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.