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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (March 30, 1983)
Page 4 Portland Observer, March 30, 1983 EDITORIAL/OPINION HAPPYEASTER! No support for faithful For fo u r years Steve Buel has represented the interests o f black children and poor children to the best o f his a b ility. Perhaps more than any other Board member, Buel worked tirelessly to adopt the BUF’s recommendations for the educa tion o f black children. He voted fo r removal o f Superintendent Robert Blanchard, whose p ol icies had wreacked havoc on black children, fami lies and the community. He suffered physical and emotional pain, en dangered his health, and suffered ridicule from his peers. He did this because his goal was im provem ent o f the q u a lity o f education in the Portland School District. This community could have ensured that Buel remain on the School Board, but it did not. The city-wide vote was less than ten percent; the in ner Northeast vote was even lower. This is not by accident. The Portland School Board election was always held in the prim ary election until Wally Priestley was elected. Then the Board lobbied the State Legislature to change the election to A p ril o f the o ff year, so the likes o f Priestley would never again be elect ed. The special election ensures that the vast ma jo rity o f P ortland’ s voters w ill not vote. It en sures that a small number, the upper class elite who w ill make the effo rt to vote, w ill control the Portland School District. This docs not excuse those who fail to vote. Why should elected officials risk their political careers and incur the rage o f their peers and the white press if the people they attempt to repre sent w ill not come forw ard and support them? There w ill be much to complain about in the de cisions o f the new Board, but when you start to complain ask yourself one question—did 1 vote? I f the School District is going to avoid another farce and give even the impression o f democ racy, basic changes need to be made. The elec tion needs to be returned to the prim ary elec tions. Candidates should run in districts to avoid the high cost o f election and the resulting pur chase o f votes and to ensure that every area o f the School D is tric t is represented. The new Board w ill have four members fro m the West side (15 percent o f the population) and inner Northeast w ill have three members— G isvold, K afoury and Cawthorne. N orth Portland and the large Southeast area w ill have no representa tion. This election, w ith its small turnout, should tell the School Board which ignored the small votes in every election since the voting date was changed that this situation can no longer be ig nored. Contradiction? Mayor Frank Ivancie opposed the C ity Coun cil call fo r divestment o f state investment in companies doing business in South A frica on the basis that he opposes involvement in issues that concern internal a ffa irs o f other nations. He used this same reasoning to oppose city support o f a nuclear freeze. This concern did not stop Ivancie from sign ing an em otional proclam ation proclaim ing “ Afghanistan Day” on March 21, 1983, citing Soviet occupation o f that nation. A slight contradiction here! Letters to the Editor To the editor: To the editor: As the only School Buaiu candì» date suggesting phase-out o f the compulsory system o f education in P o rtlan d , I was disappointed you gave Roger Troen only 2 '/J inches of space w hile the pastor |D r . Frank Shields) got ten, the systems analyst (Sam W eiss| got ten, and the co r porate counsel (Stephen K afou ry) got a full foot. The nine candidates for Position N o. 4 re fle ct nine views on what should be stressed and suggest Tro- cn’ s idea is the one to bring peace and learning to the battleground of ed u catio n . H is bias was to w ard more accurate use o l the language but he has other facets your in te r viewer could have repo rted. He is indeed a "p rin te r'' a * was Franklin. He is also the anim ai advocate, Sec retary o f the Responsible Pet O w n ership Counsel, a three-tim e candi date for the Sftfcc House, a past two- term p re s id e n t o f the P o rtlan d G rade Teachers A s so ciatio n , graphic artist, legal secretary, self- employed marketing analyst, and a staunch su p po rter o f L ib e rta ria n ideals. C o n tra ry to the p asto r, he be lieves those who pay should have the say in ed u ca tio n . That is why he w ould not com pel learn in g but would encourage it by opening the field to anyone capable o f getting and keeping "custom ers." I remain, yours fo r b etter jo u rn a lis m , and another voice for free enterprise, in dividual, private classrooms. Chris Alexander The Reagan A d m in istratio n has claimed that it has reduced interest rates and slowed dow n in fla tio n . Both o f these claim s seem to be mostly true but it might be o f inter est to see w hich people paid fo r these accomplishments. W hen the adm inistration passed the incom e tax cut b ill in 1982, newspapers printed a table showing the tax cuts for individuals o f d iffe r ent income levels. In going over the table, 1 noted (hat a fam ily o f four w ith an annual income o f SIO.OOO got a tax cut o f a certain am ount and the same size family with an in come o f S I00,000 got a much larger tax cut. In fact, 121 families with the low er income would have saved slightly less than just tw o fam lies w ith thfe higher income. This is not something new. Sim i lar things have happened in the past. When the Kennedy tax cut law was passed in 1962, The N a tio n maga zine p rin te d a m a jo t a rtic le de nouncing the rip -o ff of the working class, so biased was the law a r ranged in favor o f the rich. From this and other evidence, it is clear that President Reagan is de veloping a different type o f welfare stale. His welfare state gives prefer ence to the millionaires and the m ili tarists. (1 he O bserver welcomes Letters to the E d ito r. They must be signed and include the writer's address. We reserve the right to edit for length.) Portland Community College, Cascade Campus, 705 N. Killingsworth Admission is free. Highlights of agenda: • Overview of legislative process. • Role of professional lobbyists and legislative aides. • How to make your issue a legislative issue. • How a bill becomes law. • Question and answer session with your legislator. Resource materials provided by ad hoc workshop committee, Fred Milton, chair. Childcare provided. Lunch: brown bag or buy sandwiches at workshop. PARTIAL LIST OF CO SPONSORS Attune Ministerial Alkanee a Phillip Randolph Institute. Alliance lot Social Change Center lor Urban Edota lion COSSPO (Committee ol Spam »h Speaking People of Oregon). Eliot Neighborhood A »sot. tahon, Irvington Community Association. Noaotfos Bilingual Spanish English Newspaper King Improvement Association. Metropolitan Human Relations Commission Mt Sinai Church NAACP North Northeast Commumtv Mental Health Center National O rganuat on ol Women, Oregon Progressive Agenda Piedmont N e -qhborh • ä Ataot ladon Portland Observa» The Skenner Southeast Asian Refugee Federation Tri County Community Council Urban League Urban Indian Council Women s Rights Coalition. Sullivan s Gulch Neighborhood Association. Portland Office Neighbor hi d Association' Northeast Neighborhood Coetotion Portland Community Cottage Street Beat by Lenita D u k e and R ichard B ro w n Although Barney Clark is dead and gone, the a rtific ia l heart pumps on. The S tre e t Beat team wondered how Portlanders felt about this issue, with: "Should human beings spend time and money on developing artificial vital or- Supports medical care for needy To the editor: T he P o rtla n d O bserver is to bi ap p laud ed fo r its M arch 9th e d i to rial support o f House Bill 2805, w hich w ou ld give O regon a com plete program o f emergency and pri mary health assistance to our stale’s poor. Multnom ah County's severe bud getary shortfall— an anticipated $14 m illion— has forced a number of ex tensive cuts in the next fiscal year's budget. Those cuts include Project Health, the pre paid insurance pro gram of health care for those people just barely over the poverty level. I would propose that Oregonians lobby their legislators in Salem fer vently on the issue o f H B 2805. It will ensure that our elderly and eligi ble poor receive necessary medical attention on a statewide basis. I t ’s more than just a cliche when it’s said that you don’t have much if you d o n 't have your h ealth . The Legislature should make a progres sive step in saying that health care is the basic right o f all individuals by passing H B 2805. Dennis Buchanan Multnom ah County Executive Receive your Observer by m ail— Subscribe todayl Only $10°° per year. Name Address ____ ____ City_____________________S tate____________ Zip_______ Portland Observer iWl IWI The Portland Observer w e . established in 1970 Subscriptions S I0 00 per year in the Tri County eres Poet m e s te r Send eddress changes to Ihe P u n ia n i O b t r r r r r P O Boa 3137 Portland Oregon 97208 A lfre d i.. Henderson. Editor/Publisher A ! Williams. Advertising Manager 5 ™ Abrham Barran Unamployad Gaorga Saabarry Rati rad 283 2486 N atio n a l A dvertising R ep resentative A m a lg a m a te d Publishers. 1rs« N e w York I th in k so. W e should have the power to prolong ife. Some people don't want to die. 4 Pam Diabl Houaawlfa Yes, some people m ay w ant to live on. I haven't considered other alternatives. L.J. Hall Insuranca Yes, they should. It's for the research and what can be cured. Barney C lark made a sacrifice that w ill help m any in the fu ture. N o , they s h o u ld n 't. T hey spend all that tim e and money on someone w ho w ill die in a couple o f m onths. It could be better spent on the healthy. 0 »»> N a ’ KTAlAC T h . P o rtla n d (tb w r v e r IU S P S 959 5801 is published every Thursday by f are Publiehtnq Comperi y Inc . 2201 North Killings worth Prut lend Oregon 97217. Poet Office Boa 3137 Porllend. Oregon 9/208 Second cleat [Mitiege tieni el Portland Oregon AstocraMon • founded IS M Saturday april 9 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM Henry Korman Mail to: Portland Observer Box 3137 Portland. Oregon 97206 MEMBER a workshop for north-northeast Portland Tax cut only benefits rich Troen slighted •4» Met > citizen advocacy at the state legislature Dava Barratt Truck Drlvar T h a i’ s an interesting ques tion. W ith the state o f technol ogy, I d o n 't th in k they w ould spend that m oney developing jobs because they are n o t. I have a great respect for preser vation o f life. You can't work if you aren't alive. Jay Eugana Fralay Opara Singar I can see the need fo r devel oping a r tific ia l organs, espe cially since there are not enough donors. I ’m sure there are some religious questions that need to be answered I'm kind o f unde cided.