JUNE 19, 2020, KEIZERTIMES, PAGE A7
COUNCIL,
continued from Page A1
playground on the site.
“Seeing that happen and
how they use it, and still use it,
for what they do was awesome
and I hope it lasts them for a
while,” Juran said.
If elected, Juran is most ex-
cited to continue work that
began on growth strategies
during his time on the plan-
ning commission. Keizer is out
of space to grow and Juran was
part of the group that oversaw
and made recommendations
on the potential ways Keizer
might grow.
“As we were having those
discussions, I was frustrated
when it moved slowly, but
there were times when we
brought people into the meet-
ings and got to hear perspec-
tives from all over the map,” Ju-
ran said. “Even if I didn’t agree
with someone’s perspective,
those conversations helped us
fi nd the middle ground.”
A new development of
River Road North, near Son-
ic Drive-In, will be the fi rst
to capitalize on some of the
changes instituted during Ju-
ran’s time on the planning
commission. The new space
will incorporate both housing
and commercial spaces, the
fi rst of its kind in Keizer.
Juran said he was excited
to see it happening, but hopes
that Keizer doesn’t change too
quickly. He thinks that the city
can continue to preserve its
small town feel through slow
expansion of the city’s Ur-
ban Growth Boundary to the
north.
“My initial thinking is that
we grow outward while build-
ing little community centers
of business and recreation and
that is what will preserve the
small town feel,” he said.
Parsons said her largest ac-
complishments on the council
were The Big Toy in Keizer
Rapids Park, which was her
fi rst major assignment as a city
councilor, and putting forth a
new draft of the city charter to
voters.
“I wanted to change the
charter since I was fi rst elect-
ed,” Parsons said, speaking of
a section of the city’s found-
ing document that marginal-
izes LGBTQ+ residents. She
hopes that Keizer voters fi nd
LET THE RACES BEGIN
When elections come around in November, three city
councilors positions are up for grabs as well as that of
Keizer’s Mayor. Councilors Marlene Parsons and Kim Free-
man have already announced they will not be seeking
additional terms in offi ce. Councilor Laura Reid is up for
re-election.
Candidates have until August 25 to fi le.
To qualify as a candidate, registrants must be regis-
tered voters in the City of Keizer and resided within the
city for the 12 months preceding the election. Candidates
must also collect 120 signatures of registered Keizer vot-
ers before being certifi ed for the ballot.
Contact Tracy Davis at 503-856-3412 or via email at
davist@keizer.org for additional information or for an
election information packet.
it in their hearts to support the
change when it arrives on bal-
lots this November.
She said the hardest deci-
sions were ones that she was
legally required to support
even when her heart leaned
in other directions. She refer-
enced a decision to allow land
use changes which will likely
lead to the cow pasture in the
center of town being redevel-
oped as apartments.
“That was probably one of
the hardest decisions because,
at fi rst, it got to voted down
and we had good reason for it.
Then the owners came back
with changes that addressed
those concerns. Those deci-
sions tear at your heart,” she
said.
When her fi nal term ends
in January, Parsons plans to
spend more time traveling and
with her grandchildren, but
she doesn’t plan on leaving
Keizer for good.
“I would never move from
this town. I have a passion to
do everything for this town.
Kyle has that same passion and
it’s why I’m endorsing him,”
she said.
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Mrs. America hits all the right notes
By TJ REID
For the Keizertimes
I sincerely believe that social
media platforms such as Twit-
ter and Facebook are some of
the most harmful inventions of
the 21st Century. Sure, they let
you keep up with family and
friends and make it easier to
share clips of cats doing stupid
things, but the detrimental as-
pects are legion as well—disin-
formation, depression-causing
comparisons and cyberbullying,
to name a few. The most in-
sidious feature of social media,
however, is the minimization of
people and complicated issues
into bite-sized bits. 280 charac-
ters are not enough to contain
an entire person, nor can they
convey every facet of a com-
plicated issue. We are, simply
put, reduced to the most ru-
dimentary forms of the stances
we take. But while social me-
dia has certainly exacerbated
this practice, it by no means
invented it—historians have
done this too often as well. Mrs.
America, a new FX miniseries
and Hulu exclusive, attempts to
subvert such oversimplifi ed ap-
proaches by exploring one such
complex issue, the 1970s strug-
Submitted
Cate Blanchett stars in the FX/Hulu drama leads the luminous
female ensemble of Mrs. America.
gle to ratify the Equal Rights
Amendment, as thoroughly as
it can. The resulting nine hours
is a superbly acted explosion of
style that is not only guaranteed
to entertain, but also enlighten.
The perpetually incred-
ible Cate Blanchett leads the
equally wonderful ensemble as
Phyllis Schlafl y, famous conser-
vative spokeswoman and the
ERA’s staunchest opponent in
the 1970s. Blanchett presents
Schlafl y as much more than her
beliefs, however, and gives the
real-life historical fi gure the
nuance that all real-life peo-
ple deserve. When interviewed
by People Magazine, Blanchett
stated that her “function was
not to judge [Schlafl y], it was
to place her as well roundly as
[she] could, so that she could
be a foil for the other people
and that you get a sense of
what it is to be a female in the
1970s or 2020.” In this, the en-
tire cast succeeds, as there is not
a single weak link in the acting
to be found. Perhaps more im-
portantly, the show itself does
not pick sides—instead of tak-
ing the easy route of casting
one group as the heroes and the
other group as the villains, it
illustrates the good and bad
on both sides of the issue and
lets the viewer come to their
own conclusions. This is im-
portant, as the topics explored
are some that are still relevant
and hotly debated today—gen-
der roles, abortion, and the role
of family in society, to name a
few—and understanding op-
posing viewpoints is vital to
civilized debate. Schlafl y and
Gloria Steinem (here played
by Rose Byrne) are presented
as more than 280 characters.
Accompanying the excel-
lent acting is a whole lot of
style. Mrs. America pops with
vintage visuals and authentic
‘70s tunes, giving the admit-
tedly slow-burn story a lot of
personality. I would be a liar
if I said that I understood all
the political speak and ma-
neuvering, but I was also nev-
er bored. For a mini-series all
about politics, this is an impres-
sive feat.
So log off of Facebook, put
down your phone, and pick up
your phone again to watch Mrs.
America. Empowerment awaits.
Mrs. America is now available
on Hulu.
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