LET TERS
MEN ARE GOOD
Sunday, Nov. 19 is International Men’s
Day. Maybe one day during the year we
can stop blaming men, particularly white
men, for the ills of the world. You might
consider a father who daily went to a job
he didn’t like so you could live comfort-
ably. You might consider the men who cre-
ated all the things you take for granted, like
houses, roads, schools, hospitals and pretty
much everything else.
You might consider that the electrical
power stays on mostly because of men,
that garbage is collected mostly because of
men or that the little screen that dominates
your attention by dispensing doses of do-
pamine connects seamlessly to a cellphone
tower designed, constructed and main-
tained mostly by men.
You might consider that three of every
four homeless people are men or that 13
out of every 14 workplace injuries and
deaths befalls a man. You might wonder
why the oppressers live shorter lives than
the women they oppress or why men com-
mit suicide far more often than women.
Yes, women do attempt suicide more often,
but men are better at getting the job done.
For one day, maybe you could try the man-
tra “Men are Good.”
Joe Tyndall
Eugene
GIVE DEFAZ A CALL
Nice interview with Congressman Pe-
ter DeFazio with his selection as best lo-
cal politician. (“Best of Eugene Readers
Poll” 11/2) He truly seems like a person
who cares and will listen. So give him a
call or write a note, asking him to cospon-
sor House Resolution 466 supporting the
Global Partnership for Education (GPE).
The GPE will help countries provide edu-
cation for the millions of children and youth
out of school. By supporting the GPE’s ef-
forts, America can join other countries and
individual donors to create a more peaceful
world. In addition to reducing conflict, edu-
cated populations have lower birth rates, bet-
ter health, and higher earnings.
This is a perfect step for the man select-
ed as a “world-changer.”
Willie Dickerson
Snohomish
BEATING A DEAD HORSE
Every time I see Donald Trump featured
on the cover of Eugene Weekly (11/9), I
wish the paper would apply its resources
more strictly to local news.
Ben Ricker
Eugene
TRUMP SONG TRIBUTE
Thank you for your coverage of pro-
test songs last week (11/9), especially
Trombone Shorty and Dumpstaphunk’s
song “Justice.” The song features Nick
Daniels III, playing a Mana Basso bass
made here in Eugene by Tony Walters. It
features locally sourced and sustainably
yielded woods.
Just another great example of your in-
Celebrating !
Born and raised in Eugene
11th & Olive • Downtown Eugene
Mon-Fri 8 am -8 pm • Sat & Sun 9 am -8 pm
kivagrocery.com 541-342-7019
4
November 16, 2017 • eugeneweekly.com
credible community of artists making an
impact worldwide.
Thanks again EW for being a beacon
of light in the heart of darkness!
Harold “Hal” Henkel
Eugene
PRO ELECTED AUDITOR
While I now live in Portland, I formerly
lived in Eugene, and still follow events
there. Kudos to those who gathered 13,000
petition signatures to establish an indepen-
dent elected city auditor for Eugene.
Here in Portland, we appreciate our
elected auditor. With a budget of $10 mil-
lion and a staff of 50, she provides a good
counterweight to the mayor and city com-
missioners, who are full-time employees
managing city departments.
But Eugene has a different form of gov-
ernment. The ballot measure appears to be
a vote of no confidence in the mayor and
City Council, as it provides them with no
new authority or resources to guide the city.
Rather the proposal risks creating a power
struggle over who really runs the city. The
lowly-paid mayor and council have the au-
thority but the highly-paid auditor has her
own staff and, potentially, legal counsel.
The mayor and City Council should em-
brace the need for better city government.
Time is running out for them to either support
the current proposal as welcome and benefi-
cial, or else offer an alternative they believe
will help them serve the community better.
Joe Daunt
Portland
A GOOD START ON AUDITOR
Having run a statewide initiative cam-
paign I can attest to the fact that the pe-
titioners who organized the campaign to
gather signatures for an elected city auditor
worked hard and deserve praise for their
efforts.
I fully support accountability and trans-
parency in Eugene. A performance auditor
is one good way to improve the function-
ing of city government. However, upon
reading the text of the proposed charter
amendment, I came away with the belief
that there are some flaws in their proposal
that would make it difficult for me and oth-
ers to support it.
For example, the cost is very high, there
is no residency requirement, there are no
checks and balances on the auditor, and
some of the language is poorly drafted.
I look forward to learning what the
mayor’s study group has found and how
the city council responds. I applaud the ef-
forts of the petitioners as a good start, but I
hope the Eugene City Council finds a way
to improve this attempt at establishing an
important government position.
David Funk
Eugene
CLOSE GUN LOOPHOLES
We become vulnerable to unreasonable
restrictions on our freedoms without rea-
sonable gun regulations. At the national
level, we should:
l. Ban the sales of the bump stock and
rapidly firing weapons.