LET TERS
HIS MONEY, OUR DEMOCRACY
Bob Macherione, leader of the “Our
Money Our Transit” opposition to the new
West Eugene EmX bus line out W. 6th,
7th and 11th avenues, complains that the
EW March 17 article “Don’t Let a Loser
Win” shows “what is wrong with the U.S.
and especially Eugene politics today: the
lack of civil public discourse with others
who may not agree with your point of
view.” (Letters, March 31)
Mr. Macherione should know about the
lack of civil public discourse — his group
is behind the anti-EmX signs along W. 11th
Avenue. Can you picture those signs that
complained about “arrogant bureaucrats”
and referred to “drug dealers” riding
on the buses? I wish I had photos of all
those signs. Over-the-top, mean-spirited,
dubious references. The worst of uncivil
discourse.
Sure, he has a different point of view
about the EmX project; OK, I respect that.
But his tactics on those signs are exactly the
lack of civil public discourse he laments.
Larry Lewin
Eugene
ELECTORAL DISFUNCTION
There’s no blue pill to cure this type
of ED. Among the myriad dysfunctions in
VIEWPOINT
our 17th century electoral system, “vote
splitting” could afflict the Eugene mayor’s
race.
The five candidates for mayor could,
ostensibly, be categorized as four liberals
and one conservative. Even with a majority
liberal electorate, what can happen is
that the liberal vote is split among four
candidates while the conservative vote
is coalesced onto one candidate. In this
situation, it is possible for the conservative
to win.
Without doing detailed analysis, I don’t
know the likelihood of the conservative
garnering the 50-plus percent needed to
win the office in the primary. However,
another form of ED could amplify the
vote-split phenomenon: low voter turnout.
Voting data shows that, despite Oregon’s
accommodating vote-by-mail, primary
elections garner half the turnout of the
general election and liberals have lower
turnout than conservatives.
So, will liberals put down their (now
legal) joints long enough to vote in the
primary? Will Oregon adopt ranked-
choice voting, which can mitigate many
ED symptoms? It’s up to us, folks.
James Stauffer
Eugene
SPEAK TRUTH
I am going to take part in Democracy
Spring, a huge grassroots effort to speak
truth to power, from April 11-18. What
do we risk if we don’t speak our minds?
We risk the possibility of addressing
collectively and creatively the myriad
issues of social inequality, ferocious
bellicosity and environmental disaster. The
life-affirming option is to take ownership
of our policies, politics, country and
communal voice.
This is not comfortable. I’d rather
stay home in this splendid spring and not
expend money and energy to travel to
Washington, nor experience discomforts. I
am not excited about the crowd, the cold
cement outside the Capitol, the prospect
of arrest. And, when you have to do
something, you have to do it.
Does this make sense? I don’t know.
Will it make a difference? I don’t know.
Am I feeling a strong pull to do this? Yes,
clearly. Maybe that’s what’s meant by
being spirit-led, or following the heart.
Democracy Spring is organizing the
demonstration and civil disobedience to
call for fair elections and real democracy.
Every day thousands of protesters
— including me — will risk arrest
(democracyspring.org).
I invite you to support me. Join
physically or in spirit. Sit in, even if it’s
symbolic.
Katherine Bragg
Eugene
PROTECT NATURAL AREAS
Much obliged to Bob Warren for
his explication of the function and
enduring value of our national land
trusts [Viewpoint, 3/31]. While public
interest land use advocacy groups such
as LandWatch Lane County scrap with
city, county and state agencies to protect
farms, forests and natural areas, individual
landowners can do that job themselves —
without the fuss and bother — by donating
or selling their lands to an accredited land
trust or by putting them into conservation
easements in perpetuity.
As a long-time regional business
development officer for the Oregon
Business
Development
Department,
Warren was no stranger to the interests that
threaten our natural heritage. Happily, in
his retirement and as a board member of
McKenzie River Trust (MRT), he appears
to see more value in protecting land than in
promoting its exploitation.
By protecting “more than 4,500 acres of
land in the McKenzie, Upper Willamette,
BY JOSEPH MCKINNE Y
Setting an Example
WHY I AM RUNNING AGAINST PETER DEFAZIO IN THE PRIMARY
I
’ve been the president of Oregon Roads, a leasing and finance company in
Eugene, for 26 years. I’m married, have a son, daughter, daughter-in-law and a
grandson. I have board-member and board-chair experience with corporations,
nonprofits and municipal entities. I’ve been appointed to Eugene City Council
committees and served on Lane Transit District’s steering committee. I
volunteer my time as a habit. I believe that I have the qualifications to govern, so I
humbly ask for your vote.
I understand that unseating an incumbent who has served ably is nearly impossible
today. That has not stopped me because it is not my goal. I am attempting to set an
example by doing something different than politics as usual. Of course, I’m setting
an example hoping it starts a trend, and offer this brief explanation: Campaign
finance reform is long overdue, and so is campaign practice reform.
Addressing campaign finance first, one congressional candidate told me that he
must raise $11,000 a day to fund his campaign for re-election. I received an email
from a local incumbent stating, “It takes as much as $40,000 to run a campaign even
though I’m running unopposed.” This is absurd; it results in the election of the best
fundraisers. Connections to money and power are corrupting. The individuals who
might be our best candidates are eliminated from contention because that is not
their interest or skill set. I believe there are many able citizens willing to participate
in governing, but they are not willing to beg for financial support. Working people
cannot afford the risks. The result? It is prohibitively expensive to participate in
electoral politics.
Turning to campaign practices, notice our candidates abandon their families or,
worse, exploit them for political gain. They build a virtual company with managers,
handlers, statisticians and the omnipresent fundraisers. Next comes baby kissing,
hand-shaking and stump speech making. Then we’ll get commercials, bulk mail,
robo-calls and bumper stickers. American politics has been called a circus and a
carnival.
Often, the people we select to elect are the best fundraisers and carnival barkers.
That will continue until we redesign the selection process. I am seeking candidates
who are unwilling to play these games yet willing to serve as my representatives.
We have been barraged by the spectacle of the presidential primaries this year.
My first political campaign experience was as a student volunteer for the Robert F.
Kennedy presidential campaign in 1968. Not much has changed. I have only been
involved in political campaigns peripherally since then due to my lack of respect for
the process. I believe that I stand with the majority of voters on this: alienated and
disconnected from our own democracy.
No citizens, including corporate citizens, will spend a dime on my campaign.
Filing for office has cost me $100 and that’s all that will be spent on this campaign. I
seek no endorsements. Serving the constituents of the 4th district would be an honor
and a privilege, and I am prepared to do so. It’s my duty as a citizen. Though I am
prepared to serve, I am not prepared to run. I do not seek to become a member of
the political class.
Instead, I estimate that I may spend as little as 2 to 25 cents per primary vote.
Compare that to the average campaign budget and you’ll find I’ve the most efficient
and cost-effective campaign.
We have elected officials with good intentions, and they find themselves trapped
in this broken system too. I ask them to join me to help fix it.
I’d like to change the way we practice politics. This candidacy is my contribution.
My vision? I’d like to see professors, common-sense parents and business managers
elected to the offices now held by attorneys who dominate the political class. If you
are the chief of a fire department, an ER nurse, contractor, researcher, accountant,
grocer or engineer, you may make an excellent civil servant.
The ballot of the future looks brighter when good citizens feel welcome to put
their names on it. Citizens, offer your service on your own terms. You do not need a
manager, a fortune, endorsements or connections. When I see a qualified candidate
who reflects my values, he or she will get my vote.
Thank you for considering my candidacy and please consider my encouragement
to join me and throw your hat in the ring soon.
Joseph McKinney of Eugene is a Democratic Party primary candidate for Oregon’s 4th Congressional District.
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A pril 14, 2016 • eugeneweekly.com