slant
— Still Moving
>> Jan. 8’s “Top 10 Dick Moves” and the
readers’ poll version (“Dick Moves: Your
Move”) proved popular with readers! So
we’re getting a jump on next year
with “Dick Moves, Pre-dick-ted.”
What dick moves do you see coming from
local governments and businesses? Drop
us a note at Editor@EugeneWeekly.com
for an upcoming issue and see at the
end of 2026 what dicks came to fruition!
>> Greenland and Denmark are in
the news as part of Donald Trump’s
latest bat shittery. Check out the
1992 novel Smilla’s Sense of Snow (also
a 1997 film and now a mini-series that
perhaps the latest contretemps will push
to Netflix) for some fictional background
on Greenland or the Danish TV series
Borgen (which is on Netflix) for your
quirky European-Greenlandic political
fix while Trump continues to play games
with lives on the world stage.
>> A group of former and current Spring-
field students and community members
BY EW EDITORIAL STAFF
is working on a recall against Spring-
field School Board Chair Heather
Quaas-Annsa and members Ken
Kohl and Nicole De Graff who voted
for mid-year cuts that will cost teach-
ers their jobs. The prospective recall
petition was turned in to Lane County
Elections. The county says the petition-
ers must file their signature sheets for
each petition and once approved for
circulation, the group will have until
April 20 to collect 4,826 signatures to
get the recall on the ballot. At stake in
Springfield are not just the cuts but also
K-5 teachers who say they didn’t have
the necessary time, standards-aligned
curricula and other support materi-
als needed to teach science and social
studies.
>> Want to try to bring transparency
to policing in Eugene? The Civilian
Review Board monitors the work of the
city’s independent police auditor, reviews
closed complaint cases and gives input
on the Eugene Police Department’s
NEWS
TRUMP, ’24
AND MORE
The past year has given former
Rep. Peter DeFazio a lot to think
about — including the failures of
the Democratic Party
BY PIERCE BAUGH V
J
an. 20 marked one year since President Donald
Trump announced, “The golden age of Amer-
ica begins right now,” as his second admin-
istration regained the helm of the country.
Now in that “golden age,” masked ICE
officers roam the streets; foreign aid and public broad-
casting have seen $9 billion in cuts under the “One Big
Beautiful Bill,” which permanently extended tax cuts
for the wealthiest Americans; “No Kings” protests have
drawn thousands; the White House Office of Gun Violence
Prevention — a first-of-its-kind office created to coordinate
and accelerate national efforts to reduce gun violence —
has been dissolved; and environmental regulations have
been rolled back.
Trump says it’s no longer the Gulf of Mexico — it’s now
the “Gulf of America.” And he’s taking over Greenland.
One of Oregon’s most prominent longtime political
voices has been closely watching the nation’s trajectory.
Former Rep. Peter DeFazio, who represented Oregon’s
4th Congressional District for 36 years, in a late December
interview with Eugene Weekly, says that he knew Demo-
crats were in trouble even before the Electoral College
began tallying votes on Nov. 5, 2024.
DeFazio, who correctly predicted Trump’s 2016 victory,
has become something of a political bellwether. And he’s
4
January 22, 2026
investigative process. The CRB is looking
for two members living in Eugene, 18 or
older, can pass a background check and
can meet the second Tuesday evening of
the month. Applications due Jan. 31. Go
to Eugene-or.gov/86/Boards-and-Com-
missions to apply to be on the CRB,
Human Rights Commission or other
important service positions.
>> Eugene City Council voted to offer
the city manager position to Jenny
Haruyama, currently the Beaverton
city manager. The advertised salary
range was $238,071 to $319,218, and
a start date is yet to be determined.
Interim City Manager Matt Rodrigues
was one of the top three candidates.
>> At a Jan. 20 protest outside the
downtown Eugene Federal Building,
over 100 students from South Eugene
High School and Monroe Middle School
joined forces with several 100 adults to
protest ICE activity. The walkout was
part of the Women’s March’s Free Amer-
frustrated — particularly with his own party — with the
2024 election, the Dems’ response to Trump and how
to handle the new version of Trump that doesn’t have
guardrails.
A FAILED TRANSITION
DeFazio says he believes the Democratic Party missed
its opportunity long before Election Day. His chief criti-
cism is aimed at President Joe Biden, whose presidency
DeFazio viewed as transitional.
“He was supposed to be the bridge to the future,”
DeFazio says.
In DeFazio’s view, Biden should have announced his
decision not to seek reelection in 2023, giving Democrats
time to hold a competitive primary. Instead, Biden exited
the race late, and the nomination was effectively handed
to Vice President Kamala Harris.
For DeFazio, Harris entered the race carry-
ing the baggage of an unpopular adminis-
tration without clearly distinguishing how
she would govern differently. When she
was asked, ‘What will you do differently
than Joe Biden, whose approval rating
is 38 percent?’ her answer was nothing,”
he says. “Great answer. Great answer.”
ica Walkout. It started at the Wayne
Morse U.S. Courthouse and moved to the
Eugene Federal Building, joining anti-ICE
protesters. Later that evening, a mix of
student and adult protesters stood in
front of the building’s vehicle exit gate
to prevent Department of Homeland
Security officers from leaving. After
a brief confrontation, the officers —
some wearing riot gear — retreated
and requested support from the Eugene
Police Department, according to an
EPD press release. EPD officers moni-
tored the situation until around 6:40
pm when the students left. The federal
officers again attempted to leave, but
protesters prevented it. EPD’s Mobile
Response Team was able to convince
protesters to step aside without use of
force. According to a protester, one of
the vehicles is known to be used by ICE
to transport detainees. To everyone’s
delight, the feds didn’t tear gas or shoot
at the youth and adults exercising their
First Amendment rights.
in federal prisons after lengthy court battles, about 20 in
California, and a handful in Illinois — DeFazio says the
messaging was devastating in a political climate where
many Americans lack basic health insurance.
“That ad was a killer,” he says.
Ultimately, DeFazio says Harris was simply the wrong
candidate for the moment.
WHO COULD HAVE WON?
Asked who might have fared better, DeFazio pointed
to Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Kentucky Gov.
Andy Beshear, the latter of whom was reportedly under
consideration as Harris’s running mate.
He praised Whitmer for leading a traditionally Repub-
lican-leaning state and delivering legislative victories,
and Beshear for maintaining strong popularity in deeply
conservative Kentucky despite being a Democrat.
In the aftermath of Harris’s loss, a famil-
iar narrative re-emerged: that the U.S. is
not ready to elect a woman president,
a claim often reinforced by Hillary
Clinton’s 2016 defeat.
DeFazio strongly rejects that idea.
“Whitmer would have kicked
Trump’s ass,” he says. “You just have
to nominate the right person.”
PETER DEFAZIO
Photo by Todd Cooper
He added that while Harris and Clin-
OLD ATTACKS,
ton were qualified candidates, neither
NEW CONSEQUENCES
was right for the political moment.
DeFazio argues Harris was also haunted by
“America can elect a woman,” DeFazio says.
her unsuccessful 2020 presidential run, partic-
“You just have to nominate the right one.”
ularly by a 2019 video in which she expressed support
for incarcerated people and immigration detainees having
access to gender-affirming surgery. In the video from
YOUNG MEN, MICROTARGETING AND ICE
the Trump campaign, a snippet shows her talking about
According to the Center for Information & Research
supporting taxpayer-funded gender-affirming surgery for
on Civic Learning and Engagement, 56 percent of young
inmates. On a 2019 ACLU questionnaire, Harris responded
men voted for Trump in 2024, compared to 42 percent
that she supported gender-affirming surgery for inmates
for Harris — a reversal from 2020, when most young men
and those in immigration detention, though her 2024
voted for Biden.
presidential platform did not mention taxpayer-funded
DeFazio attributes that shift to sophisticated microtar-
gender-affirming care for inmates.
geting — the use of personal data such as media habits,
That stance resurfaced in a 2024 attack ad that DeFazio
geography and interests to tailor political messaging.
compares to the infamous 1964 “Daisy” ad used against
“There’s so much data out there on everybody,” he
Barry Goldwater, which used the prospect of nuclear
said. “The Democrats are way behind on it.”
war to frighten voters. The ad highlighted Harris’s prior
But DeFazio says microtargeting isn’t being used only
statements and concluded with the line: “Kamala’s for
to win votes. He claims ICE has also targeted young men
they/them. President Trump is for you.”
for recruitment — a development he finds alarming.
Though cases of incarcerated people receiving gender-af-
In an eerie prediction of the Jan. 7 killing by ICE of
firming surgery have been exceedingly rare — only two
Renee Good, he said: “They’re going to recruit 10,000 more
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