LET TERS
ANTIFA AND VIOLENCE
In response to the discussion of the use
of violence in the Oct. 19 article “Antifa,”
I would like to offer the following: If you
seek to change the hearts and minds of
those in your community, committing acts
of violence will not help you achieve that
goal.
It may be tempting to forcefully si-
lence opposing voices, but I implore you
to consider non-violent alternatives and to
engage others in open and empathetic dia-
logue.
Richard Griscom
Eugene
NOT 'WHY DOESN'T SHE
LEAVE?'
I was the Americorps attorney at Lane
County Legal Aid in 1999 when the Do-
mestic Violence (DV) Clinic began. I
served the same client base as the clinic
and clients from Sexual Assault Support
Services (SASS). I appreciated your article
about DV and Michael Quillin’s interview
VIEWPOINT
(“Discussing Domestic and Sexual Vio-
lence,” Oct. 19).
However, I am tired of the same old
why-doesn’t-she-leave rhetoric. Domestic
violence is the number-one cause of home-
lessness among women, and support sys-
tems are still extremely inadequate. Call-
ing the police means legal fees if he is
arrested and you can’t get out of the re-
lationship, making things worse. There’s
also a high incidence of domestic violence
in the law enforcement community.
Leaving someone who has degraded
you as a means of controlling you is like
escaping a captive situation. At the time
when women need the most support, I
have seen social workers and volunteers
stalk my clients to make sure they weren’t
having contact with their abuser, instead of
giving my clients the support they needed
so they didn’t need support from their
abuser anymore.
Leaving is the most dangerous event in
a domestic violence relationship. It’s not
the time to judge the survivor. It’s the time
the most support is needed.
Instead of asking "Why doesn’t she
leave," when will we start focusing on
and asking, “Why did he do it?” That’s the
proper starting point. Instead of examining
what she did before she was sexually as-
saulted, let’s ask the same question.
Nyla Jebousek
Newport
SUPPORT ROAD TAX
Have you appreciated smoother, pot-
hole free driving in Eugene? The improved
streets result from projects financed by
past bond measures.
The League of Women Voters of Lane
County urges voters to support Eugene
Measure 20-275 so that we can continue
to receive the benefits from street repairs
and other improvements. This measure
would generate $51.2 million to maintain
the city’s road network and develop bike
and pedestrian improvements.
As with two previous street repair bond
measures, this measure clearly spells out
which streets will be fixed. The city is
providing accountability for the spending
of the renewed tax revenue by commit-
ting to work on 88 specified road segments
throughout Eugene, and to make average
annual improvements of $1 million for
bike and pedestrian safety and access.
The money will not be spent for new
streets or to expand vehicle capacity. An
outside auditor will review all spending to
ensure that these promises are met.
Eugene has successfully reduced about
half its backlog of needed road mainte-
nance projects through the work financed
by two previous bond measures similar to
measure 20-275. The projects have been
well distributed throughout the city.
The estimated property tax rate autho-
rized by measure 20-275 is the same as
that levied for the two prior measures. We
urge a “yes” vote to continue to strengthen
our transportation system with necessary
investments.
Linda Lynch, president
League of Women Voters
of Lane County
Eugene
B Y J O S H U A S K O V A N D E M I LY S E M P L E
Approve the Street Repair
Bond Measure
MEASURE 20-275 ALSO FUNDS BICYCLE AND PEDESTRIAN IMPROVEMENTS
M
any Eugene Weekly readers will remember that the two of us were
opponents last year in the most contested City Council race in
Eugene’s recent history. Now we’re coming together today on
a common cause: We urge Eugene voters to get out and vote for
Measure 20-275 on the Nov. 7 ballot.
This street repair bond measure is about more than just potholes. Yes, the money
will allow us to responsibly maintain our local streets. But it also provides increased
funding for bicycle and pedestrian improvements, puts us in a position to take real
action on climate change and pushes for safer streets for all users.
When we campaigned last year for the Ward 1 council seat, we heard from many
people that they cared about street repair. Over the past nine years, the city of Eu-
gene has reduced a backlog of potholed, crumbling streets with two successful bond
measures. This bond will continue that important work, keeping the same tax rate in
place to do more of the same important work.
We also heard that people want accountable government spending, and this mea-
sure delivers that as well.
As a spending measure, this bond is exactly what we should all hope for. First,
it clearly identifies where the money will go. There is a project list determined by
careful deliberations of city staff and the citizen Street Repair Review Panel.
Second, there is accountability in the spending. An independent external auditor
certifies that the money is spent as voters intend, and the citizens on the review panel
track the expenditures over time.
Third, this measure is the most cost-effective way to take care of these needs.
With smart ongoing maintenance, we avoid having to pay far more in the future to
rebuild badly degraded streets.
Finally, many Ward 1 residents share our passion for addressing climate change.
One important thing we need to do is make walking, biking, and riding the bus easier
and safer options. As candidates, we both stood for strong action on climate change,
both pledging to support improvements to our walking and bicycling infrastructure,
and to improve safety for all users of our streets. This bond measure will take impor-
tant steps in this direction and support future steps.
We have stood up for you on these issues before. As members of the city’s Budget
Committee, the two of us, Semple and Skov, were the only votes against last spring’s
update in the Capital Improvement Program. Why? Because the plan — which in-
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October 26, 2017 • eugeneweekly.com
cludes many good and necessary investments in roads, the airport, our wastewater
treatment plant and more — simply failed to embody recent policy goals around
climate change and transportation safety.
Some observers who share those types of concerns have questioned this bond
measure as well, saying that it simply subsidizes the use of cars. While many street
investments do that, we believe this is the right measure at this time for Eugene.
First, our streets are not just for cars. People in bicycles and buses also want
streets to be in good condition, and we all benefit from freight. This is about good
management of our shared assets.
Second, this street repair bond measure, compared to the last one voters passed,
doubles the amount of money dedicated entirely to pedestrian and bicycle projects.
Even this modest funding, about 10 percent of the total bond, is unprecedented. We
believe it represents an important step in turning our infrastructure away from total
dependence on the automobile. And since this dedicated money is often matched
by state and federal grants, it will go a long way. In short, it will be a key source of
funding specifically earmarked for bicycle and pedestrian improvements.
All that said, we want voters to keep an eye on these issues. We ask you to ap-
prove this measure because it advances our shared aspirations for our transportation
system. We envision a city of walkable and bikeable neighborhoods, a great transit
system, streets that are safe for everyone, especially the most vulnerable users —
and people who are healthier and happier because of how they get around.
We both strongly believe that making “alternative” transportation safer and more
convenient is good for public health, for the environment, and for connecting us to
each other. And yes, we want streets that are in good condition that work for cars as
well. This bond measure is one step toward this vision.
Will this measure get us all the way to that perfect transportation system? Ab-
solutely not. But without it, we will struggle to fund basic street fixes, and we will
have almost no money for the kinds of important changes we want to see in our
transportation system.
We ask you to join us in voting yes for Measure 20-275 — and also that you
remain engaged to support meaningful action on climate, transportation safety, our
bike and pedestrian network, and transit.
Emily Semple is the city councilor for Eugene’s Ward 1, which encompasses much of south Eugene and most of
downtown. As a councilor, she sits on the City of Eugene Budget Committee. Joshua Skov is the board president of
Better Eugene-Springfield Transportation (BEST) and a citizen member of the Eugene Budget Committee.