viewpoint
BY GARY CRUM
Unconstitutional
Rob Handy’s district gets big conservative
infusion with redistricting
T
he Lane County Charter specifi cally
states that: In accordance with
federal, state or county census
fi gures, the boundaries of the fi ve
districts shall be drawn by the Board
of Commissioners so as not to deny
any person equal protection of the
law.
This equal protection of the
law clause, a reference to 14th
Amendment
protection,
includes
protection against intentional dilution
of the “worth” of one’s vote. Redistricting
which refl ects an effort “to gain political
advantage” has, as it goal, that diminishment of
the value of a citizen’s vote. A jurisdiction’s charter does not require specifi c
written limitations against gerrymandering to be subject to the limitations
provided by our Constitution. Gerrymandering is, by defi nition, the denial of
“equal representation” and violates our Constitution.
In the specifi c case of the Lane County Commissioners’ adoption of
“Proposal #8” we see an egregious action to remove hundreds (likely
thousands) of Democratic Party-registered voters from the North
Eugene commissioner’s district and thrust them into the South Eugene
commissioner’s district. The unique characteristics of both districts and
the specifi c targeting of an easily identifi ed Democratic Party-aligned
neighborhood documents this action as blatant gerrymandering.
The South Eugene District is the most heavily Democratic Party-
registered voters’ district in Lane County. It has, for years, elected and
reelected the most liberal member of the Board of Commissioners. It is
so recognized as a bastion of Democratic Party and liberal strength that
the Republican Party and conservative political groups simply don’t bother
to run “serious” campaigns to win this commissioner’s seat. Therefore, a
gerrymandering plan to “pack” this district with more Democrats will not
increase the likelihood of a Democratic/progressive commissioner’s victory
or decrease the likelihood of a Republican/conservative’s defeat in the South
Eugene district. It’s already considered as one of the “safest” electoral
districts in the state of Oregon.
The North Eugene commissioner’s district, on the other hand, is a very
“mixed” district. While it has a majority of Democratic Party-registered voters,
it is far from the left-dominated district the South Eugene commissioner’s
district represents. Elections have been extremely competitive with
the current liberal commissioner seated after a 2008 victory over a
conservative incumbent by a margin of about 250 votes. In political jargon,
the North Eugene district is very much “in play” for the upcoming 2012
election. Moreover, a very conservative Eugene city councilor has declared
his intention to run for the North Eugene commissioner’s position. So an
upcoming election between a Democratic Party/progressive incumbent and
a Republican Party/conservative challenger is virtually guaranteed. That
race is also guaranteed to be heavily fi nanced, heavily fought and, of course,
extremely competitive.
The neighborhood targeted by Proposal #8 to be moved to South
Eugene is very unique in our community. The West Jefferson/ Whiteaker
neighborhood of the North Eugene district is a mix of apartments and single-
family homes occupied by working-class voters. It is also one of the most
ethnically and culturally diverse neighborhoods in Eugene and is recognized
across Eugene as a left-leaning, progressive neighborhood. The very heavy
Democratic voter registration in the neighborhood attests to this fact.
The commissioner’s redistricting plan (Commissioner Jay Bozievich’s
Proposal #8) removes more than 9,000 residents of this neighborhood
from the North Eugene district and thrusts them into the South Eugene
district. This transfer removes hundreds (actually likely thousands) of clearly
identifi able Democrats (and, therefore, more likely supporters of the liberal
candidate in the upcoming election) from the competitive North Eugene
district and moves them into the South Eugene district. The redistricting
gives a huge political advantage to the conservative candidate in the
upcoming North Eugene race.
Bozievich’s Proposal #8, adopted by a 3-2 vote of the commissioners, is
a poster child for gerrymandering. It gives demonstrable political advantage
to the Republican/conservative candidate in the North Eugene district. In
fact, if it stands, it will virtually guarantee his election. This action by the
conservative commissioners (Bozievich, Faye Stewart and Sid Leiken)
represents everything which is wrong with politics today. It is incumbent on
us, as responsible citizens of Lane County, to see that it is overturned.
Gary Crum of Junction City is a retired teacher and counselor who worked with dysfunctional adolescents
over a 28 year career in public schools, probation facilities and residential treatment facilities.
4
NOVEMBER 17, 2011
EUGENE WEEKLY
letters
TO THE EDITOR
UP IS NOW DOWN
Let me get this straight. The Tea
Party majority on the Board of County
Commissioners has declared that many
square miles of rural east Lane County is in
Springfi eld metropolitan area, that the area
of urban southwest Eugene where students
attend Churchill High School is in rural
east Lane County and that people who
live in neighborhoods north of downtown
Eugene (and mostly north of the city’s
geographic center) are in south Eugene.
I have to say, this is exactly what I
would expect from the Tea Party, which is
bound and determined to prevent progress
of any kind, but want to return us to
medieval times when commoners were
subject to the whims of layers and layers
of royalty and aristocracy.
Unlike their predecessors who (mostly)
worked as public servants, the Lane County
Wonderland Tea Party majority wants to be
our masters.
By corrupting our language, the Tea
Party majority attempt to disguise their
corruption, favoritism and nepotism.
Like Humpty Dumpty, they declare that
“when [we] use a word, it means exactly
what [we] want it to mean, neither more
nor less.” Up is down, north is south, east
is west, morality is stood on its head.
Where and when will it all end?
Ann Tattersall
Eugene
that sell world music, or terrible suburban
folk music. Buy it and listen to it in your
car, because I assure you that you are in the
minority; nobody else wants to listen to it.
NPR should be the bulk of the content
of KLCC. It is the reason I listen when I do,
and I am fi nally considering pledging now
that they have taken most of their daily air
pollution off the airwaves. If I want to hear
music that I enjoy, I have long since given
up on radio. That is what an iPod is for.
Matt Watkins
Eugene
TRIPPING ON PIZZA
Let’s face it: when it comes to pizza,
Eugene sucks. But for fuck’s sake, let’s
at least show some discernment (Best of
Eugene, 11/3). Pizza Research Institute?
I’ve got news for P.R.I.: the Italians
perfected pizza a long time ago, and
no one comes closer to this ideal than
Provisions (La Perla’s a close second). If
you’re still doing the research, I’d suggest
you stop and examine your methodology.
As for Pegasus, they’ve been getting by
on their laurels for so long, I think people
who haven’t been there in 10 years are
still voting for them. I appreciate a good
nostalgia trip as much as the next stuck-in-
the-past Eugenean, but give me a fucking
break.
Bill Shaw
Eugene
NEW KLCC LINEUP
THE IMPOVERISHED
I am writing in reference to the Oct.
27 letter from David Kennedy regarding
the changes in the KLCC programming. I
could not disagree more with his opinion
on the issue.
For years now I have cringed while
working as the NPR news segments have
ended and Fresh Tracks began airing the
awful noises that some consider music in
this town. I don’t want to hear music from
some guy with clicks and whistles in his
name as he beats on a gourd with bamboo
sticks and sings in Swahili, nor do I want to
hear the most Caucasian woman on Earth
singing some turd of a folk song about
Susan B. Anthony!
If that is your genre, I suggest you go
to one of the New Age stores around town
Residing within our national borders,
scattered and largely unseen, is a
Lilliputian country nearly the population
of the Netherlands, with well more than
16 million people. One need not travel
far to fi nd its diminutive inhabitants: the
nearest dental free clinic, urgent care,
discount grocer, or public school. They
are America’s impoverished children, and
according to new Census data they now
account for more than one in three of our
friends and neighbors living in privation.
A record 49 million Americans now
live at the bottom rungs of American life.
Untold millions more live barely one
rung up, hanging on by their overworked
and bitten fi ngernails. Most have worked
hard but are unemployed, studied hard
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