Eugene weekly., September 21, 2006, Page 15, Image 15

As mayor Torrey used his tie-breaking
vote to support gerrymandering council
ward boundaries to give conservatives a
majority and to prevent discussion of
items of interest to the progressive council
minority. When progressive councilors
opposed Torrey’s appointment to the
Planning Commission of a gravel mining
executive over a UO planning professor,
Torrey lashed out again. That prompted
council moderate David Kelly to caution
the mayor not to engage in “character
assassination,” the R-G reported.
When a local developer secretly
bankrolled “Gang of 9” attack ads against
moderate and progressive councilors,
Torrey went on local conservative talk
radio to join the attacks.
Torrey had a consistent partisan conser-
vative and pro-developer voting record on
the council, according to an EW review of
votes. In five years, Torrey broke tie coun-
cil votes 13 times, always siding with big
business and developers against the envi-
ronment, livable planning and efforts to
reform corporate welfare and increase
government accountability.
The Oregon League of Conservation
Voters (OLCV) has described Torrey’s
mayoral environmental record, which
included strong support for destroying
wetlands, as “dismal.”
Walker criticized Torrey for opposing
the city’s Toxics Right To Know Law.
“You stood with polluters,” she said.
While serving largely to thwart pro-
gressive councilors, Torrey was faulted for
showing little actual vision or leadership
for the city. Torrey sat in his car and did
not question the police pepper spraying
and gassing of tree sitters on June 1, 1997.
In the ensuing citizen uproar, he praised
police for the attack on protesters, and
opposed police accountability reform.
Some of that reform could have helped
Eugene avoid the Roger Magaña/Juan
Lara police sex abuse scandals, which
occurred under Torrey’s watch as mayor. A
consultant who reviewed the scandal fault-
ed city leadership for failing to oversee the
police department. Torrey played a role by
pushing to delay the appointment of a new
permanent police chief for a year, accord-
ing to city documents.
Torrey has tried to take credit for a
number of city successes, including the
new library, fire, parks and schools meas-
ures. 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.
On his campaign website Torrey claims
that while he was mayor, new employers
were recruited “creating 8,300 new jobs.”
But the local jobless rate increased while
Torrey was in office, not decreased. Torrey
also opposed a living wage ordinance for
local workers.
best known as a party maverick.
Walker has been one of Democratic
Gov. Ted Kulongoski’s thorniest critics for
the governor’s failure to fund schools and
health care. Walker publicly considered
running against Kulongoski in the primary
before deciding the Senate re-election
fight was more important. In a move The
Oregonian questioned as “political pay-
back,” Kulongoski’s former chief of staff
and re-election operative organized a
Portland fundraiser of big business inter-
ests for Torrey.
In the state Legislature since 1998,
Walker has earned a reputation as a cru-
sader for consumer rights and against what
she calls the “good ol’ boy” network in
state government. Walker, herself abused
as a child, was the original source for
Willamette Week’s revelation that former
Gov. Neil Goldschmidt, then one of the
state’s leading corporate lobbyists, sexual-
ly abused a 14-year-old girl. The story
rocked the state’s political establishment,
Vicki Walker (far right) was joined by the state’s leading Democrats, including
Congressman Peter DeFazio, Gov. Ted Kulongoski and U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden
in door-to-door canvassing last month.
DEMOCRATIC RECORD
Vicki Walker has touted her
Democratic affiliation, but she’s perhaps
‘Unlike my opponent, I’m not afraid of my political party.’
—Vicki Walker
SEPTEMBER 21, 2006 15