Page 2 Portland Observer Thursday October IS 1978
• • .
SW
The tone of lead ersh ip
We see the world
through Black eyes
(
Semite 10 - Gardner
Elect judges
Measure #1 would amend the Oregon Con
stitution to provide for the appointment by the
Governor of judges of the Supreme Court, the
Court of Appeals and the Tax Court.
The amendment would provide that after ap
pointment, each judge would appear alone on a
ballot, with the voters able to vote "yes' or no
for a six year term. If the vote were no , a new
judge would be appointed.
This system sounds good, since few people
know anything about the judges they vote for,
but the danger in it lies in the formation of a
commission to advise the Governor in appoint
ments. This commission would include the Chief
Justice of the Supreme Court, three members of
the Oregon Bar Association and three non-
lawyers.
This bill would put the selection of judges in
the hands of the Oregon Bar Association, an
organization run largely by a small number of
conservative lawyers, which has not been able to
keep its own house in order
Vote NO on Measure #1 and retain the right for
citizens to select their judges.
No double tax
Measure #3 allows the citizens to vote on
legislation passed by the Legislature last session.
The measure was put on the ballot by a referen-
Oum petition sponsored by Representative Wally
Priestley, to give the people a chance to accept
the legislation or turn it down.
The Legislature doubled the automobile license
tax and increased certain road use taxes.
Previously owners payed $20 for a two year
automobile license. If this legislation is allowed to
stand, the fee will be $20 for one year.
Vote NO on Measure #3.
License denturists
Measure *5 regulates the practice of Den-
turism. Currently only licensed dentists can take
impressions and fit dentures. Most dentists then
have the dentures made at a dental lab and
charge the customer between $500 and $800.
This measure would allow licensed dental
technologists to fit dentures, make them and sell
them directly to the patient at great savings.
These technicians (called denturists) would be
licensed and regulated by the state and could
only see a patient who already had been certified
free of mouth disease by a dentist.
Contrary to the advertising campaign of the
opponents (mainly the dental association) this
would not allow “ untrained" people to work on
the mouth. It would not lower the quality of the
dentures. It would — by cutting out the profit
currently made by the dentists — provide a
savings to those who require dentures — mainly
senior citizens.
Vote YES on Measure #5.
Jim Gardner is the
Democratic Party can
didate
for
Senate
District 10. A graduate
of Yale Law School,
Gardner is a practicing
attorney.
Gardner's main in
terests include revenue
and taxation and the judicial system, and he
hopes to serve on committees dealing with those
issues. His areas of concern also include
education, crime prevention, employment oppor
tunities, neighborhoods.
Bright and energetic, and with experience in
the law, politics and various community
organizations, he has a feel for the needs of his
district.
The Observer endorses Jim Gardner for Senate
District 10.
House 18 - Cease
Jane Cease is run
ning for House District
18, the position vacated
by Lloyd Kinsey. A
Democrat, Ms. Cease
has a long record of
community service —
the type of service that
will enable her to make
decisions that will fa
vorably
effect
the
people of this district.
Ms. Cease has served on tne Governor's
Community Service Committee, the Citizen Task
Force for City Budget Review, State and
Regional Citizen Advisory Committee on Solid
Waste Management, Multnomah County Mental
Health Advisory Board, etc. She is committed to
minority and women's rights, open government,
better programs for the elderly and youth,
housing, and health care.
Her election campaign has been one of
discussing issues and providing information. She
knows the district well.
Jane Cease is the best choice for House
District 18.
Give Governor power
Measure #2 would require that the Governor's
appointments to state office, including boards
and commissions, be approved by the Senate.
This measure grew out of the dispute between
Governor Bob Straub and Senate President
Jason Boe when Straub appointed Ron Wyden
to the nursing home regulatory board. Because
of pressure from the nursing home industry, the
Senate did not approve the appointment.
It is appropriate that the Governor have the
freedom to make appointments without the inter
ference of Senate politics and special interests.
The Governor ultimately must take the respon
sibility of his appointments.
Vote NO on Measure #2.
1st Place
Comm unity Service
ONPA 1873
PORTLAND OBSERVER
Nick Baraett and Political Ideals
ft i Herb L. Ca wt borne
I listened caret ulU.
u lk. as
a he said.
“ The ideal polmcian’Tia'.
an nas the ability
io operate in two kinds o f ways.”
••First.” he said, "there is the
ability to represent the broad interest
o f those you are serving — taking all
the various interests, then standing
forthright in providing leadership
and direction.”
Completing his notion o f the type
o f politician he'd like to be. Nick
Barnett said. “ The second aspect has
to do with not getting caught up so
much in the abstract and the
technical that one becomes out of
touch and out o f tune with the
smaller people who one must
represent."
Balancing broad interests with a
concern for the individual citizen is
an understanding Nick Barnett wants
to put to work. The active executive
director o f the Metropolitan Human
Relations Commission is running a
hard campaign for the Metropolitan
Service District seat #12. There is no
doubt in Nick Barnett’s mind that he
is “ prepared to take this step.”
" It's natural. It's right,” he said.
"T he experiences I have had, the
things I ’ ve read and discussed, my
work with neighborhoods and
human relations lead me to run now.
1 come into this race with a sound
sense o f political activitism.”
He will need every ounce of that
activitism. plus some serious help
from his friends. He is facing the
challenge o f defeating Mike Burton
whose name is familiar and whose
roots are dug deep into the soil of
Demociatic politics in Oregon. MSD
scaf #12 includes North Portland and
much of Northwest Portland It is
big and populated with people who
may never have heard the name,
Nick Barnett.
“ There are a set of things in which
I believe,” he said, explaining his
motis ation to run under such cii-
cum stances
" I t 's not rhetoric, for example,
when
I
talk
about
cultural
pluralism ,"
Barnett
explained,
"because I believe we can have a
society in which diversity is not only
respected but valued.”
" It's not rhetoric," he said,
"when I talk about Democratic
process. I believe there can be a
society in which, not just a remote
elite rule things, but an individual
can be influential and make effective
change.”
To promote the "things in which I
believe,” Barnett has officially en
tered the political clcctorial process.
He faces a huge challenge. However,
he brings to the fight the impressive
resource o f a sound and proven
record.
He is well known in the com
munity for hts energy in reviving the
Human Relations Commission. He
initiated a good deal o f the interest in
the study o f desegregation in Port
land; he developed neighborhood
mediation programs; and he defend
ed his rights of women to equal op
portunity in all affairs.
The Metropolitan Human Re
lations Commission has conduct-
Namibia’s fatare ia doubt again
ftv N. Fungat Kum bula
Several weeks ago, a major
breakthrough regarding Namibia
was announced. On the one hand,
the U.S., Britain, France. West
Germany and Canada had persuaded
the then Vorster government o f
South Africa to allow the holding o f
U.N.
supervised
elections
in
Namibia. At the same time also, the
Front Line states o f Zambia, Bots
wana, Mozambique, Tanzania and
Angola had also prevailed on
SWAPO, the Southwest African
Peoples Organization, to accept the
plan and contest the elections.
SWAPO has been fighting a
guerrilla war in Namibia to wrest
control o f the country from illegal
South African occupation
At the time the joint Western and
African effort had seemed to be a
tremendous success. Elections had
been scheduled to be held before the
end o f this year so Namibia would
enter the New Year as an indepen
dent, majority ruled nation. There
were, however, still some unresolved
questions about the status o f Walvis
Bay, the only deep sea harbor on the
southwest coast of Africa. It is a part
o f Namibia but South Africa had
wanted to slice it away and annex it
to South Africa. Since virtually all of
Namibia's trade passes through
Walvis Bay, it would have meant
that any government that was elected
in Namibia would have to “ behave”
vis a vis South Africa or it could very
easily be strangled economically.
Though that problem had never
been fully resolved, both sides went
ahead with preparations for the elec
tions. SWAPO had more or less
suspended its guerrilla operations.
The U.N. had sent in an advance
team o f specialists to
make
preparations for the registration o f
voters. A peace keeping force o f
some 7,500 had been picked in ad
dition to some I .000 civilian person
nel. A budget had been approved
and a Finnish general picked to lead
the peace keeping force whose main
task was to keep SW APO and the
South African troops apart. W ithin
Namibia itself, intense campaigning
was reported on the part of SW APO,
the moderate South African backed
Democratic Turnhalle Alliance and a
host o f smaller parties.
In South Africa, meantime, John
Vorster, who had initially accepted
the Namibian plan, resigned as prime
minister this past month. (Apparent
ly, maintaining apartheid does take
its toll.) He was replaced by a Pieter
W. Botha, formerly the defense
minister and one o f the most die
hard o f Afrikaner reactionaries. If
you can imagine someone more ob
noxious than Vorster, then you have
a rough idea of the new leader o f the
Afrikaners. He was one o f the ar
chitects o f the ill-fated South African
invasion o f Angola in an effort to
prevent the victorious M P LA from
coming to power. He is also a firm
believer in the ’ ‘ scorched earth”
policy. This advocates that, in the
event o f an imminent Black takeover
(of South Africa), burn down
everything and kill o ff as many of
1st Piece
Beet Ad Resulta
ONPA 1873
Published every Thursday by Ex»e Publishing C ompr
Killingswonh. Portland. Oregon 97217
P O. Bos
31J7. Portland. Oregon 97208 Telephone 283 2486
M 00
by H a ro ld C. Williams
Honorable Mendon
Herrick Editorial Award
N NA 1873
Second Clme Poataga Paid at Portland Oragon
The Portland O tn m tr's official position is expressed only in its
Publisher s column (W e See The W orld Through Black Eyes) Any
other material throughout the paper is the opinion of the individual
writer or submitier and does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the
Portland Obser ,tr
Nt tionel Advertiaing Rapraaentativa
Am algamated Publiahers Inc
N aw
Through the Eyes o f Mr. W.
6th Place
Best Editorial
NNPA 1873
per year
outside Portland
ALFRED L. HENDERSON
Editor/Publisher
2nd Place
Beat Editorial
3rd Placa
Com m unity Leadership
ONPA 1876
3rd Place
Comm unity Leadership
ONPA 1878
York
I 1 ^S ^s'
Oregon
Newspaper
Publishers
Across the nation there is an ugly
cloud that is hovering over the heads
of Black politicians. There are many
persons who are trying to discredit
the involvement of Black officials in
the political arena. Black people
have to be aware o f the trap that is
being set; that of luring Black people
into the circus of attacking Black
public officials, because someone
said it is the thing to do. We had bet
ter check out the persons who are
throwing the bricks and their motives
behind it.
The political arena is the heartbeat
of our society because it affects every
phase o f our lives. When Black
public officials enter the political
arena, they arc in a position to have
some control over the destiny of
Black people. Many persons think it
is not desirable that Black people
control their own destiny, so
therefore, there's a systematic, well
coordinated effort to discredit Black
public officials.
Some of us in Portland. Oregon
have fallen into the trap of attacking
our own Black officials. T h e
questions must be asked, “ Are the
Black
public
officials
doing
enough?” and "A re the non Black
officials doing anything at all?”
Association
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them along with us as possible
After his election, one o f the first
announcements to come from the
South African government was that
they were rejecting the Western plan
and going along with their own elec
tions to be supervised by South
Africa. Ironically, they rejected the
Western plan on the grounds that,
the presence o f those 7,500 U.N.
peace keeping troops would in - ^
timidate people to vote for SW APO ’
since the U.N. has always recognized
SWAPO as Namibia's sole legitimate
liberation movement. So, instead,
South Africa wants to supervise and
conduct the elections. That way, they
can make sure that no SW APO can
didate w ill win while at the same time
giving the impression o f carrying out
“ free and fair” elections.
Can you follow this kind of logic?
When it’ s South African guns that
are doing the supervising, then it’ s
free and fair, but when it's a peace
keeping force with personnel drawn
from around the world, then it's in
timidation!
As a result o f these new com
plications. Secretary o f State, Cyrus
Vance, accompanied by the foreign
ministers o f West Germany and
Canada, have just returned from a
trip to Pretoria where they talked to
the Botha government in an effort to
get them to accept the Western plan
once again. How successful their
mission was has yet to be revealed.
But one thing has already become
very clear: it's a long, winding and
dangerous road to Namibia’s day in
the sun.
2201 North
Mailing address
Subscriptions $7 J O per »ear in the T n -to u n ty area.
ed housing audits, seeking to un
cover discrimination, it has reviewed
the city's compliance with equal em
ployment regulations and recom
mended areas for improvement; it
has been influential ai Ihe legislaiurc,
in the halls o f city and county govern
ment, and around the local com
munity — standing to be counted on
many o f ihe important issues of ihc
day. Nick Barnett’s leadership is
tried and tested. Still, he faces an
uphill battle.
He is waging a good effort Win or
lose the foundaiton is being sei in
place now, and the character he
projects during this race will alleci
the lone o f his leadership and Ihe
tone o f future campaigns, lo r this
reason, Barnett is working hard to
help people understand what they arc
getting
"People who support me arc sup
porting the ideal o f what I hope to
represent,” he said confidently, add
ing, "they are not buying me when
they give me money, they're buying
the ideals which they believe in and
which I w ill represent.”
The tone o f his leadership and his
campaign strikes a dear note which
is pleasing to the ear. While making
sure that everyone understands that
he cannot be caught, he adds with
emphasis.
“ One thing they can all expect,
however, whether they have given
money or moral support or helped
in the campaign, is that I would
respond and respect that support by
being accessible to them.”
Z ip-------
State
The music around the conference
table changes by the mere appear
ances of a Black official. As long as
there arc Black officials at the con
ference table and main arena, there is
hope for the destiny o f Black people,
but if we as Black people join in the
parade to destroy our own Black
public officials, then we will cease to
have a voice in the exclusive clubs of
politics that affect our lives. When
Black officials make mistakes, it is
important to pull them to the side
and get them back on the right track;
never, never attack them in public
for when Black people do that, we
have benefited the enemy.