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‘The Eyes and Ears of the Commun
Volumn XXII, Number 44
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Election Countdown:
Whats’ It All About?
BY MCKINLEY BURT
That is a good question and many
African Americans are realizing there
may not really be a “choice” at either
the presidential race or at lower levels.
We may have to consider the old C hi­
nese proverb: “ A m atter o f the known
devil or the unknown devil”.
On the one hand we have an adm in­
istration that has trashed every revered
concept o f good, decent and honest
government, with an equal regard for
“all” of its citizens--and on the other,
we have the head o f a state that is one of
only two which have never passed a
Civil Rights Bill. A leader who has
been described as “environm entally
Sterile”; it is recited with some hum or
that the biggest pollution of Arkansas
waterways is the runoff of chicken
manure from the states’ largest industry
(supplying the nations’s fast food out­
lets with chicken wings).
At those “lower levels” of political
contests, we find yet another new p h e­
nomenon; a number o f African A m eri­
can journalists and organizations are
barely making a hesitant tongue-in-
cheek endorsem ent o f even minority
candidates, Truly, it seems, “the thrill
has gone” wherever the citizens have
made any serious evaluation o f their
elected representatives. Even lovers hate
to be taken for granted.
Each week, 1 review a half-dozen
black newspapers published around the
nation in major urban centers. To an
ex ten t never seen before, A frican
americans are questioning the perfor­
mance of that cadre o f “Elected Black
Representatives” which for a number
o f decades, now, has been extolled as
the political and economic hope for
“the folks” . Like whites who are disen­
chanted with the process, w ith the prom­
ises o f every thing and responsibility for
nothing-blacks, to, are asking pointed
questions and dem anding “delivery
schedules” from their own.
The bitterest com plaint seems to
be the accusation that a great number of
E B O ’s (Elected Black Officials) are
simply coasting along from term to
term, basking in the aura of a “tradi­
tional dem ocratic electorate” which
they take for granted. Now, searching
questions are being asked about “com ­
mittee work, bills sponsored, specific
help and patronage delivered to con­
stituents--and, above all, information
retrieval sessions and workshops for
the local people at the grassroots level.
There seems to be greatly increased
disaffection with the electronic media
primadonnas—a desire for a meaningful
interface, not more rhetoric.
I think what is being asked for is
not only “change”, but more than sim ­
ply a change in faces; after all this is not
simply a “a game o f musical chairs”.
There is bitterness, frustration and fear
abroad in the land. Here in Oregon,
especially Portland, we hear the same
rumblings. Not for the first lime, as you
well know, but with increasing vigor
the query is made, “but just what the
hell does he.she do for us? And with the
same insistence, that question is being
asked o f a number of the “appointed”
black officials whose contributions to
the welfare of the brethren are some
what less than detectable.
A frequent point is made and it is
quite well taken; “ they w ouldn’t be
there is whites hadn’t delivered these
positions to massage the plantation-to
keep things reasonably quiet and under
control, and to deep the succeeding
generation dream ing”. Therefore it is
being increasingly put forth by think­
ing blacks in the community that obvi­
ously we cannot expect any m ore o f
most than we are getting because they
are responsible to “ the man”. Lots o f
meetings, seminars, retreats and travel,
are seen as nice perks by many grassroots
blacks (“we got a educated middle class
to o -ju st like white folks”), but, now,
with the growing economic crunch and
other pressures, they are demanding
some changes. Their desires may yet be
vague and somewhat unstructured, but
there is mutiny pending in the ranks.
I detect that it is a national phe­
nomena, but never in all my years here
have I ever heard such a disillusion­
ment with black leadership-even from
traditional, faithful white liberals.
Urban League Young Professionals
Sponsor Candidates Forum
The Urban League Young Pro­
fessionals will hold a Candidates
Forum on Saturday 311 from 11
a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at PCC Cascade
Cam pus, Main A uditorium, 705 N.
Killingsworth. The free event will
include candidates for local, state
and federal offices as well as repre­
sentatives o f state ballot measures.
M embers o f the new s media and
public are invited to attend.
Confirmed participants include
U.S. Senate candidates Bob Packwood
and Les AuCoin, mayoral candidates,
Vera Katz, state representative candi­
dates Margaret Carter, Avel Gordly
and Marilyn Schultz, and representa­
tives o f five presidential candidates.
Candidates and representatives
will have several m inutes to present
their arguments before taking ques­
tions from the audience. John Holley,
president of the Young Professionals,
will serve as moderator.
The forum is being offered as a
community service. The Young Pro­
fessionals also conducted a Voter
Registration Drive recently.
The mission o f the Young Pro­
fessionals is to provide a forum for
African Americans and others to net­
work while increasing opportunities
for social interaction, professional
developm ent and community ser­
vice. The group currently has 71
members.
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KidPAC Names Hiree Metropolitan
Legislators As “Best Friends Of Kids1
Oregon KidPAC named three Port­
land metropolitan area legislators as
“BestFriends of Oregon Kids” for 1992.
The political action com m ittee
formed to advocate for ch ildren awarded
the citation to only five legislators state­
wide, saying the Legislature had not
progressed ir. meeting the needs of chil­
dren.
“In the post-M easure 5 climate, the
Legislature failed to follow through on
the goals of O regon’s first legislative
Policy on Children, Youth and Fam i­
nes,’’said Leslie Haines, Portland, chair
of the political action com m ittee orga­
nized to be an advocate for children.
“This year’s short list of “Best
Friends” includes only those legislators
who took a leadership role during the
1991 session in advancing the com m it­
ment to address children’s problems
and resisted budget cuts in programs for
children,” Ms. Haines said.
The metropolitan legislators named
were Sen. Frank Roberts and Reps.
Mary Alice Ford and Beverly Stein, all
of Portland. Reps. Tony Van Vliet o f
Corvallis andEldon Johnson of Medford
also received the designation.
In conjunction with the designa­
tions, KidPAC announced it would
make contributions o f $500 each to the
campaigns o f Reps. Ford and Stein.
The failure o f the legislature to
advance a children's agenda is reflected
in only five legislators being cited in
1992, compared to 14 named when
Oregon KidPAC announced its first
“Best Friends” in 1990. Four o f the
1992 designees were on the first list.
Rep. Johnson is listed for the first time.
“Reps. Ford and Stein, in addition
to their leadership roles on the human
resources committee, focused on the
need to advance the children’s agenda
with a full day of hearings during the
legislative session,” Ms. Haines noted,
while Sen. Roberts and Reps. Van Vliet
and Johnson, who served on the Ways
and Means Committee, were instru­
mental in protecting and advancing state
funding for children’s programs.
“ As Oregon moves forward in ad­
dressing the im plications o f M easure 5
in the 1993 Legislature, advocates for
children will face even stronger pressures
for budget reductions,” Ms. Haines said.
K idPA C ’s objective is to keep
O regon’s children high on the state's
political agenda and to support legisla­
tors who take a leadership role in ad­
vancing the legislative policy adopted
in 1989:
Children are the future.
Children deserve the best possible
mental and physical health.
Children deserve adequate food and
safe shelter.
Fam ilies should be supported and
strengthened.
KidPAC was formed in 1990 by
advocates o f children. M embers sup­
port and understand the importance of
addressing the issue o f diminishing
governm ent resources for children.
City And Oregon Arena Corporation
Reach Development Agreement
The City of Portland and the O r­
egon Arena corporation (OAC) have
concluded a Developm ent Agreement
and several other related agreements
for the planned Oregon Arena Project
that contemplate completion o f the $205
million sports and entertainm ent com ­
plex in time for the Portland Trail Blaz­
ers 1995-96 season.
Portland City Council is scheduled
to take action on the agreements at 3:00
p.m. on Thursday, O ctober 29th. along
with the Developm ent Agreement, the
Council will review the Exclusive Site
Agreement, Memorial coliseum O per­
ating Agreement, Arena Ground Lease
and Entertainm ent complex Ground
Lease. If Council approves, and all
remaining agreements are completed,
construction is expected to begin be­
tween February and April of 1993.
Over 83% o f the total cost o f the
Arena complex will be paid for by
OAC. The $34.5 m illion in City-paid
capital costs for public improvements
will be repaid from user fees on Arena
and Coliseum tickets, revenues from
the City-owned parking garages in the
Complex and other City income gener­
ated by the project. The site is largely
on publicly-owned property adjacent to
Memorial Coliseum.
The project outlined in today’s
agreements includes:
An Arena seating more than 20,000
for basketball.
A design that would accommodate
National Hockey League standards.
An eight-level, 1,060-spacc park­
ing garage attached to the Arena.
A 62,000 sq. ft. entertainment and
office complex that will include, in the
first phase, three restaurants, a central­
ized ticket office and a 370-spacc, two-
level parking garage.
Two Ci ly -owned parking struc lures
and a surface lot with approximately
1,200 parking spaces.
A public plaza two-and-a-half times
the size of Pioneer Courthouse Square
available for staging events, located
between the Coliseum and new Arena,
plus several other open spaces.
An interior and structural upgrade
of the Coliseum to allow for continued
use as an arena and convcntion/exhibit
facility.
Retaining and upgrading 40,000
sq.Ft. of the existing Coliseum exhibit
hall.
Reconstruction of three roads and
construction of several new roads to
improve traffic circulation for the dis­
trict and the Arena.
Stipulations in the Agreements in­
clude the following:
OAC will take over operation of
the Coliseum on July 1, 1993 under a
20-year agreement and will assume all
risk of losses.
OAC will Advance funds to the
City if capital costs for public im prove­
ments exceed $34.5 million due to un­
expected cost overruns. Any OAC ad­
vances will be repaid over the life o f the
project only from the public share of
excess project revenues, if any, after
such revenues arc used to repay City
debt on bonds issued for public im ­
provements and other City costs related
to the project.
Metro, which now operates the
Coliseum , and the City, will need to
amend the Consolidation Agreement
by December 1,1992 to perm it OAC to
take over the m anagement o f the facil­
ity.
Net revenues from the Coliseum
will be divided 40% each to OAC and
the City, and 20% to a capital reserve
for future Coliseum improvements.
The City will pay for, and perform,
all necessary seismic upgrades to the
Coliseum outside the $34.5 m illion
public im provem ent bu d g et T hese are
required regardless o f the Arena project
because the state building code recently
upgraded Portland to seismic zone 3. If
the Coliseum seismic costs exceed $2.5
million, the City will have the right to
close the Coliseum or operate it for non-
Arena purposes.
The city will receive a 6% user fee
on tickets sold in the new Arena and the
Coliseum. The user fee will offset any
future admissions tax or sim ilar levy
imposed by the City or Metro, up to 6%.
An Admissions Tax O ffset Agreem ent
will be negotiated between the City and
Metro by December 1st along with the
Consolidation Agrecment/amendment.
OAC will pay the city 4.9% o f
gross rental income on the entertain­
ment and office complex (excluding
office leases to OAC, the Trail Blazers,
Arena vendors and affiliates).
In order to ensure a coordinated
traffic management plan, OAC will
operate all parking on the site, includ­
ing public parking under m anagement
contract with the City. The City will
own and receive public parking rev­
enues. O A C will own and receive rev­
enues from the Arena garage and enter­
tainm ent and office complex garage. A
Transportation M anagem ent Plan, that
includes a bus shuttle system, will be
submitted for City Council approval
prior to February 1993. Basic features
co n tin u ed on p a g e 7