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About Eugene weekly. (Eugene, Oregon) 1993-current | View Entire Issue (April 12, 2018)
LET TERS The Eugene City Council obviously isn’t willing to tell the truth about what happened with City Hall and the money. That’s why I support an elected city audi- tor. With more real transparency, the tax- payers of Eugene could finally find out what really happened. An elected auditor might also prevent other atrocious things like this from happening again. The council put a highly controversial substitute auditor proposal on the ballot, but I don’t think this will do the job. An auditor needs to be independent. It seems to me that if the council wanted the voters to know what happened, they could have done so by now. If they don’t want people to know what happened, an appointed auditor who can be fired by the council itself isn’t likely to be able to do so. We clearly need the pro- tection of an elected auditor. Finn Po Eugene HOMELESS CITY HALL I agree with Bob Warren’s Viewpoint (3/29) that something useful should be done with the gigantic five-year-old sand and gravel field at 7th and Pearl Street that used to have Eugene City Hall sitting upon it, but now is an eyesore. I propose that the city — perhaps in partnership with the county — build a large homeless shelter on the lot, since it’s no longer arguable that homelessness is a significant local issue and what we’re do- ing now isn’t working for many people. The site is big enough that separate but related programs could be built there — one for those who need a place to go immediately for a few days, and one that would be available for those, including families, who could transition to more per- manent digs, with supportive services, say over a few months. Once someone graduates from the tran- sitional program, that slot would be avail- able to someone appropriate at the other program. There would still be enough room to provide an area where people could pitch tents and tarps if no beds in the other programs were available. This would be an appropriate companion program to the Egan Warming Center beds. Gary Cornelius Eugene HOT AIR SOCIETY WELCOME TO 1984 LYING CITY COUNCIL I strongly agree with Archie Herring in his letter regarding City Hall and its unan- swered questions (4/5). I dread being re- minded about the $7 million that was lost every time I pass by the depressing empty pit where our new City Hall was supposed to be. Recent news reports have highlighted Sinclair Broadcasting Corporation’s politi- cally motivated control over the content of its local television news stations. Sinclair currently owns more than 170 stations across the country, including two local sta- tions, KVAL and KMTR. BY TONY CORCOR AN Republicans on Warpath! DORCHESTER DOOZIES DISTURB DEMOCRATS I n my column I never aim to appease any but the most moderate of Republicans and other weird sects. Turns out that’s a bad business model be- cause, one, the moderate Oregon Republican In Name Only (RINO) is as extinct as the black rhino and, two, I don’t get paid to write this crap anyway! Eugene Weekly Editor Camilla Mortensen’s recent report on the Dorchester Conference (“Republicans Gone Wild,” EW 3/29) should send out shock waves to Democrats. Dorchester began in 1965; moderate Bob Packwood created an alternative to conservative Re- publicans who’d chosen Barry Goldwater for president in 1964. Fast-forward to 2018: Dorchester headlines rightwing Trump advisor Roger Stone and Portland’s reigning hate group the Proud Boys as poster children. Mortensen points to a straw poll at the conference indicating which faction of today’s Republican party showed up. Greg Wooldridge, the newest darling of anti- choice and pro-gun advocates, defeated Knute Buehler, the presumed frontrunner in the gubernatorial primary. Trying to portray himself as a moderate, Buehler alien- ated Republicans with his votes on reproductive rights and gun rights in the aftermath of Parkland. Buehler understood that the last Republican to get near Mahonia Hall was a tall moderate basketball play- er, Chris Dudley, who lost in 2010 by a whisker: 49.3 percent to 47.8 percent. In 2018 Buehler’s gamble may fail. The most telling piece of Mortensen’s Dorchester report is the emergence of Jonathan Lockwood in both the Wooldridge race and Lou Ogden’s race as a “non- partisan” candidate for Bureau of Labor and Industries (BOLI) commissioner. 4 A pril 12, 2018 • eugeneweekly.com Lockwood’s position in both races, given his short slash-and-burn legislative staff history, indicates these candidates will ingratiate themselves to the alt-right elements of the party. The alarming difference is that while Wooldridge’s strategy against Buehler is nothing new, Ogden appeared out of nowhere and is building up steam quickly. Mortensen’s description of Ogden’s “Google prob- lem” is eye opening. From 2013 we find the headline “Tualatin Mayor Lou Ogden running for fifth term de- spite housemate’s child porn case.” His defense was that his roommate “was evicted immediately” after Og- den learned of the allegations. Actually the alleged pervert lived with Ogden for 18 months after the investigation began, during which time the perpetrator was arrested and his computer files con- fiscated by law enforcement! Really? Eighteen months and you didn’t know your roommate was into child porn? Being the astute journalistic wannabe that I am, I im- mediately investigated the past living arrangements of Ogden’s opponent for BOLI commissioner, Val Hoyle. It turns out that during her last three legislative ses- sions, Oregon Rep. Hoyle had some highly suspect roommates herself. I have so far identified one of the suspected roommates as the notorious Nancy Nathan- son, state representative and our distinguished co-chair of Joint Ways and Means. Nathanson’s reputation among her friends for her fastidiously high ethical qualms regarding break- ing any law would leave her morally ambiguous about jaywalking in Jasper for chrissakes! The Google problem is not just about the child porn stuff. Poor Lou has another credibility problem involv- ing his “occupation.” Ogden listed in his filing that he was a “farmer.” But where? The farm is apparently in Illinois, and his wife’s family owns it. In fact it’s where his wife lives! And he goes back often to Illinois through O’Hare air- port in Chicago to farm the farm when he’s not toolin’ the Tualatinians. Ogden has spent a lot of time in Illinois. We know this because of The Oregonian’s 2012 story on the $100,000 he charged the city of Tualatin for travel expenses with an inexplicable number of O’Hare lay- overs. During one matching period of time, the rest of the City Council combined spent $9,000! Will Ogden survive his “Google problem”? Ask the puppet master behind the scene. Ogden raised cash quickly with the help of state Rep. Julie Parrish. You remember her, don’t you? Along with state Rep. Cedric Hayden she sponsored Ballot Measure 101 in an effort to eliminate Medicaid in Oregon. Health care prevailed in January’s special election, thank god. That said, Parrish is a smart, self-serving fundraiser. She made a bunch of money for her cam- paign business even though her side was defeated. Worst of all, Val Hoyle now has a serious race, and Ogden’s candidacy with Parrish as his campaign man- ager, ludicrous as it may be, is just another tendril of the alt-right renaissance in Oregon that stretches out and twines around any Republican support it can find. Remember, the two-person, non-partisan BOLI commissioner race will be decided in the May primary. I hope Democrats and progressives pay attention to turnout. Certainly Val Hoyle will. Stay tuned.
