Crashing reapportionment gates
V age 4 Portlend Observer, November 5, 1961
EDITORIAL/OPINION
by Mary Elim Laary
Prophet selection brings unity
The selection o f M atthew Prophet as superin
tendent o f the P o rtlan d school district provides
an o p p o rtu n ity that the district has not had fo r
m any years— the o p p o rtu n ity to u n ify w ith a
strong, com petent leader and get on about the
business o f education.
T h e process used by the S ch o o l B o a rd to
screen candidates and to make the final selection
b roug ht together the m any varied elements o f
the c o m m u n ity . A n d as ra re ly happens in a
school district as troubled and divided as P o rt
la n d ’ s, a ll o f those elements came to the same
conclusion— th a t M a tth e w P rophet shou ld be
the new superintendent. Representatives o f busi
ness, unions, teachers, adm inistrators, parents,
all came to one decision— fo r the first tim e ever,
they agreed.
This unity can become the basis fo r a new co
a litio n o f s u p p o rt fo r the school d is tric t. T he
d iff ic u lt decisions ahead— budget cuts, m ore
sch o o l clo su re s, a d ju s tm e n ts to a s h rin k in g
economy— can be palatable and the changes that
are necessary to ensure the academic success o f
a ll the d is tr ic t’ s c h ild re n can be easier i f the
School Board also united behind D r. P roph et
and uses the trem endous g o o d w ill to w a rd him
exhibited by the com m u nity to enhance the dis
tric t’ s image.
A fte r more than ten years o f agony the Black
co m m u n ity can lo o k fo rw a rd to a genuine op
p o rtu n ity fo r e d u ca tio n a l excellence. B u t th is
hope cannot fa ll on the shoulders o f D r. P ro
phet alone. It w ill only be fu lfille d by the com
m itm ent o f every member o f the School Board.
Support Jefferson football team
Jefferson H igh School plays C o rv a llis in the
State A A A F o o tb a ll T o u rn a m e n t th is F rid a y
night at Jefferson. This is an o p p o rtu n ity fo r the
com m unity to come out and support our young
men and women.
Last year some c o m m u n ity m em bers were
em barrassed to fin d o n ly a b o u t 25 J e ffe rs o n
supporters at the game at Gresham , w h ile the
Gresham supporters overflowed their side o f the
stadium.
We do a lot o f talking about com m unity sup
p ort and we do a lo t o f ta lkin g about the need
fo r a co m m u nity high school. Now take a cou
ple o f h ou rs and show up at J e ffe rs o n H ig h
S chool to see a good game. G ive the team the
support they need and deserve.
■ A
Thia should ¡uat about cloaa that Vrlndovt ot v u ln e r a b ilit y ’
Letters to the Editor
I must take issue with a statement
made by C om m issioner Gladys
McCoy in the October 8, 1981 issue
o f the Observer. In that a rticle ,
M cC o y stated that I had been re
sponsible for the Regional Jail not
being sited in Troutdale and this led
to the inability o f the justice system
to handle prostitution in Portland.
The record, however, shows that I
had agreed to work with the then-di
rector o f Justice Services for M u lt
nomah C ounty in dealing with the
C ity o f T ro u td ale, with which the
C ounty was in effectively negotia
ting.
1 am further o f the opinion that
Commissioner M cCoy has misread
the com m unity by suggesting that
the only solution to the prostitution
issue is to “ lock up the prostitutes.”
It seems to me that a more positive
To the editor:
approach would be to also strength
en law enforcement on the “ John”
or customer. This is one suggestion
o f the Task Force on Prostitution
which I have set up. I hope we can
all work together to solve this com
m unity problem . I f you have any
ideas fo r m aking your n eigh b o r
hood safer, please contact my office
at 248-5213.
Gordon E. Shadburne
Multnomah County Commissioner
I am outraged by the Reagan-ini
tiated bust o f the air controllers
union (P A T C O ) by the Federal La
bor R elations A u th o rity . As a
form er federal w orker and union
m em ber, I am h o rrifie d to watch
this shocking persecution o f federal
employees set a dangerous prece
dent for all public workers (30 per
cent o f the w orkforce) and for the
public we serve.
Never before has the federal
Reagan should support Voting Rights A c t
To the editor:
In 1981, o ur n a tio n ’ s p o litic a l
leaders in Washington, D .C . are de
bating the passage o f the Extension
o f the Voting Rights Act.
Many Americans may find it hard
to believe that certain Americans o f
color still are victims o f violations,
manipulation, gerrymandering and
language barriers as they seek to ex
ercise their right to vote.
The V o tin g Rights A c t, first
passed in 1965, provides protection
for these citizens.
Both the House and the Senate
must act on this measure. The
House has already voted; the mea
sure is now pending in the U .S. Sen
ate.
Despite the fact that the members
o f the U .S . House o f Representa
tives have passed the Voting Rights
act by an overwhelming m ajority—
389 fo r, 24 against, and 20 not
voting— President Reagan has yet to
lend his support to the passage o f a
strong measure.
H e is strangely silent; he must
speak out.
N A A C P ’s Benjamin Hooks testi
fied, “ There is no doubt in my mind
that the Voting Rights Act is the sin
gle most effective piece o f legisla
tion drafted in the last two decades.”
T he Joint C enter fo r P o litic a l
Studies, a n o n -p artisan research
group in Washington, D .C ., states,
“ It would be a serious m istake to
abandon the protection o f minority
voting rights at the very tim e our
nation is undergoing a systematic
reassessment o f many national pol
icies, com m itm ent and even be
liefs.”
“ In times lik e these, when so
much is at stake and when new
Subscriptions: »10 00 per year in Tri-County area Postm aster
Sand address changes to the Portland Observer, P.O. Box 3137,
Portland. Oregon 97208.
O f course, many o f the disputes
springing up across the country are
tra d itio n a lly partisan . In O k la
homa, where Democrats managed
to solidify their strength, Republi
cans have a petition drive under way
to ask voter repeal. In Illinois legis
lators lite ra lly got in to fist fights
over redistricting. Indiana Republi
cans, who dominate the state legisla
tu re, used the com puter skills o f
pollster Robert T e e te r’ s M a rk e t
Opinion Research to devise congres
sional districts which seemed sure to
transform that state’ s Dem ocratic
edge o f 6-3 into a Republican m a
jo rity o f 7-3. Both parties have fled
to the courts. In C alifo rn ia Dem o
crats contrived to push their one-
seat congressional edge to a six-seat
m a jo rity . “ A sham ,” cried C o m
mon Cause, but it sailed through.
While C alifornia Republicans are
retaliating with a petition drive for a
po p ular vote on the D em ocrats*
plan, this state’s two biggest m in
orities, Blacks and H ispanics, are
locked into their own riv a lry over
new districts that pit them against
one another.
Said Verna Canson, N A A C P re
gional d irecto r in C a lifo rn ia :
“ Whether this was done deliberately
or not, the two minority blocs seem
forced into c o n flic t.” One legisla
tive consultant protested: “ W e
d id n ’ t bring this a b o u t. W e just
counted people where they live, and
in many areas, especially around
Los Angeles, Hispanics are moving
into and even dominating neighbor
hoods formerly all Black.”
Some observers fear this kind o f
m in o rity bloc c o n fro n ta tio n may
spread across the country though
the '80s if it is built into reappor-
tionm ent. Others believe Hispanic
aspirations are being manipulated
by Republicans to embarrass Demo
crats.
It is curious that the efficacy o f
the Voting Rights Act is being tested
w ith this y ea r’ s reap p o rtio nm en t
process just as Congress is debating
whether to extend it. Many think re
apportionm ent w ill prove conclu
sively how much the act is needed.
“ Whatever Congress does about
the future, the Voting Rights Act is
law right now ,” said the N A A C P ’s
Sim m ons. " W e see re a p p o rtio n
ment closely linked w ith that act.
Where we find discrim ination, we
will turn to the Department o f Jus
tice.”
O I I Pacific New« Service
government perpetrated such har
assment, slander, ja ilin g s , fines,
general legal terror, and wholesale
firings against its own workers. The
government, as representative o f ci
tizens, ought to be the fairest, most
eag er-to -n eg otiate em p lo yer. In
stead, Reagan is using the P A T C O
challenge to resurrect the worst
union-busting tactics since the grim
days o f Joe McCarthy.
M y experience as a public servant
convinced me that union representa
tion and the right to strike are often
the only means to fight effectively
fo r decent w orking conditions
which will safeguard public health
and welfare.
I see the adm inistration’s vindic
tive campaign against P A T C O as
part and parcel o f their starve-the-
poor, feed-the-rich (and the m ili
tary ) cam paign. A ll targets o f the
social service slashes and o f Rea
g an ’ s a n ti-la b o r o ffensive must
unite behind the valiant air control
lers.
Jamie Partridge
Portland, Ore.
PERS Fred Meyer investment defended
political and economic realities are
having a wrenching effect, the V ot
ing Rights o f the most disad van
taged in our society must be protect
ed.”
“ In the final analysis, it is the onl-
ly safety net that minorities can rely
o n .”
To the editor:
Fred Meyer is one o f the best in
vestment opportunities that has ever
been opened to the Public Em ploy
ees Retirement System. The benefits
from this transaction will clearly fall
on all Oregonians and particularly
the members o f the Retirement Sys
tem.
The managem ent structure o f
Fred Meyer will not be changed by
the sale. A n d, the current manage
ment will own a considerably larger
portion o f the company than they
do now. Fred Meyer employs thou-
N A A C P believes the m ajority o f
the citizens o f this nation fully sup
port a strong Voting Rights Act.
The President o f the U n ited
States needs to know you support
the Voting Rights A ct. He must be
told.
Please speak up and let him
know. Place a call or send a wire to
President R onald Reagan, The
White House, Washington, D .C .
Thank you.
Lucious Hicks, IV
President, N A A C P ,
Portland Branch
sands o f Oregonians and will con
tinue to be headquartered in P o rt
land.
Concern over potential conflicts
between reg ulato ry agencies and
Fred Meyer was expressed in a re
cent letter to the editor. Retirement
funds are not owned by the State.
They belong to the workers and re
tirees in the system.
The retirement fund is currently
invested in hundreds o f other com
panies doing business in Oregon. It
is u n lik ely that the Investm ent
C o u n c il, as trustees o f this fun d ,
would consider trying to affect any
Be concerned I
Be informed 11
Know the facts! II
Portland Observer
The P o rtla n d Observer (U S P S 959 6 8 0 1 is published svsry
Thursday by Exie Publishing Company, Inc , 2201 North Killings
worth, Portland, Oregon 97217, Post Office Box 3137, Portland
Oregon 97208. Second dess postage paid at Portland, Oregon
mation gives us bargaining power,”
said Althea Simmons, director o f
the NAACP Washington office.
Reagan persecutes federal employees
Shadburne challenges McCoy's charges
To the editor:
Uy groups have other factors going
fo r them this year, especially the
Supreme C o u rt’s 1979 affirm ation
o f provisions o f the Voting Rights
Congressional reapportionm ent,
once the exclusive preserve o f secre
Act aimed at insuring fair minority
tive, dice-loaded political pros, has
representation. In addition, a num
been swept out o f the smoke-filled
ber o f states have reformed their re
districting processes to ensure such
back room to become one o f today’s
hottest political issues.
things as contiguity (districts cannot
Tw o new factors have w rought
leap fro g ), cohesiveness, m in o rity
havoc w ith the trad itio n al rules o f
bloc p ro tectio n and p o p u latio n
the p o litic a l gam bling game this
equality.
year: minorities and computers.
Consequently, for the first time,
Black and Hispanic demands for
substantial interests are intervening
fairness in political district design
in a process previously thought too
have been bolstered by the Voting
mysterious and arcane to quicken a
Rights Act and now are guided by a
citizen’s pulse.
m ultitude o f track-w ise, sophisti
in Texas, which gains three new
cated organizations. This thrusts a
congressional seats because o f pop
new nonpartisan and unbalancing
ulation shifts to the Sun Belt, a coal
element into what traditionally has
ition o f m inority groups has estab
been a tw o-party squabble; Demo
lished its own com puter center to
crats vs. Republicans.
challenge the congressional district
ing plan for that state. They are car
M inority demands in the reappor
tionment process have been greatly
rying their objections both to fed
enhanced by the recent universality
eral courts and to the C iv il Rights
o f the com puter. N o longer a tool
Section o f the Departm ent o f Jus
reserved for a few experts, compu
tice.
ters now can be used to design dis
In Virginia the National Associa
tricts to suit anyone’s taste, down to
tio n fo r the A dvancem ent o f
a gnat’s eyebrow.
C olored People ( N A A C P ), along
Computer-designed voting blocs
w ith the A m erican C iv il Liberties
can be applied to protect the cohe
U n io n ( A C L U ) and C om m on
siveness o f local neighborhoods, to
Cause, successfully m ounted la w
hold together m in o rity groups, to
suits challenging the constitutional
prevent dissection o f cities and
ity o f that state’s redistricting plan.
counties. A computerized argument
In Missouri the N A A C P is similarly
complete with printouts illustrating
challenging new districts with a law
suit.
unfairness packs a wallop no mere
protest or legal arguments have pro
In C o lo ra d o com puter p ro
vided before.
grammers are helping Hispanics
O f course, they also can be used
challenge new alignments. In C ali
to raise the art o f gerrymandering to
fo rn ia H ispanics have created an
new heights.
umbrella agency o f some 60 d iffe r
’ ’ C om puters open the door for
ent groups called C a lifo rn io s for
Fair Representation, have hired a
more sophisticated gerrym ander
ing,” says Common Cause.
staff and secured their own political
"S o m e wicked things are being
scientists, com puter experts, ac
d o n e ,” said A lan Heslop, a reap
countants and lawyers to create the
portionment consultant at the Rose
basis for opposing that state’s redis
In s titu te at C larem o n t C ollege in
tricting plans.
C alifo rn ia. ” A wave o f gerryman
W hile irate Republicans dominate
dering worse than ever seen before is
the challenge to reapportionment in
sweeping the U .S .”
C alifo rn ia w ith a petition drive to
get a voter referendum, Hispanics,
Fifteen states have finished draw
especially offended at the state Sen
ing up congressional lines and 19
ate plan, are giving them some sup
states have redrawn their legislative
p o rt. In a num ber o f Southwest
districts. Already it is clear the the
states Hispanics and Republicans
shenanigans which in 1812 created
have found m utual advantage in
the salamander-like district for Mas
combining their protests. Hispanics
sachusetts* Gov. Elbridge Gerry and
also have m ounted challenges in
bequeathed his name to history has
New M ex ico , A rizo n a and even
been betterd this year. North Caro
Michigan.
lina has produced “ Fountain's Fish
The N A A C P . which is ahead o f
hook,” Washington state has "Kis-
Hispanics in political know-how, is
kaddon's P im p le” and C alifo rn ia
takin g
the
same
com puter
has “ Burton’s Bump.”
approach. " W e may not get pre
But increasingly powerful minor-
cisely what we want, but this infor
Pacific News Sarvlct
state or regulatory decisions con
cerning one o f its holdings. They
never have in the past.
The Fred M eyer investment will
not favor one retailer over another.
Retirement funds are already invest
ed in .Sears, May Department Stores
(M eier A. F ra n k ), K -M a rt, A lb e rt
sons. and m any other re ta il busi
nesses. Fred Meyer is a very strong
retailer with high earnings that will
continue to prosper for the benefit
o f Oregon’s retirees.
1
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