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About Eugene weekly. (Eugene, Oregon) 1993-current | View Entire Issue (March 24, 2011)
terms as Eugene’s most right-wing city councilor, is the granddaughter of local timber baron Stub Stewart and was trusted by Sarah Palin to ask a pre-screened question at a Republican fundraiser in Eugene last year. “We expect it will probably cost around $100,000 to run this campaign, and so we are just in the beginning stages of that,” Solomon said. She argued that Eugene schools should wait for changes in education laws from the state Legislature rather than acting locally. So far the PAC against Eugene school funding has reported raising $7,605, including seven $1,000 contributions. Those contributors include the Giustina Land & Timber Co., Cascade Title President Thomas McMahon, the Rosboro Lumber Co. of Springfi eld, lumber broker A.J. Giustina, McKenzie Properties, McKenzie Capital Managing Director Andy J. Storment and Stingray Holdings, owned by developer Steve Lee, according to state reports fi led by a Republican operative in Rainier, Ore. along the Columbia River. Solomon announced that the anti- school measure PAC’s campaign manager is Roxie Cuellar, a lobbyist for developers and home builders who lives on the coast in Yachats. Cuellar coached Solomon not to answer a question at the press conference about why the group is focusing on opposing the Eugene effort to help schools rather than on pushing for changes in Salem, as they argue others should do. School supporters have lobbied for a solution to the school funding crisis in Salem for two decades with no success. In response to a question, Solomon admitted that solutions in Salem could be harder to pass than the local measure. “It’s true that the state Legislature is a much larger hurdle,” she said. Asked repeatedly for specifi cs on what changes from the Legislature the group wants instead of the local funding, Solomon provided few answers other than calling for cuts in contracted health care and retirement plans for teachers. “We are not here to undermine the morale of school teachers and staff,” Solomon said. The Koch brother’s AFP group, which tried to drum up turnout for the anti-school funding rally in Eugene, is now lobbying in the state Legislature against bills that would increase local school funding. The shadowy Koch brothers live in Kansas and New York City and have become leading but often covert funders of right-wing causes across the nation including Tea Party radicals, according to press reports, including an investigation by The New Yorker magazine. Kirsten Haugen, a volunteer mom in the school funding campaign, attended the opposition rally. “I did not hear a concrete proposal of any kind, just their opposition to a local response. What I want to know is what they expect today’s kids to do in the years that it takes Salem to come up with any kind of solution?” An angry woman at the opposition rally demanded that an EW reporter reveal whether he had any relatives working for “the government.” The woman, who refused to identify herself, said she objected to questions about why the group wasn’t instead focusing on the Legislature. Laura Cooper in the opposition group also said she objected to the questions at the press conference. Cooper recently wrote an opinion piece for The Register-Guard opposing the school funding measure as “nothing short of tyranny.” Cooper is listed as the board council for the Lane County Republicans group. She blogged last year that “wealth redistribution through federal tax collection shall be abolished.” Cooper called in her blog for the repeal of health- care reform because, in her view, it would result in the “extermination of the unborn, the elderly, or other medically vulnerable people such as myself.” Solomon said the 4J School Board’s referral of a $70 million bond measure for buildings to the same May ballot as the income tax for school operations will make it easier for her anti-tax group. “Having those two issues on the ballot will frustrate voters, and they are more likely to just vote no, no.” The 4J School Board last week unanimously endorsed the city tax for schools. Eugene voters have a history of strongly supporting school fi nance measures. Last year, state Measures 66 and 67 to increase income taxes on the wealthy and corporations to help support public schools passed in Eugene by a 3-1 margin. “I am so frustrated that we passed Measures 66 and 67,” Solomon said. ew WWW.EUGENEWEEKLY.COM • BLOGS.EUGENEWEEKLY.COM THIS WEEK’S drink bi g food and d big rink k s specials pecials pe tuesday burger & brew any burger, any brew $8 HOTEL EUGENE E wednesday wrap & well any wrap, any well $8 thursday wine & dine 205 Coburg Road, Eugene ene 541-342-5201 any glass of wine, any menu item $10 EUGENE WEEKLY MARCH 24, 2011 13
