Portland observer., January 08, 1992, Page 15, Image 15

January 8 , 1992...The Eugene-Springfield Observer...Page 5
A Black Mayor For Eugene
BY ED JOSEPH AND NANCY GLINES
To date, only Mary Burrows and
Ruth Baaascom have officially entered
the mayoral contest, but as the March
10th deadline approaches there seems to
be three minority candidates that are
emerging as possible candidates in the
run for the M ayor’s office in the city of
Eugene. Greg Evans, former president
of the local NAACP chapter, is one of
those. In an interview with him he de­
clined to make it official that a decision
has been reached on which candidate to
run. The object would be to present the
best possible candidate to the voters.
When asked if he thought that the com ­
munity o f Eugene is ready to accept a
Black M ayor, Mr. Evans said “ Yes, I
believe that any o f these people m en­
tioned have a good chance of being elected
because the community is ready for a
definitive change in leadership and they
are going to change from what the public
perceives as the same old faces to new
ones.” The platform that one o f these
candidates would possibly run on would
be an economic revitalization o f the
community to get the area back on track.
There is a great need to begin getting new
business in the com m unity to provide
jobs; there is a need to begin getting new
business in the com m unity to provide
jobs; there is a need to address the hous­
ing and homeless propram; and basically
getting Eugene out o f the doldrums and
moving forward as a progressive mid
size American city.
The resistance to growth in the com ­
munity could be addressed by beginning
to build consensus and find some com ­
mon ground in that matter. There is a lot
of common ground on both sides o f the
equation -- the “ pro grow th” and the
“ anti growth” contingency -T h ere needs
to be a person or persons who are able to
bring together both sides to a table and sit
down and look at the growth question in a
progressive fashion. An important issue
that a minority mayor would look at is im ­
proving the number o f people of color
being hired by the City of Eugene. This
could put into effect through putting pres­
sure on the office o f the City Manager to
begin that process. That would signal an
improvement in minority relations all the
way around. There is a long way to go in
that respect and the community is not
doing the kind o f a job that is needed to
enhance the position o f minorities now
and into the next century.
W hen questioned about whether the
racial incident at Sheldon High School
was indicative o f the times, Mr. Evans
said, “ I think that the undercurrents o f
racism have always been there. They are
not ju st in the school system but are are
also in our local governm ent and are per­
vasive throughout the community and
this appears to be just the tip o f the ice­
berg.”
As a mayoral candidate or mayor, a
minority leader would need to go through
a long process o f developing a sense of
community. There is a need to build
some relationships that aren’t there, such
as connecting the business community
much more with the minority com m u­
nity, more interaction and interplay in a
variety o f institutions and people. The
presence o f an individuals color changes
the equation quite a b it
Mr. Evans was asked if the minority
community leaders can present to the
school board ways to educate the students
on issues o f racism and he deferred to
Marvin Revoal, the local president o f the
NAACP. Mr. Revoal is working on some
program s in the area o f what is going on
within the school systems. He has a
addressed those issues sand has the knowl-
Fact Finding Regarding Job Training
Partnership Act Completed
The fact finding initiated by the
G overnor’s A ffirmative Action Office
regarding the hiring process for the Job
Training Partnership Act, M anager posi­
tion has been completed. The final report
finds that the Oregon Economic Develop­
ment D epartment conducted the hiring
process for the JTPA m anager position in
a fair and open manner.
“ The agency made special efforts to
recruit affirmatively. The agency also
included women and minorities on the
interview panels. The final selection was
based upon job related criteria. The hiring
decision was made by the OEDD Director
after all the interviews were concluded,”
the report conclusion reads.
The fact finding was initiated in re­
sponse to two complaints that alleged ir-
regularitites in the hiring process. The fact
finding was conducted by Donny Adair,
and Assistant Director for the Department
of Human Resources, a former investiga­
tor for the Bureau of Labor, Civil Rights
Division. He conducted the fact finding at
the request o f Jeannette Pai, Director o f the
G overnor’s Affirmative Action. Office.
“ No information was revealed through
the fact finding process that substantiates
complaints made regarding the hiring proc­
ess or that warrants the state to take correc­
tive action. The state can only take correc­
tive action where there is evidence to sup­
port allegations o f unfair and/or discrim i­
natory hiring practices. Based on the infor­
mation received through the fact finding
the selection process was found to have
been consistent with the approved recruit­
ment plan and was conducted in a fair
m anner,” states Jeannette Pai, Director of
A ffirmative Action.
Ms. Pai further states that, “ W e re­
main com m itted to taking corrective ac­
tion when evidence is revealed which vali­
dates complaints regarding the hiring proc­
ess or em ploym ent in state governm ent.”
Downtown
28 East Broadway
<
i*'-’
344.5874
Eugene. Oregon
Grcg Evans
edge to speak on this process.
W hen asked about future political
aspirations Mr. Evans would only say that
there w ere a variety o f things that could
happen and at this point he couldn’t give a
definitive answer at this time. In the event
that a minority leader does not run Mr.
Evans was asked which candidate would
be backed by the nimority community.
He said that at this time until all the names
of the candidates running are listed there
could be no decision on that matter.
Secretary Of State Keisling Reports That
The Motor Voter Program Is Succeeding
Secretary o f State Phil Keisling has
released data indicating that Oregon’s New
“ M otor Voter” program is producing a
significant number of new registered vot­
ers. The Motor Vehicles Division reports
that it forwarded 26,216 voter registration
cards to county clerks in October and No­
vember, the first tw o months the program
was in effect.
“ It’s exciting to see such positive
results so early,” said Keisling. “ Motor
voter is designed to make voter registra­
tion easy, convenient and available to as
many O regonians as possible, and it is
w orking.”
M otor voter - a cooperative effort
between the Motor Vehicles Division
(DM V), the Secretary of State’s Elections
Division, and county clerk offices state­
wide - is a program by which Oregon
residents can register or re-register to vote
while applying for or renewing driver li­
censes and state identification cards.
DMV estimates that as many as 115,000
O regonians will take advantage o f motor
voter registration through their field of­
fices each year. Based on reports to date,
the program may exceed D M V ’s projec­
tions.
“Box Lunch Special”
At Track Town Pizza Box Lunch includes:
Choice of Sandwich Either one of our 12 inch standards with
Canadian Bacon, Roast Beef, or Smoked Turkey or our
delicious Veggie Pocket Sandwich stuffed with FRESH
VEGGIES, Avacodo and a yogurt Cucumber Dressing Chips
Cookie and Garnish