. We’re providing a public service and giving people access to their right to vote.” Unfortunately it’s a little more compli- cated than that. Some companies turn away groups such as the New Voters Project to avoid legal battles and controversy. In the 1980s and 1990s the Oregon Supreme Court issued a series of decisions al- lowing people to gather signatures on private and just getting hammered by our cus- tomers.” So they went to court. “We were trying to get a court ruling on whether or not we had to allow these people on our property,” she said. The courts protected the private property rights of Safeway and other grocery stores, ruling over and over again that the area out- side the stores is private property. That means those companies don’t have to allow people to collect signatures for ballot measures or even register voters. “It is our long-standing policy that we do not allow petitioning on our property,” wrote Mary Loftin, vice president of public affairs for Fred Meyer stores in an e-mail. “We have fought many legal challenges over the years Steve Korth, director of development for McKay Investment Company, the develop- ment that owns Oakway Center, said mem- bers of NVP have never officially contacted them. Oakway Center doesn’t have a specific policy and he said that if groups such as NVP can get permission from individual busi- nesses, the next step is to contact the manage- ment company. Barker said he’s contacted Oakway center repeatedly. “If they get the business’approval then we usually go along with it,” he said. Representatives from Valley River Center did not return EW’s phone calls. Justin Barker, 22, is the NVP canvas di- rector for Eugene. “These businesses are basically crushing the rights of the people in this country,” he Flanagan (Safeway) said that if they let one political group canvas on the property, it could erode the legal ground they’re cur- rently standing on. “While nonpartisan voter registration might seem different from more provocative political activities, case law is unclear on this distinction in some of the states where Fred Meyer has stores,” Loftin wrote. “For this reason, Fred Meyer does not allow any form of political activity on its property, including voter registration.” The NVP argues that the stores could legally make an exception. “Any private property owner can make any exception it wants,” said Dan Meek, a Portland-based public interest attorney. But Dave Fidanque, the executive direc- Doak Creek Native Plant Nursery Fall is a great time to plant. Native Containerized Plants, Trees, Shrubs, Ground Covers & Wildflowers 484-9206 By Appt. 83331 JACKSON MARLOW RD. • EUGENE Spotlight on Small Business NEW FRONTIER MARKET 1101 W. 8TH, EUGENE • 541-345-7401 This town does have heart; when I moved here in 1996, homeless and jobless, I used to collect cans and trade them in for a day old pastry here at my favorite corner store. That next spring, I landed a job here at the market. In 2002, after five years of working here in all capacities I seized my fleeting moment of opportunity and was able to buy New Frontier Market when the former owner retired. Experience Eugene nostalgia at the oldest grocer and health food purveyor in town. Built in 1890, turned into Frontier Market in 1915, it was then transformed into New Frontier Market in the seven- ties. We are here to serve our neighborhood and help promote locally made products. The market carries a large selection of organic produce, bulk foods, beer and wine and locally made items. New Frontier has an eclectic mix of products for all. Come in and check out all of our everyday low prices and make sure to grab a coupon to save $5 or $15 on your next visit. The store is open until midnight Monday through Saturday and until 11 pm on Sunday. Bring this ad and you will receive 10% off your next purchase. Not valid with any other offer. PAID ADVERTISEMENT 14 OCTOBER 7, 2004
