letters
TO THE EDITOR
VOTING ISN’T ENOUGH
CITIZENS FOR JOBS?
The County Commission now has a 3-2
right-wing majority thanks to the election
of Tea Party Jay Bozevich in 2010. The
new right-wing majority gerrymandered
Lane County in a way that will make
Rob Handy’s North Eugene District more
conservative and provide an opportunity
for a 4-1 right-wing supermajority. Most
readers probably don’t know or don’t
remember that Tea Party Jay beat his
progressive opponent by only 3,000 votes
(15,610 to 12,540.) Voter turnout was a
measly 42 percent.
That same year Republicans managed
to gain enough seats in the Oregon House
to give them an even split with Democrats.
They’ve killed lots of good legislation and
degraded everything that passed.
Right-wing City Councilor Mike Clark
won his seat [unopposed] in 2006 and was
reelected in 2010. He has had no serious
challengers from the left in a district that
supported Kerry and Obama. He has
consistently represented the 1 percent on a
closely divided council.
Eugene had to endure Republican Jim
Torrey as mayor for eight years. In 2008
he nearly beat Kitty Piercy in a nail biter.
In 2010 Gov. Kitzhaber narrowly defeated
Republican Chris Dudley.
If the 99 percent wants to take control
of our local and state government, we must
raise expectations. Increasing participation
in get-out-the-vote campaigns is crucial to
winning elections. Come election time, we
need to do more that fi ll out our ballots.
Many more of us must volunteer to phone-
bank, canvass, and register voters.
Joshua Welch
Eugene
Where are the “Citizens for Jobs and
Schools” now?
It’s been six months since Citizens for
Jobs and Schools raised $100,000 to defeat
the city of Eugene’s income tax proposal
that would have gone to Eugene’s schools.
More than 100 teachers, custodians, teacher
assistants and other school employees have
been laid off, the class sizes have increased
dramatically and the remaining school
employees have had their pay cut and are
working harder than ever.
I am wondering how many jobs the
Citizens for Jobs and Schools have created
since May and what have they done to
improve the education of our children
in overcrowded, underfunded schools?
Specifi cally, what has Jennifer Solomon
done for our children lately?
Pete Mandrapa
Eugene
MY AMERICAN DREAM
I hear a lot of talk these days about the
American Dream and I must admit, much of
what I hear doesn’t sit well with me. Sure,
I’m grateful to live in a country where people
can dream, work hard and achieve their goals.
But too often, it seems to me, the American
Dream gets equated with making lots of
money, having a big house, and retiring to
a life of luxury. This is not reality for most
people. And it never will be because there’s
simply not that much to go around.
My American Dream, and the dream I
hope to pass on to my daughter through
my words and actions, is this: “I dream
that you will have what you need —
enough money, time, friends, resources,
intelligence, and skill to provide your
family with food, clothing, shelter and
whatever else you need to make your life
joyful and full. If you have more than
you need of any of these, I hope you will
share. Look around you. There are many
who do not have enough. I also dream that
you will realize how lucky you are to have
been born in such a beautiful, diverse, and
infl uential country, where life, liberty, and
the pursuit of happiness are assumed to be
birthrights. I hope you will take your luck,
work hard, be grateful, and do something
to make the world a better place because
not everyone has such good luck.”
This is my American Dream.
Beth Stein
Eugene
SOFT
&
WARM
SLIPPERS
FOLLOW YOUR FEET TO FOOTWISE FOR SLIPPERS
6((t)"'-*/(&3
"$03/t4."35800-
W IS
THE IS TIME
NOW
THE FOR
TIME NEW
FOR SHOES
SLIPPERS!
Downtown Eugene
&#SPBEXBZt
'BDFCPPLDPNGPPUXJTFFVHFOF
.PO4BU4VO
Downtown Corvallis
48.BEJTPOt
'BDFCPPLDPNGPPUXJTFDPSWBMMJT
.PO4BU4VO
A TURTLE’S WISDOM
The “Sprawl Envisioned” story by Alan
Pittman (11/17) suggests that city staff view
it as their job to enlarge the urban growth
boundary (UGB) to enable developers to
build more sprawl development. Given
that the reigning orthodoxy is that any and
all growth is inherently a good thing, this
comes as no surprise. But city staff and
developers alike may wish to familiarize
themselves with the laws of mathematics,
physics and geology that state that within a
closed system like a planet, growth cannot
continue. Urban growth depends on fi nite,
nonrenewable resources that civilization is
using up just as quickly and frivolously as
market forces dictate.
When a turtle is threatened, he retracts
his legs and head into his shell. Likewise,
instead of continued, outward growth,
Eugene should pull itself in, strengthening
and improving upon what’s already here
instead of creating more fl imsy, automobile
dominated sprawl. Even the U.S. military
is now warning that demand for oil is
about to outstrip production, leading
to shortages, price volatility and social
unrest. As automobiles have an average
life expectancy of about 10 years, and
buildings much longer, we shouldn’t keep
designing for the age of endless growth
and happy motoring when that’s about to
begin winding down.
Robert Bolman
Eugene
PUBLIC STREET SALE
There has been a hearing about a
important issue and local media have
failed to inform you about the issue or
the hearing. At the hearing I successfully
urged the Eugene City Council and mayor
to leave the record open for two weeks in
case the public is able to become informed
about this issue.
UO is ready to buy and close Moss
Street to serve the private needs of elite
donors who would like to park near the
Nike arena. UO claims Moss Street will
remain open. They are full of it. This
southeastward surge by UO planners
should be opposed by Eugene residents.
UO has considered nanotechnology
labs for the Moss Street area and there is
WWW.EUGENEWEEKLY.COM • BLOGS.EUGENEWEEKLY.COM
Taking Care of Your Four-Legged Family for Over 30 Years
Full Service Clinic:
• Well Pet Care
• Orthopedic Surgery
• Cancer Management
• Behavior Consultations
• Dental Care
Cameron Jones, DVM
Barbara Maki, DVM
Cary Heyward, DVM
Appointments Available 8am-6pm Weekdays 9am-4pm Saturday
info@amazonparkvet.com • 541-485-0161 • 725 E. 25th Ave. Eugene
EUGENE WEEKLY DECEMBER 1, 2011
5