Portland welcomes Dr. Prophet ...
Cora Smith
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UJ
Section II Page 3
I t 's . . .
North
Carolina!
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PORTLAND OBSERVER
April 1,1982
Volume X II, Number 25
25C Per Copy
• .
y
Tw o Sections
USPS 939-68O-85S
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Oregon’s next governor:
Who will he be?
f E d ito r's Note: This is the fo u rth
in a series o f articles on the m ajor
candidates f o r the o ffic e o f Gover
nor o f Oregon.)
Governor V iclor Atiyeh is seeking
his party's nom ination Tor a second
term as Governor o f Oregon. A Re
publican, A tiyeh is a form er State
Senator.
A tiy e h has received a tte n tio n
throughout the nation fo r his “ ra
cial harassm ent" b ill which makes
harassment a felony when based on
race and gives victim s the right to
seek damages. A ty ie h also estab
lished a Governor’s Commission on
Black A ffa irs and one on Hispanic
A ffa irs after Blacks and Hispanics
failed to get bills establishing com
missions through the 1977 and 1979
legislatures. He failed in his e ffo rt
to have the 1981 legislature establish
permanent commissions. The G ov
ernor was cool toward the b ill that
makes affirm ative action obligatory
in appointment o f boards and com
missions; he opposes legislation fo r
bidding investment o f state funds in
companies doing business in South
A frica.
When the state faced a $240 m il
lion deficit due to less-than-antici-
pated tax incom e, A tiy e h recom
mended to the Special Session o f the
Governor Victor Atiyeh
Legislature a plan (hat relied more
on reduced spending than on new pal barrier to economic diversifica due to the state o f the national econ
revenues. His proposed budget cuts tion is the miserable image Oregon omy. Federal fiscal policies are be
w ould have cut deeply in to social has with the national business com yond our c o n tro l. Interest rates,
which impact us all, are beyond our
programs, health, higher education munity. .. I submit to you that our
reach. But we must not sit back and
and environmental protection.
tough-on-business image is as much
D uring the long Special Session an im pedim ent to economic devel wait fo r things to change," Atiyeh
told the Legislature in January. In
A tiy e h was c ritic iz e d fo r lack o f opm ent as to d a y ’ s high interest
March, he advised President Reagan
leadership, both within the Republi rates."
can party and the Legislature as a
He sought and received funds to that his budget policies are hurting
whole.
"m a rk e t” Oregon, to assist business Oregon.
Atiyeh blames much o f Oregon’s development, and to strengthen the
W ith little oppositio n in the Re
economic woes on its dependence on Department o f Economic Develop publican prim ary, Atiyeh w ill face
one in d u s try — tim b e r—and secs a ment.
the D e m o cra t’ s choice in N o v
need for diversification. " A p rinci
"M u c h o f our present problem is ember.
Property tax relief deadline near
Filing deadlines fo r several prop
erty lax relief and exem ption p ro
grams are a p proach ing in A p r il,
Multnomah County Assessment and
Taxation Director James Wilcox has
announced.
On the local level, homeowners
must apply for the Property Tax Re
lie f Program before A p ril 15 to be
eligible for as much as a 30 per cent
re d u ctio n in p ro p e rty taxes when
statements are sent out in October.
Disabled veterans, veterans’ w id
ows and senior citizens are also eligi
ble for property tax exemptions and
de fe rra ls i f they meet the filin g
deadline by A p ril I.
H om eow ners and renters may
also be eligible fo r state wide relief
through the Homeowner and Renter
Refund Program (H A R R P ) (based
on gross incom e) w hich must be
filed for by A p ril 15 along with state
income tax forms.
W ilcox stressed that only persons
who file with the Division o f Assess
ment and T a xa tio n by the proper
deadlines w ill be eligible for reduced
property taxes. He noted (hat except
fo r the state H A R R P , applicants
must be homeowners and must have
a deed or contract o f sale recorded
w ith M ultnom ah C ounty to receive
the aid.
"A n d you must file a separate ap
plication for each program in order
to q u a lify,” Wilcox said.
Forms fo r the C ounty-w ide pro-
(Please turn to page 5 column I)
Spring awakens the earth with the promise of
new life. It reminds us to renew our feelings of
friendship, love and mutual understanding,
Low income housing in trouble
by Nathaniel Scott
The low income and elderly hous
ing situation in Portland, according
to W .E . H unter, executive director
o f the H ousing A u th o rity o f P o rt
land, is very bleak.
"W h a te v e r funds the federal
governm ent makes a va ila b le fo r
low -incom e and elderly h o u s in g ,"
he said, “ the Portland area gets less
than one per cent o f those funds,
generally.”
In addition, the housing authori
ties budget year begins A p ril I and
“ we s till haven’ t fo u n d out what
our funding w ill be. We are a n tic i
pating at least a 20 per cent cu t.”
The housing a u th o rity , H u n te r
said, has bene pursuing a policy (hat
the racial com position be reflective
o f the neighborhoods.
He said the Sum m er C o u rts
breakdown is 44 per cent minorities;
Royal Rose, 40 per cent, Royal Rose
Annex, 22 per cent. Unthank Plaza,
26 per cent; Grace Peck, 20 per cent;
and Dalke M anor, 11 per cent.
The 5100 u n its the housing au
thority either manages or owns "a re
not adequate.”
H unter said that he is perturbed
th a t some m embers o f the
c o m m u n ity have m ade, and are
making, allegations about the Hous
ing A u th o rity w ithout checking the
validity o f those allegations.
" I t is time fo r concerned citizens
to stop m aking u n fo u n d e d c o m
plaints and look into the va lid ity o f
those com plaints," he said.
In regard to the agreement that
was made w ith the people w ho va
cated their homes in the Eliot neigh
b o rh o o d to make the U n th a n k
Plaza possible, (they were to be
given p r io r ity fo r housing in the
plaza), he said, " I t is my recollec
tion that we did in fact do th a t."
H u n te r said th a t " . . .a ll o f the
agencies in P o rtla n d th a t come in
contact w ith elderly people have a
re s p o n s ib ility to encourage those
people to apply fo r any funds—any
program s that w ill address th e ir
needs.” He added that the elderly
m inority waiting list is less than one
percent.
"S in c e N ovem ber [1981] I have
been to W a s h in g to n , D .C . three
times and each time it concerned the
impact housing has on our people,”
he said.
The last budget submitted by the
president to congress called fo r an
additional 10,000 housing units na
tio n -w id e , under the Section 202
program . P ortland " is not eligible
fo r the Section 202 program .”
N ation-wide, the plan the adm in
is tra tio n is p u rsu in g calls fo r a
“ c a p p in g " the housing assisted
(Please turn to page 4 column 4)
New governm ent brings little hope fo r Guatemala
A n o ve rth ro w o f G uatem ala's
m ilitary government by another m il
itary faction could bring U.S. aid to
the terror-stricken C entral A m e ri
can n a tio n , but it brings no real
change and w ill not bring an end to
civil war.
In a country with a long history of
p o litic a l repression, President
Romeo Lucas Garcia may have been
the most feared ruler Guatemala has
seen. His a d m inistration is said to
be responsible fo r 10,(KM) o f the
70,(MM, people k ille d by the A rm y
since 1954 when a U.S. organized
and financed invasion toppled the
governm ent o f Jacob Arbcnz. His
younger b ro th e r, B cnadicto, was
chief o f the Arm y General Staff.
In an election that was widely c rit
icized as fraudulent, Garcia's hand
picked successor, General A n ib a l
G ucvcra, fo rm e r M in is te r o f De
fense, was elected. Sixteen days later
m ilitary officers and 2,(MX) men with
tanks, a r tille r y and helicopters
moved in to the c a p ita l’ s central
plaza and to o k possession o f the
presidential palace.
Guatemalan sources say the coup
was the result o f the young officers’
fear that growing public hostility to
Guevera and the obvious fraud o f
the March 7th election would erode
the political base o f the Arm y itself.
Guatemala has long been ruled by
the m ilitary, with only three civilian
presidents since 1871.
Leader o f the new ruling junta is
General Efrain Rios M ontt. A presi
d e n tia l candidate in 1974, M o n tt
won a plurality o f the popular vote
but was denied the office. M ontt is
considered less conservative than
the fo u r candidates in this year’ s
election, but the coup was linked to
the fa r rig h t when the fir s t an
nouncement to the nation was made
by l eonel Sisniega O tero, the run
ning-mate in the recent election o f
M ario Sandoval A larcon, reputed
head o f the death squads.
Representatives o f the four guer
rilla groups said the change is only a
"change in the facade" and vowed
to continue their revolution.
On February 8th the four guerilla
o rg a n iza tio n s united to fo rm the
Guatem alan N ational R e vo lu tio n
ary Unity. Their platform :
1) The revolution w ill put an end
to all repression against the people
fo r good and safeguard both their
lives and peace, these being the su
preme rights o f human beings.
2) The re v o lu tio n w ill lay the
foundations fo r meeting the basic
needs o f the great m a jo rity o f the
people by ending economic and po
litic a l dom ination by the repressive
wealthy sectors, both domestic and
foreign, who rule Guatemala.
3) The re v o lu tio n w ill assure
equality among Indians and put an
end to cultural oppression and dis
crim ination.
4) The re vo lu tio n w ill guarantee
the creation o f a new society where
the government w ill represent all pa
trio tic, popular and democratic sec
tors; and w ill guarantee freedom o f
p o litic a l asso cia tio n , freedom to
practice re lig io n , e q u a lity o f
women, and the right to protection
for old people and children.
5) The re v o lu tio n w ill pursue a
policy o f non-alignm ent and in te r
national cooperation, required by
the poor countries to develop in the
w orld today, based on the self de
termination o f the peoples.
G u e rrilla a c tiv ity has increased
dram atically since December, when
bombs h it the N a tio n a l Congress
headquarters, the C o ffe e Bank,
Chamber o f Industfies and the Sal
vadoran Embassy in G uatem ala
C ity . C onstant attacks on govern
ment troops and outposts continued
th ro u g h January and F e b ru a ry,
w ith several small towns occupied.
Fighting has taken place in every re
gion o f the country, with highways,
bridges, and municipal buildings de
stroyed. Some 80 per cent o f the
northwest provinces were blacked
out by m id-February, the result o f
sabotage.
The government also has stepped
up its counterinsurgency a c tiv ity ,
m a in ta in in g a "s c o rc h e d e a r th "
policy. E ntire towns are occupied,
inhabitants to rtu re d or massacred,
(Please turn to page 4 column 6)
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