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About Eugene weekly. (Eugene, Oregon) 1993-current | View Entire Issue (May 10, 2018)
LET TERS BOW TO THE PHALLUS Kudos to the speakers at the April 23 City Council meeting deservedly trying to save the historic Hayward Field east bleachers from the White Knight Privilege Plan. After all is said and will be done, the White Knight knows what is best for the University of Oregon and the city of Eu- gene. History reveals the suppression of public input; meanwhile, the White Knight completes renovation plans, weighs suit- able contractors and secures donor names for the bronze plaque on the Bowerman Phallus. As the community frets over whether they will be discomforted by the sun in their eyes or the rain falling on their heads while watching gladiators run circles on the rubberized urethane track under a plastic prophylactic, the city struggles to provide its residents an environmentally healthy future. The carbon count from this unnecessary construction project along with a new 2.5-mile NW Fracked Gas line from Ferry Street to LCC on 30th Avenue adds to the city’s inability to reduce carbon reduction goals of the Climate Recovery Ordinance. The City Climate Action Plan must be immediately implemented and the UO, as a relied-upon large-lever stakeholder, needs to lead with carbon emission reduc- tions. Proposed and current projects on campus need to fuel the switch to electric- ity, use sustainable products, and eliminate VIEWPOINT the fracked-gas thirst. Soon, the environment will set priori- ties, but then it will be too late and even the White Knight won’t be able to comfort you in your plastic seat. Jim Neu Eugene tive clearly and effectively does. Please contact everyone you know to ensure they’ve sent in their “Yes” on 20- 283 and “No” on 20-287 ballots. Lisa-Marie DiVincent Eugene SUPER KENT EMPATH POLITICS I’d like to bring a little kindness into the elected auditor discussion. Folks on both sides are upset. Political empaths such as myself feel concerned for everyone in- volved. Though I disagree with the criticisms offered by the opponents of Measure 20- 283, I believe they’re acting on good inten- tions. Yet no matter how I stretch my mind, their preferences still seem to lead back to benefiting the few rather than the many. I feel disheartened to see an apparent lack of respect for plain old democracy. That phrase may sound outdated in an era crying out for transparency and account- ability, but our city needs more democracy, more citizen empowerment, more indepen- dent checks and balances — not less. I have empathy for the people who perceive flaws in the elected auditor plan. There’s a drive in human nature to see what’s missing, to make things more our own. I believe in taking time to include all perspectives; At the same time I have no confidence in our City Council’s ability to meet the objectives that the citizens' initia- I’m writing in response to those nay- sayers who have expressed views that can- didate Nora Kent lacks sufficient experi- ence for the job of county commissioner. The naysayers conveniently ignore the fact that the incumbent commissioner had no economic or government experience when first elected. His background solely consisted of being an engineer, with ab- solutely no community or public involve- ment. Kent has demonstrated a successful track record of being a grassroots com- munity organizer as well as a first-rate educator. This position comes with no pre- requisites other than being honest, ethical and dedicated to following the rule of law while serving the interests of the people. The incumbent commissioner has not demonstrated the ability to serve his con- stituents other than to provide excessive favoritism to the wealthy timber barons and other narrow-minded special interest groups who poison our water, land and air — and worse yet, undermine the funda- mental principles of our democracy. This race is about whom we the people want to represent our interests, ideas and moral values. This race is about sending a clear message, from the local level, that representative democracy is alive and well and will not be suppressed by a few power- ful, evil and undemocratic interest groups. Kent will protect us from the dangerous political views expressed by the Tea Party incumbent and his extremist buddies. In the case of the incumbent, some ex- perience should not be repeated. It’s time for positive change — please vote and support Nora Kent for West Lane County commissioner. Bill Fleenor Eugene BERNEY HAS IDEAS We met Joe Berney at a CareWorks meeting. All county commissioner candi- dates were invited; however, Berney was the only Springfield candidate to attend. We were impressed by his energy, open- ness and willingness to listen to all, not just the moneyed and influential. Although he’ll represent Springfield, he’ll respond to the needs of all Lane County. Berney invited Susan to speak at his healthcare forum on April 14, where we learned a little about how he has over- come medical and life challenges that have formed his views on people’s needs. Two physicians and Susan discussed how Lane County could utilize current funding streams to provide healthcare to all area residents. It is possible to provide health care for all without spending more! BY JOHN BAROFSK Y AND JOSHUA SKOV It’s the Right Kind of Auditor YES ON 20-287 A s long-time volunteers who watch Eugene’s city government closely, we want a strong and effective performance auditor. That’s why we’re supporting measure 20-287, and not 20-283. The best way to understand how 20-287 will be more effective is to start with the way Eugene’s government currently works. We have a voice in one simple way: We elect eight councilors and a mayor, and they direct the city manager. Everyone else in city government works for the city manager. All small spending decisions, the preparation of the budget, the maintenance of our streets and parks, hiring and firing of staff — all of that falls to the city manager and his executive staff. You may not like it, but that is our form of government — so- called council-manager form — and it’s written into the city charter. When you look at it that way, you realize that an auditor shouldn’t be audit- ing the City Council for one simple reason: There’s nothing to audit! Councilors make major policy decisions and set the direction for spending. In our form of government, their job is the big picture. Do we get Lyft and Uber, or not? Do we pass a Climate Recovery Ordinance, or not? Do we tear down City Hall, or not? Dogs downtown, or not? Come up with a real housing strategy, or not? Those are the important policy questions that come before council. Don’t like the answers? Elect different councilors and a different mayor. Vote for a different strategy for the big picture. Still, with all of the details in the hands of the city manager and other staff, the mayor and council need a better way to assess their performance. And that is where an auditor under Measure 20-287 gives our elected officials a new tool. The measure creates a position — independent of city staff, reporting directly to council — to be the eyes and ears of mayor and council. By acting at the direc- tion of the people we elect, an appointed performance auditor will help to bring 4 May 10, 2018 • eugeneweekly.com the city manager and city organization in line with our community’s goals. We see a lot of questions that a performance auditor could ask of city govern- ment to make council more effective. How efficient is our spending on homeless- ness? Is our level of ambulance service sufficient? Which public safety strategies have been most effective? And how quickly are we implementing the Climate Recovery Ordinance? These questions concern the performance of city govern- ment — meaning, the city manager and the 1,500 people who work for him. Measure 20-287 has the right ingredients for real accountability: a citizen oversight committee; reasonable salary and budget; and the right relationship to City Council, which must ultimately implement the recommendations the audi- tor generates. (By contrast, Measure 20-283 gets most of these details wrong, doesn’t fit with our current form of government and just creates another politi- cian. But that isn’t our focus here.) Maybe most of all, the appointed auditor would be independent — specifi- cally, independent in the way that matters: not answering to the city manager, the position whose performance would get audited. Our community has big goals — on homelessness, climate change, public safety, parks, downtown, neighborhoods and more. We elect a City Council to set policy and pass budgets to pursue those aims and values. Now let’s put in place an appointed performance auditor and help those elected officials get the job done. We want government to be efficient and effective, and we want to know how our money gets spent pursuing our goals. That’s why we’re supporting an ap- pointed auditor. Join us in voting “Yes” on Measure 20-287. John Barofsky is a former city of Eugene Budget Committee member, and he currently sits on Lane County’s Performance Audit Committee. Joshua Skov is a member of the city of Eugene Budget Committee.
