LET TERS
DON’T END SANCTUARY
In November we will vote on Ballot
Measure 105. It proposes to overturn Or-
egon’s 30-year-old sanctuary law.
The measure is sponsored by Orego-
nians for Immigration Reform (OFIR), an
organization designated a hate group by
Southern Poverty Law Center. Just in case
it is not enough to know who is behind
the ballot measure to let us understand we
should oppose it, consider these points:
If the measure passes, we will be less
safe. When our local law enforcement of-
ficers start working as immigration police,
some people in our community are less
likely to report crimes, less likely to help
solve crimes and less likely to testify to
help convict criminals.
Our police officers are already stretched
too thin; even now they are sometimes un-
able to respond when their help is needed.
Don’t ask them to take on the work of the
federal immigration police.
Vote “no” on Ballot Measure 105.
Judy Boles
Eugene
A KINDER DOWNTOWN
What if, in downtown Eugene, the ex-
tra planters were removed along with the
chain-rope fencing and the other misplaced
fencing and the misplaced bicycle racks?
Then public seating and perhaps outdoor
art could be installed.
This would make the downtown look
less crowded and maybe more attractive.
And then, just maybe, more people could
sit and chat and people watch and relax and
do all those other things that people might
want to do when they go downtown?
Beverley Mowery
Eugene
GET SMART
As the new school year begins, now is
the perfect time to sign up to volunteer in
our schools. One wonderful way to help
encourage books and the love of reading is
to register to be a SMART Reader.
SMART (Start Making a Reader Today)
is a program unique to Oregon. We recruit
volunteers to read one-on-one at schools
throughout Oregon, reading with the same
kids every week for half-hour sessions. In
most cases, the volunteers work an hour
a week, reading with two kids per week.
However, you are welcome to volunteer
more often if you choose.
We are not a tutoring program, but an
enjoy-books-and-reading program. Each
school decides which student groups they
wish to serve. Generally, SMART kids are
K-3 as well as Head Start. It is extremely
rewarding to see your SMART Kids every
week as they pick out books to share with
you and to share their excitement.
We are currently recruiting readers for
Eugene, Springfield and the rest of Lane
County. We start reading with the SMART
kids in mid-October, but we need to have
our volunteers signed up well before, so
each child can be matched with a reader.
Go to our website at getsmartoregon.
org to register, or call the SMART office
at 541-600-8035 to request a paper appli-
cation.
Barbara George, SMART coordinator
Cesar E. Chavez
GUNS AND PANCAKES
The other day, as my kids and I were
at IHOP waiting on our pancakes, a man
came in the restaurant with a large-caliber
revolver hanging in a holster on his hip
and a small child jumping and hugging
him around the waist, hand inches away
from it.
I got a manager and told her about it,
and asked what their firearms policy was.
At first she tried to tell me that in Oregon
anyone can carry a gun anywhere, but I re-
minded her that in Oregon companies can
set their own rules for their premises, and
told her I needed to know what their com-
pany’s policy was. She said she would ask
her manager, then came back a few min-
utes later to tell me that concealed guns
were not allowed but openly carried guns
were.
I told her we were leaving immediately
and that we weren’t coming back, then we
left. There are plenty of other places to get
a pancake without worrying about some
yahoo with a gun.
Baldr Odinson
Junction City
BEWARE THE GESTAPO
We are traditionally a melting pot of
racial, ethnic and religious diversity. The
state of Oregon introduced the sanctuary
law 30 years ago to protect the rights of
individuals from unwanted harassment and
persecution. As a concerned Oregonian,
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overturning this law would be a green light
fro the government to pry into our privacy
in violation of our human rights.
If Measure 105 passes, who would the
next victims of profiling be? Would they
be some poor person with dark skin and an
old car, stopped by the police simply for
looking a certain way, or diving a certain
way? Or could the next victim be your
next-door neighbor with whom you just
shared a friendly over-the-fence chat? Or
a schoolmate, a colleague or even you? Or
would it open the door to neighbors de-
nouncing neighbors to the police?
The police have a duty and a responsi-
bility in keeping our community safe. We
need to keep our neighborhoods free of
criminal activity, but also with the recogni-
tion of the right to privacy.
If Measure 105 passes, not only would
Oregon police departments have to take on
additional responsibilities, they would be
the instruments of violating our very pri-
vacy. Our right to live in a democratic na-
tion would be violated.
I do not want the streets of a politically
progressive community like Eugene to be-
come a police state where people live in
fear, not hope.
Thomas G. Romano
Eugene
U.S. as the only realistic option for a new
mass working-class party. Greens fought to
obtain ballot access in 45 sates in 2016. No
other progressive party comes close to this
access to voters.
The nationwide organization and inter-
national affiliates make the Green Party
(Pacific Green in Oregon) the obvious
choice for socialists (newmenu.org/mike-
beilstein).
Mike Beilstein
Pacific Green Candidate for U.S.
Congress
Corvallis
SERIOUS SOCIALISTS
WHO IS YOUR NEIGHBOR?
The Democratic Socialists of America
(DSA) grew from less than 5,000 members
in 2016 to more than 50,000 today. DSA
is now the largest socialist organization in
the United States since World War II.
This phenomenal growth was inspired
by Bernie Sanders’ open identification as a
“democratic-socialist,” and spurred by the
Democratic Party’s rejection of Sanders
and the ensuing oligarch take-over of all
branches of the U.S. government.
DSA is not a political party — some
DSAers are loyal Democrats — but many
new members joined out of disillusion-
ment with the Democratic Party. One of
the strongest groupings within the DSA is
the Refoundation Caucus, which explicitly
calls for a new mass working-class party.
I support the Refoundation impulse and
see the need for a party that is not tainted
by dependence on the oligarchy.
I am a serious socialist committed to a
real alternative to the corporate controlled
duopoly. I support the Green Party of the
I rely on my neighbors to look out for
me, my safety and my well-being. We give
each other our excess produce and take
care of each other’s pets. When my hus-
band is out of town, I feel safe, knowing
my neighbors will help me if I need it and
have an eye out for my safety.
When I was in danger at home as a child,
my neighbor, who is an immigrant, stepped
forward and protected me. I’m concerned
that if Measure 105 passes, my neighbors
will be afraid to call the police for fear of
racial discrimination. I can’t expect them to
prioritize my safety over their own.
If Measure 105 passes, it will open the
door to anti-immigrant behaviors by local
police. This law has been working as in-
tended for more than 30 years, giving clear
guidance to local law enforcement on com-
plicated immigration issues.
We all want to live in a community
where we can turn to our neighbors for help.
Erica Barry
Eugene
NO TO MEASURE 105
Measure 105 proposes our police re-
sources be squandered pursuing a Federal
agenda rather than local issues. The mea-
sure, backed by what that The Southern
Poverty Law Center has deemed a hate
group, would divert attention from real
problems facing our community like do-
mestic violence, substance abuse and traf-
ficking.
One does not have to look far to find
many ways that time could be better spent
instead of harassing our fellow citizens on
the off chance they may be undocumented.
Cliff Haney
Springfield