LET TERS
of the auditor be public at the same time to
the council, the city manager and the pub-
lic? And will plans developed for changes
that are audited to insure follow up?
Yes, the city does already have a finan-
cial auditor. The assumption always is that
they will uncover any embezzlement that
may be there — despite the disclaimer
that is always on the first page of any au-
dit. This is so even with the audit of credit
unions. That is why they have their own
supervisory committees.
What is needed is information on how
that money can be better spent. What new
ideas can be developed by staff to do their
mission better?
Portland has loved their performance
auditor service for 20 years. It has saved
them money and improved their service
over and over.
Bob Cassidy
Eugene
NO TO VOTER RECORDS
I am writing to voice my disgust with
Trump’s sham ‘Election Integrity Com-
VIEWPOINT
mission’ and my non-consent to its request
for my voter records. Kris Kobach is a
known voter-suppressor, and his request to
the secretaries of state is a direct, explicit
and agenda-driven violation of the central
democratic principle of the secret ballot,
put in place for the specific purposes of 1)
preventing coercion and 2) empowering
society to know the authentic and consid-
ered collective will of its constituents.
That principle was put in place with the
assumption that society would have the
self-respect to consider the authentic and
well considered will of its participants.
Let this message serve as a public and
principled record of my non-consent to the
release of any personal voting data that
isn’t already publicly available. It was not
enough to contact Secretary of State Den-
nis Richardson, so I’m making it known
here as well and hope that this letter will
inspire a lot more calls and emails.
Much thanks to secretaries of state in
California and Connecticut for vowing
non-compliance. I expect no less from
Oregon. Regardless of whether the courts
uphold the so-called commission’s request,
immovable non-compliance will ensure
Richards and his department an honorable
place in history.
Mark Scott Lavin
Eugene
STERILIZE THE BRUTES
There are 7.4 billion humans living on
this planet and this high number compli-
cates every other difficulty. The 75 million
people added yearly require food, hous-
ing, education, energy, space to live and
garbage dumps. This means we will need
additional fertile soil, fresh water, cement,
steel, glass, fossil fuels and lumber, as well
as land for farming, burying trash or build-
ing.
A higher standard of living helps peo-
ple expand their identities and find their
boundaries. Homo sapiens are much more
than baby factories. Access to birth control
and, when desired, abortions have much
value. Careful deliberation of possible de-
pendents that one can take care of must be
done much more deliberately. Some First
World nations’ citizens have this choice
while poverty and exponential growth go
hand in hand in the Third World.
The 1.1 percent world-growth aver-
age could be tackled by putting a limit on
people who create children but don’t fulfill
their parental responsibilities. Those who
don’t provide care, money, education, ef-
fort and the sacrifice needed shouldn’t
qualify as parents.
Often, the procreators flee and figu-
ratively or literally go somewhere else.
There they repeat their pattern and burden
their offspring with moms and/or dads who
don’t want them.
This is unavoidable, isn’t it? Vasecto-
mies or tubal litigation of these careless
deadbeat breeders can be done. This is not
eugenics. The criteria for this treatment are
not determined by ethnicity, race, gender,
nationality or religion.
Population growth and lack of responsi-
bility are the issues this is meant to address.
David Ivan Piccioni
Eugene
BY JAMES MANNING
Money Creates Barriers
BREAKING DOWN OBSTACLES TO PARTICIPATING IN OUR DEMOCRACY
I
know firsthand that running for political office costs money. As a
candidate for House District 14 in West Eugene and Junction City,
I made a lot of fundraising calls. I didn’t (and still don’t) mind
raising money and I think I’m not too bad at it. Every candidate
needs resources to explain to voters about why they’re running to
serve and what ideas they have for fixing the biggest problems facing
your community.
But the need for increasing amounts of money to run seems like win-
ning is more about who you know than what you hope to do for Oregon.
Raising so much cash becomes a barrier for those without wealth or ac-
cess to wealthy donors — particularly people of color and women — from
running and winning office.
We all lose when it’s harder for everyday Oregonians to get elected.
We lose a diverse range of voices. We lose good ideas that never get
heard, or are drowned out by the issues important to the wealthy and
powerful. And we lose faith in our very democracy.
I hear from so many Oregonians who feel their voices don’t matter in
Salem. But they know what matters to them and their family: affordable
healthcare and housing, a fairer criminal justice system and more equi-
table education and job training opportunities. These are issues that too
often get short shrift in our policymaking.
If we want all Oregonians to have an equal chance to run for office
and an equal voice in our democracy, we must give candidates a different
pathway to run for office, one that doesn’t rely on wealthy donors to fund
their campaigns.
Fortunately, the Oregon Legislature has the opportunity to pass a bill
that does just that.
The Small Donor Elections bill introduced by my colleague Rep. Dan
Rayfield would be a big step towards removing the financial barriers to
running for office and participating in state politics. House Bill 2578 of-
fers more Oregonians an avenue to engage in politics and allows candi-
dates to spend less time raising money from big donors and more time
talking with neighbors and voters about their biggest concerns.
Passing this bill would give candidates for legislative and judicial of-
fices a choice: raise money the usual way, or cap your contributions at no
more than $250. If you choose the cap under the Small Donor Elections
program, and show you have a wide base of grassroots support, then those
6
July 6, 2017 • eugeneweekly.com
small donations are matched six to one with limited public
funds. It treats everyone like a big donor, so even small
donations have a big impact. This way, candidates focused
on small donations can run a competitive campaign.
Just imagine, instead of spending so much time
talking to affluent donors, candidates can spend more
time talking to ordinary constituents. And when you
don’t need a handful of wealthy donors on speed
dial to run for office, it reduces the barriers for
people of all backgrounds to run for office.
Small Donor Elections is supported by a
diverse coalition of groups who are on the
front lines of advancing the interests of Or-
egon residents including working families,
women, people of color, small businesses,
and LGBTQ individuals. They
understand what I know
to be true: when you em-
power small donors, you
create a democracy that
works for everyone, not
just those who are used to
holding the purse strings.
Small Donor Elec-
tions will keep Oregon as a
leader in creating a strong
democracy, and there is no
better time to stand up and
demonstrate we support this
ideal. I urge my colleagues
to pass this legislation
swiftly.
James I. Manning Jr. is
the Oregon state senator for
district 7, Eugene and Junc-
tion City.