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NFL strike ends
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Section II
Page 8, 9
LU
Adult
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PORTLAND OBSERVER
d
November 17, 1982
Volume XIII, Number 6
25C Per Copy
USPS 959-680-855
Two Sections
City Hail role has many facets
CHARLES JORDAN
The question is frequently asked,
“ o f what benefit to the black com­
m u n ity is the black elected o f f i ­
cial?" Black citizens are frequently
heard to remark that black public
officials are not responsive, do not
push black com m unity objectives,
and do not identify with the black
community.
C ity Commissioner Charles Jor­
dan feels that his position in city
governm ent is v ita l to the black
community but that because of per­
sonality and politics he often works
quietly behind the scenes.
“ It is true that black people in
P o rtla n d do not have p o litic a l
power— that the power of any black
o ffic ia l is restricted. The ‘ power
structure' sets a line— a line I cannot
rise above. W hen I start pushing
through that line, things will happen
to put me in my place.
" F o r exam ple, F rank Ivancie
would not have been able to remove
the Police Bureau from a w hite
Commissioner the way he did iron
me. It would not have been allowed
by the decision makers downtown.”
W ithin the limits set by the power
structure, Jordan believes he has ac­
complished much for the people o f
Portlan d. “ I can’ t just go out and
w ork for black people o n ly, but I
believe many o f the policies and ad­
vances I ’ ve provided are a direct
benefit to the black community. A l­
so, it is better to be in the system
w o rkin g to b rin g changes— you
d o n ’ t make changes from the out­
side.”
Jordan is aware o f criticism that
he appears not to be pushing black
objectives. “ Black people often do
not understand the p o litic a l p ro ­
cess,” he explained. “ You have to
work through the system— the pro­
cess. I do what I can to make those
processes more open and accessible
to the public.
“ An example is the Police Audit
Com m ittee. It w on’ t answer all the
problems, but it is a step to opening
’ he process. The vote demonstrated
that the people want more involve­
ment and I believe Frank [Ivancie]
and C hief Still heard the same mes­
sage and plan to cooperate.”
A m o n g J o rd a n ’ s accom plish­
ments in his nine years on the C ity
C o u n cil th a t d ire c tly b en e fit the
black community are:
•Adoption o f a citizen audit com­
m ittee to audit the internal affairs
process o f the Police Bureau, with
subsequent approval by the voters.
•A doption o f an A ffirm ative Ac­
tion Selective Certification Program
to allow minorities and women to be
hired rather than lim iting selection
to the top through test scores.
•A doption o f an ordinance estab­
lishing special bid conditions on all
construction contracts to increase
minority participation. Introduction
o f a M in o rity Business Enterprise
Inform ation Program. C ity 10 per­
cent set-aside goals have been ex­
ceeded during the past three years
according to Jordan.
•Required 20 percent M B E use in
the C ab le Systems P a c ific , In c.
franchise contract.
•Established the Neighborhood
M ed ia tio n Project to mediate p ri­
vate and neighborhood problems to
avoid police and court involvement.
•Established a com m u nity p ro ­
gram to assist fam ilies affected by
dom estic violence (fu n d ed fo r 18
months).
•Established the “ M ou n ted P a ­
trol” which brings police officers in
close communication with the pub­
lic.
•Com bined neighborhood b* sed
crime prevention program with po­
lice bureau p ro g ram to p ro vid e
broad crime-prevention program —
residential, com m ercial, sex abuse
p re ve n tio n , ju v e n ile pro g ram s,
locks project, etc.
•A d o p tio n o f ordinance that re­
quires developers who convert rent­
al housing to condominiums to pro­
vide m oving expenses fo r lo w -in ­
come displaced renters.
fP leax turn to page 12 cot. 1)
US eyes new Soviet leadership
YURI ANDROPOV
The death o f Soviet leader Leonid
Brezhnev and the selection o f Yuri
V . A n drop o v as Secretary o f the
Soviet Communist Party has thrown
the US government and press into a
state o f confusion as they try to
predict that nation’s next move.
Brezhnev, known in much o f the
w orld as a man o f peace, was the
author o f detente with the US and a
promoter o f the S A L T I I disarm a­
ment talks. In recent months he had
proposed a bilateral nuclear freeze
and had instituted a unilateral freeze
on deploym ent o f new Soviet
missies targeting Europe. He also
supported liberation struggles in the
Third W o rld . S hortly before his
death Brezhnev announced that in
the face of US militarism the USSR
would upgrade its military.
A ndropov, who is considered to
be highly intellcgent and well
in fo rm ed
but
perhaps
more
oriented toward the west, picked up
B rezhnev’ s theme M onday saying
that because “ the forces o f
im p erialsim are tryin g to push
peoples onto the road o f hostility
and m ilita ry c o n fro n ta tio n " the
USSR will remain vigilant but will
always be ready for “ honest, equal
and mutually beneficial cooperation
w ith any state that is w illin g to
cooperate.”
Speaking at Brezhnev's funeral,
h* said, “ We shall guard and devel­
op our solidarity and our cooperation
with the countries that have gained
freedom from colonial oppressors,
with the struggle o f the peoples for
peace, for the relaxatio n o f in te r­
national tenson.”
Ronald Reagan has received some
criticism because he did no, take the
opportunity presented by the advent
o f a new leader to a ttem p t to
improve relations between the two
nations. Instead o f attending
Brezhnev's fun eral he sent Vice
President Bush and Secretary o f
State Schultz.
The Reagan a d m in is tra tio n is
reported to be m ore concerned
about not giving the impression o f
being c o n c ilia to r y than w ith
missing opportunities to prom ote
peace. Bush said any change in
a ttitu d e tow ard the Soviet U n io n
w ill depend on “ constructive be­
havior” by Moscow.
There is also concern in Washing­
ton
over
the
U S S R -C h in a
re latio n s h ip . Since the Peoples
Republic split with the USSR in the
late 1950s the US has wooed China
as an economic and m ilita ry ally.
The USSR has attempted to mend
relations with China and in Moscow
the Chinese Foreign M inister said,
“ The Chinese people sincerely wish
that there w ould be a genuine
im provement o f relations between
the two countries. . . ”
Oregon unemployment reaches 11.5 percent
Oregon was dealt another eco­
nomic blow in O cto b er, when the
state’ s seasonally adjusted unem­
ployment rate returned to the 1982
high of 11.5 percent, up 0.3 percent
from September. The national un­
employment rate rose to 10.4 per­
cent.
T o ta l
Oregon
em ploym ent
dropped by 8,300 workers in O re ­
gon, signifying a moderate reduc­
tion in agricultural jobs and weak­
ening in some non-agricultural sec­
tors. As a result the unem ployed
count wen, up 3,000.
A ny sign o f real econom ic
strength was missing in the October
statistics, according to the State o f
Oregon Employment Division.
The m an ufactu rin g industries
showed a drop o f 5,600 workers
over the month. Lumber and wood
products employment was at its low­
est O ctober level since 1935 when
data was first recorded. Significant
employment declines were evident in
other m a n u fa ctu rin g areas. The
metals and machinery industry lost
1,200 jobs in October.
Construction showed a stronger
than expected drop ( - 2,600) with
work reductions reported in all ma­
jo r segments of the construction in­
dustry.
The only significant gains in cm-
ployment in Oregon were in govern­
ment em ploym ent, which reflects
the beginning o f the school year.
W ith the beginning o f w in ter
near, Ray Thorne, Employment D i­
vision Administrator, does no, for-
see any economic improvement in
the near future.
T o ta l n o n -fa rm unem ployed
(drawing unemployment compensa­
tion or registered with the Em ploy­
ment Division for work) is 134,700.
A ish a, A yan n a and C ic e ro C u rry are fa s c in a te d by th e ice
s c u lp tu re w h ic h served as a ta b la c a n te r p iece a t th e a rt s h o w
sponsored by The Links at the new In te rs ta te Firehouse C u ltu ral
Center on Sunday.
(Photo: Richard J Brown)
Flemming warns of move to dismantle civil rights legislation
E U G E N E — The Johnson-Helms
amendment now bottled up in com­
mittee in the House o f Representa­
tives is another attempt by the re­
gressive movement to dismantle the
mechanisms o f civil rights, A rthur
Flemming said here this week.
Flem m ing, the head o f the U .S .
C iv il Rights Com m ission fired a
year ago by President Reagan, said
the regressive movement in America
is working to weaken or elim inate
the procedures created to implement
desegregation and a ffirm a tiv e ac­
tio n . He spoke to an audience o f
more than I(X) at the University o f
Oregon.
The m ovem ent’s technique is to
attach riders to appropriations bills
forbidding use o f funds to im p le­
ment such efforts as busing children
to achieve school desegregation,
said I lemming, U O president from
1961 to 1968.
The Johnson-Helms amendment,
a rider to a Justice Department ap­
propriations bill, would limit court-
ordered busing to transportation o f
children to the school nearest home
or to a school no m ore than five
miles or 15 minutes from home, said
Flemming. His firing last November
came minutes before the com m is­
sion released a report critical o f the
Reagan administration's desegrega­
tion efforts.
The amendment has already been
passed in the Senate by a 20 vote
m argin, “ a serious defeat for the
civil rights movement," he said. The
b ill w ould prevent the executive
branch from carrying out desegrega­
tio n remedies and. Flem m ing be­
lieves, would violate the U .S . C o n ­
stitution by limiting the court's abil­
ity to interpret the constitution and
to rule independently on civil rights
cases.
Flemming currently is the head o f
the C itizens Com m ission on C iv il
Rights, a group made up o f distin­
guished Americans who arc m oni­
toring the performance o f the pre­
sent adm inistration on civil rights
matters.
He said people at (he grass roots
need to understand the regressive
m ovem ent’ s efforts to weaken de­
segregation and affirm ative action
through the use o f riders to bills, so
they can air their views w ith their
Congressmen.
Flemming said he believes there is
support for civil rights at the grass
roots level in America as witnessed
by the extension o f the voting rights
act, not for five years bu, fo r 25
years. Congressmen heard regularly
and often from their constituents on
the extension bill, he said.
Flem m ing, secretary o f H e a lth ,
Education and W elfare in the Eisen­
hower a d m in is tra tio n , has been
president o f three colleges or univer­
sities, president o f the N a tio n a l
C o u n c il o f C h urch es, and has
served on m any fed eral c o m m is­
sions.