M rs f r a n e r ò
U n iv e r s ity
tu
■
S c h o o n -L 'e w a p a p er Poom
o f O reg o n L i b r a r y
O.-. :;on V i'iJ J
Michael's
career
District 1
campaign
Page 1
LU
Page 8
Guardian
Angels
recruit
Page 3
PORTLAND OBSERVER
September 22,1962
Volume XII, Number 50
25C Per Copy
Two Sections
USPS 959-680-855
Buchanan, Shadburne seek County Exec post
by Lam ia Duke
The position o f M u ltn o m a h
C o u n ty Executive D ire c to r, left
open by Don Clark's bid for Gover
nor, has two serious contenders:
Dennis Buchanan and G ordon
*Shadburne.
B uchanan, SO, is c u rren tly a
County Commissioner, the County
Executive job is one o f the most im
portant executive positions in the
area. The duties arc to run the coun
ty o f a day-to-day basis. He hires
personnel, prepares the County
budget and has the authority to veto
any ordinance passed by (he Board
of County Commissioners. Equally
important, he appoints boards and
commissions which set policies, thus
giving the County Executive a
strong voice in policy.
DENNIS BUCH A N A N
Buchanan summed up his goals.
" I would improve the management
o f the County, raise the level of pro
fessionalism and productivity, pro
vide an adequately funded correc
tional facility and public safety pro
gram.”
Buchanan says his most impor
tant task is to protect an open gov
ernment. "One of our goals is to
communicate with our citizens and
allow them involvement in the gov
ernment process." On the basis of
this goal Buchanan supports citizen
initiatives, a process where voters
introduce legislation for public con
sideration. "1 have no problem with
that. It’s the law of the state. We
have initiative and referendum and I
hope that this process continues.”
This process resulted in the El Sal
vador initiative appearing before the
board o f County Commissioners.
Buchanan does not support this
measure. “ I think the law is very
clear that this is not an appropriate
measure for the county ballot. We
have a legal ruling which says so. I
personally do not believe that we
(Please turn Io page 5 column I )
In a recent interview w ith the
P o rtla n d Observer M ultn o m ah
C ounty Com m issioner G ordon
Shadburne discussed his po litical
philosophy and why he is running
for County Executive against oppo
nent Commissioner Dennis Buchan
an. His goals as C ounty Executive
would be, he said: I ) to m axim ize
dollars available for services, 2) to
redirect the C o u n ty ’s emphasis to
ward protection o f life , liberty and
p ro p erty, 3) to challenge and p ro
vide leadership to people and neigh
borhoods working together to solve
local problems, and 4) to do these
things within the C o u n ty’s income.
" I have a track record in all relevant
areas," said Shadburne.
Shadburne stated he is running
for County Executive because, since
1979, he has found that government
over-regulates and over-taxes peo
ple. "Governm ent isn’t a servant to
people, it dictates; people want free
dom ," said Shadburne.
A t a time when citizens want no
more taxes, he said, the C ounty
must provide both human services
and justice services. M ore funds are
needed fo r b oth, Shadburne said.
The answer seen by Shadburne is
more effective leadership fo r the
1982. H e is w illin g to make the
hard decisions and to ensure County
government is fiscally responsible.
The example cited was his w illin g
ness to cut "h e a v y s ta ff salaries’ *
such as the D epartm ent o f H um an
Services director’s salary, "around
$60,000,” to a more reasonable lev
el o f $40,000, so that more dollars
go to fill service needs.
Shadburne said he agreed w ith
President Reagan’s efforts to bring
greater responsibility to local gov
ernment but that he opposes deficit
spending.
Shadburne intends, he said, to
provide leadership that is more re
sponsive to small business, sayihg it
(Please turn to page 10 column 3)
GORDON SHADBURNE
Are prisons the answer?
G rassroot News. N . IP .— There
are not bars, yet their movement is
restricted. T heir surroundings are
the same, day in and day out. These
women arc told when to eat, wake
up and go Io bed. They are serving
time at C la ire A rg o w , the fem ale
equivalent of Rocky Butte jail.
The women w ill answer your
"w h y" by finding fault with the sys
tem. but the manager of Claire A r
gow, l.t. Vera P o o l, places the
blame directly on the inmates. " U n
til they stop saying it's the system
and say ' I t ’s m e,” they will continue
io come in contact with institutions
like Claire Argow. There is no d if
ference between a fem ale inm ate
and a male inmate, except their sex.
T ra d itio n a lly , female inmates are
not looked upon as being the same
kind o f violent criminals as males.
N o w , women are c o m m ittin g the
same kind o f offenses as their male
counterparts. H o w ev er, it is not
publicized.”
Statistics show an increase in the
number o f crimes com m itted by
women and l.t. Pool says there is
more than one reason for this in
crease. "T h e re arc a lot o f factors
involved. 1 feel it's a new concept
that females have adopted where
they feel just as equal as men and
they go out and com m it the same
types of crimes. Also, it’s the temp
tatio n and the o p p o rtu n ity they
have at the time to commit crimes.”
Women criminals seem to have a
higher rate of return once they serve
time. " I like to think o f it in terms
o f skills. They do not have any
adap tab le skills to apply to get a
job. A lot o f these females are able
to make quite a bit o f money by
boosting, forging and taking things
that do not belong to them. I f they
get a jo b paying m in im um wage
they would not make that kind o f
money. It is the way they have ad
justed their lives to live. When you
talk about drugs addicts, they can
not support their habits on m in i
mum w age." Another factor is (hat
once they are releasted they are right
back with (he same peer group and
pressures that put them behind bars
in the first place.
Lt. Vera Pool has spent the last 12
years in the criminal justice system
and believes female inmates o f to
day d iffe r from those who entered
the system 12 years a g o ." W omen
are coming in younger and their atti
tude is different. Before, the kinds
o f women were prostitutes, shoplift
ers and forgers. They were older, at
least 25 and above. When drugs be
came prevalent we saw a lot more
women coming in because drugs are
associated with other crimes.”
I t. Pool defines the system at
C la ire A rgow as unique. " W e are
the only female faclity in M u ltn o
mah County. Our population is low
er than other institutions and we can
do things here that the other institu
tions cannot do. We have a mature
staff that has been in the system for
a long tim e. T h ey know how to
work with people and how to under
stand people. W e are not pro-se
cu rity like other in s titu tio n s . W e
have our staff working right in the
in stitu tio n w ith the wom en. I feel
the supervision, com m unications
and training here at C laire Argow
are very good.”
There arc no bars at Claire Argow
and it reminds one o f a college dorm
with locks. Where is the punishment
or the deterrent for crime? " I don’t
(Please turn to page 10 column 3)
Clair« Argow Woman’s Facility: Not a vary friendly environment for woman inmates.
(Photo: Richard J. Brown)
Blacks battle for position in House District 18 race
by C. Eddie Edmondson
Attempts by various elements and
persons in inner Northeast Portland
to come up with an A frican-A m eri
can, or black, person to run for the
newly created 18th D istrict State
Representative race has resulted in
one black Democrat running as an
independent, one as a m inor party
candidate and one as a write-in can
didate.
What they have in com mon, be
sides color, is a desire to prevent the
D em ocratic w inner o f last M a y ’ s
prim ary election, Ed Leek, who is
white, from winning in the heavily
Democratic district.
I he 18lh District was created fol
lowing changes in the 1980 stale cen
sus count. Most black organizations
and com m unity groups strongly
urged the area be consolidated to a l
low blacks the opportunity to elect a
candidate o f their own choosing. It
is generally conceded the d istrict
was developed to give black resi
dents— who say the 1970 re-district
ing spread th e ir p rim a rily D e m o
cratic voting bloc among several pri
m a rily w hite d is tricts — a greater
chance o f electing a candidate o f
their own choosing, p robably a
black person.
Five of the eight Democratic can
didates were black. All o f them lost.
No blacks filed for the Republican
slot. Ironically, Mel Ham ilton, who
won (he Republican primary unop
posed, was recently sent to prison
a fte r he ad m itted having oral sex
with a young male who was under
age. The M u ltn o m a h C o un ty Re
publican Central Committee will be
allowed to nominate a replacement
for Hamilton.
The Multnomah County Republi
can C en tral C om m ittee has tenta
tively scheduled a meeting Monday,
Sept. 27th, at 7 p.m . at the C olis
eum Holiday Inn to select a replace
ment candidate for the 18th District
State Representative race.
Kay Durtschi, vice chairperson of
the Republican Central Committee,
said that so far two candidates have
offered themselves as replacement
candidates. They are Ken Dixon, an
atto rn ey in p riv ate practice, and
Chad D ebnam , a local music p ro
moter. Both are black.
" T h a t was an oversight by m e,”
said Charles Stoudamire, one o f the
five black candidates who lost in the
M ay p rim ary. " F r a n k ly ,” he con
tinued, " I d id n ’ t think about ru n
ning as a R ep u b lican . M y b ac k
ground is D em o c ra tic , but it
shouldn't m atter.”
W hat does m a tter is the possi
b ility the three blacks hoping to
upset Leek in November will repeal
the failures o f the five blacks in the
M ay primary. That does not bother
them.
Kent Ford, who is registered as an
independent, says he has the sup
port o f "the com m unity," as all of
the black candidates interviewed for
this story describe inner Northeast
where most o f black Portlanders re
side.
F o rd ’ s cam paign is being m an
aged by Rose Gangle who also lost
to Leek in the Democratic primary.
F o rd ’s literature notes Stoudamire
as his campaign treasurer. Stouda
mire says he is not Ford’s campaign
treasurer.
Stoudamire said he was asked by
Ford to be involved in his campaign
but had not made up his mind by the
time Ford had to file his candidacy
with the Oregon Secretary o f State’s
o ffice. He allowed Ford to use his
name, he said, but he is not active in
F o rd ’s campaign. Stoudamire said
he is unsure if he w ould support
Ford or Jimmy “ Bang Bang” W a lk
er, who was involved in Stouda-
mire’s unsuccessful campaign. Ford
said at present his campaign is oper
ating without any one person desig
nated as treasurer.
Ford said he believes he is a more
viab le candidate than any other
based on his past work “ in the com
m u n ity .” He said his involvement
has prim arily centered around the
free breakfast program for school
children, when he was " in the Black
Panthers” here. Ford dented that he
headed the Portland chapter. Other
projects included a free dental clinic
for poor persons in the area. Both
program s were developed in the
1970s along with the sickle cell test
ing program he says he also helped
initiate. The dental program recent
ly ended, he said.
" P e o p le know w ho is going to
work the hardest for them and who
worked the hardest for them in the
p ast," he explained. I f he's elected
Ford said he would seek to utilize
the resources a va ila b le to a state
representative to help the people in
his d is tric t. In the past, he said,
black residents were forced to go to
the governor’s office for the things
they needed in their district. One ex
ample he cites is the Albina Human
Resources center which he said was
placed in the area when blacks ap
pealed to the governor’s office for
such a local service.
Ford had intended to run in the
May primary as a Democrat but be
cause he was registered as an inde
pendent he was unable to. H e said
th a t he has always supported the
Democratic Party and would do so
if elected.
"O nce they see the way I ’ll vote
on issues,” he said, the Democrats
w on’t have any reason to shut him
out of assignments. " I ’m running as
an independent but I ’m not going to
be a m averick or try to wreck the
Democratic party,” he said.
Jim m y " B a n g B an g " W a lk er
w orked w ith S to u d am ire ’ s cam
paign. He said that none o f the
black candidates in the May primary
would listen to his suggestions o f
how they could use the resources of
the Democratic Party to assist them
in their campaign.
Walker said he was not bothered
by the five black candidates in the
primary race because " it was good
and healthy— more people should
have been involved,” he said. What
happened was that Leek "out-cam
paigned" all o f the other candidates
(Please turn to page 9 column / )