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A Checklist
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For
Election '86
Next m onth, Am ericans around the nation w ill go to the
polls to elec, members to the House, Senate and state houses.
It is a critical election
For Americans w ill be doing more than
merely casting a vote for one candidate or another
They w ill,
in most cases, be faced w ith a clear choice between tw o oppo
sing political philosophies. On the one hand, certain candi
dates embrace a philosophy that falls under the general rubric
of "R ea g an ism ," an ideology that absolves governm ent of its
traditional role as overseer of the general welfare and has led
to econom ic hardship for millions of w orking men and wom en.
Others advocate a philosophy that engenders social respon
sibihty and a belie, that governm ent has an obligation to ensure
social and econom ic justice for all it governs
In many o, these key races, the black vote w ill be critical in
determ ining the final outcom e. Blacks, w ho have been dispro
P h o to b y R ic h a rd J
H o ra c e J o h n s o n . N o rth e a s t P o rtla n d B u sin es sm a n
B ro w n
portionately hurt by "R eaganism s"’ ill conceived social and
economir policies, have a real stake in the future com position
Northeast Businessman
Receives Award
o, the House and Senate, and can play a pivotal role in chan
ging this nation's political course.
The follow ing checklist provides a summary of critical issues
blacks and other voters may use to guage a potential effective
ness of a candidate
• W here does the candidate stand on U S. industrial policy?
Since black econom ic and social progress is inextricably linked
by Jerry Garner
to the overall perform ance of the national econom y, a viable
Horace Johnson, a Northeast Portland businessman, was
Week
For the past three years, President Reagan has desig
candidate must be com m itted to protecting and expanding
honored recently in San Francisco by the United States De
nated the first full week in October as M inority Enterprise
basic industries, many of w hich have been decim ated by Rea
partm ent
Development Week in honor of the nation's m inority business
gan econom ic and trade policies. The governm ent must make
owners and
i, a top priority to save beleagured goods producing and manu
Agency
of
as
Commerce,
Regional
M inority
M inority
Business
Retail
Firm
Development
of
the
Year
their co ntribu tio n
to
the national economy
facturing sectors from unfair com petition by adopting fair trade
Johnson, the ow ner of Parkrose Liquor Store, Agency 120
Johnson said that it was an honor to be recognized by the
and Ja 'B ell's Beauty b Barber Supplies, was honored for his
U S. Departm ent of Commerce for his achievements as an
policies,
exem plary achievem ents in various fields of business. He was
entrepreneur
abroad.
• W here does a candidate stand on education and federal
By being selected as Regional M inority Retail
w hile
discouraging
businesses
from
relocating
also one of the five finalists for National M in o rity Entrepreneur
Firm of the Year, it lets me know that I am making the proper
of the Year award.
Johnson's selection as Regional M inority Retail Firm of the
business decisions. Furtherm ore, most im portantly, my selec
tion can show young people that they can do anything they
vocational and job training programs? Blacks and other w or
kers face an increasingly specialized and com petitive job mar
Year was in conjunction w ith M in o rity Enterprise Development
wan, by w orking hard and believing in themselves '
ket
The governm ent must play an active role in easing the
transition of workers displaced by structural changes in the
Gary Urges Defeat of Measure 6
by Jerry Garner
Bobby L Gary, president O, the
Portland Chapter ot the National
Black W omen’s Health Project
INBW HP), said that Oregonians
should vote down Ballot Measure 6
in the upcoming elections
"This ballot measure is restrictive
and wrong
It especially discrimi
nates against low income, young,
and minority women. Proponents
o, this measure are the same indivi
duals who are anti-pro choice We
(NBW HP) respect the value of po
tential human life; we do not take
the question of abortion lightly
While we do not advocate abortion,
we oppose legislation designed to
limit the exercise of moral choice
or restricts access to abortion ser
vices," said Gary
Presently the State of Oregon
provides for medically necessary
abortions as part of the total health
care services available to women
eligible for public assistance
The
state does not pay for an abortion
for every woman who asks Only
those dependent on the state for
their health care are eligible for
state financed abortions.
Ballot
Measure 6, if passed, would amend
our state constitution to prohibit
the use of state funds for abortions
The only exception is the prevent
the death of the mother Gary said
this is another reason why NBWHP
is opposed to Measure 6
"This measure makes no excep
tion if a woman is raped, is a vie
tim of incest, or for the endanger
rnent of the mother's health
Bo
sides this, Measure 6, if passed,
would increase the cost to Oregon's
taxpayers by some $100,000 in preg
nancy related costs alone
Gary also accused some of the
backers of Measure 6 of hypocracy
"Some of the so called pro lifers,
who are trying to shove their parti
cular religious doctrine on abortion
on others, are the same people who
are against funding social programs
that are needed by millions of chil
dren living in poverty "
The National Black W omen’s
Health Project is a special educa
tional program that addresses the
key health issues facing Black Ame
rican women
The goal of the
NBW HP is to demystify medicine
and health care, to empower Black
women to take charge of their lives,
and to provide necessary health
care information and self help skills
to assist them in actively working
to improve their health.
Bobbi Gary. Black Women's Health Project
Photo by Richard J Brown
The scooter was invented by a 15-
yearold London schoolboy. Welter
Lines, in 1M7 But he did n t take
out a patent His father didn't think
it would catch on
econom y, cybernation and other technological advances, and
in developing a more highly skilled w orkforce better able to
com pete in the international marketplace.
• Does the candidate have a com prehensive strategy for
reducing poverty and easing the suffering of the underclass?
Clearly, there must be a renewed com m itm ent to social spon
ding for the poor and ill trained to help break the hopeless
cycle of joblessness, poverty, fam ily dissolution and social
pathology that threatens future generations of young people.
• Is the candidate firm ly com m itted to safeguarding civil
rights and anti discrim ination laws and regulations? In the de
cades follow ing the landmark legislative victories o, the mid
1960’s, the governm ent has passed legislation mdispensible to
social advancem ent for blacks, w om en and other m inorities.
One fundam ental tenet o,
Reaganism'' appears to be the rol
ling back o , those gains through an assault on affirm ative
action and other programs.
The governm ent needs to once
again reclaim its role as a guarantor o, social justice for all.
• Is the candidate com m itted to the advancem ent of demo
cracy and human rights around the world?
Our governm ent
must be prepared to support the g ro w th of dem ocracy around
the globe, be it in South A frican, Poland, Chile or elsewhere in
the Third W orld. The Reagan policy o f "c o n s tru c tiv e engage
m e n t" in South A frica has been an unm itigated failure, and the
governm ent m ust make more of an e ffo rt to use its resources
to help the g ro w th o, dem ocracy and the abolition o, apartheid
in South Africa.
As the election draws near, candidates w ill once again come
courting the black vote.
We must be prepared to use this
checklist to determ ine w hether a candidate's agenda and p h ilo
sophy m erit our support