Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (March 30, 1994)
M arch 30, 1994 • T he P ortland O bserver P age A2 The Politics And Promises Of Denny Smith by P romise K ing r f ’ J J T jL E CARRIES IN HIS CHARISMA UNDY- ING POLITICAL ZEAL ANDWEARSIN HISCHEST, ATOGA OF UNCOMPROMISING HARD CORE REPUBLICAN. To some, he is as rhetorical as he is real and to others he is simply Denny Smith, the business man, the Combat ant, the seasoned politician, and the son of former Governor Elmo and Dorothy Smith. Mr. Smith, a former Congressman, and a gubernatorial contender under the republican party for the state of Oregon, bestrides the state political scene, with a disarming frankness about his political beliefs. And distancing himself from demogogery, but busy combining tough rhetorics with his reformed conscrva- tism-a combination that has produced loyal support and open fury. Sloganing in his main, what he refers as -A-New Direction for Oregon. When this son of Oregon former governor first appeared in the scene unsung in 1980 challenging A1 Ullman, then chairman of the House Ways and Means committee, for his 2nd district seat, many dismissed him for his confrontational attitude, but Smith com bined his inherent political wits with straight forwardness to score a landmark victory against the 22 year incumbent. His ten years in congress, his col leagues said, saw Smith consistently fighting for reduced government spend ing and against wasteful military pro grams. Disdained by rampant criminal activities, Smith founded the Oregonians Against Crime and successfully passed a ballot measure that gave stricter sen tences to second time offenders. In an exclusive interview with the Observer, Smith plan of action on issues smacks of the typical conservative re publican, but were both revolutionary as well as confrontational. He is not giving to cajoling people to call wonderful what he thinks is terrible. The bully-belly beaurcrats who de pends on government excesses to foster thciiwtumsfind this apostle of spending cuts an ally to work with. HERE IS DENNY SMITH ON ISSUES. NATIONAL out fear of their taxes going up.” schools.” Crime & Violence: On Federal Lands: “As governor, I will introduce leg islation that will be tougher on deadbeat parents, making these people shoulder the responsibility of caring for their chil dren. It’s disgraceful that we have crimi nals on streets not locked up. There is no “We cannot accept the deck of cards w e’ve been dealt on this issue. We need to be able to utilize our natural resources. Locking them up simply doesn’t make any sense. In 1937, when Oregon took over the O&C, lands we had approximately 50 billion board feet of harvestable lumber. Since then, we’ve harvested over 40 billion board feet and we still have 49.7 billion board feet of harvestablc lumber left. Sustained yield through scientific management has been proven. Oregonians are blessed with a beau tiful landscape, however the federal gov ernment controls approximately 52% of our land. We have congressmen and senators from new York, Pennsylvania, and other places far from the Pacific Northwest regulating what we can do with our land in Oregon. We need to be able to utilize our land preserve our heritage, and ensure our future if con gressmen from Illinois and Ohio are go ing to vote to lock up our state, then we need to be compensated by the federal government.” excuse.” On Revenue & State Spending: “We do not have a revenue prob lem. We have a spending problem. The recent overwhelming defeat of Ballot Measure One was clear signal that Or- Denny Smith cgonians believe state government has enough money. Government must learn to live within its means. By using pro- gram-based budgeting, where programs and departments are not allowed to get automatic raises based on “current ser vice levels,” we can pay for essential government services without putting a bigger tax burden on Oregonians. I will not support new taxes until convinced we have maximized every available dollar and scrutinized every department of government for savings. To date, this has not been done effec tively. I plan to evaluate the Public Em ployee Retirement System (PERS). Stud ies by Cascade Policy Institute have dem onstrated that public employees in Or egon receive greater benefits than their private sector counterparts. I will exam ine the feasibility of a two-teired system for old and new sate employees. The state should honor its contract with cur rent public employees, but new person nel should contribute to their own retire ment funds. Senior citizens should be given an Education: “We must give local control of incentive to remain active education sup porters. Helping seniors out by freezing schools back to Oregon communities.” “Imposing auniform curriculum and the property taxes on their primary resi contract on school districts statewide dences after retirement, will keep them leaves local school boards and parents involved in their communities, and al with little say on how they can run their low them to vote on school issues with Health Care: The American health care system is the envy of the world. People come here from all over the world to receive treat ment. But we seem to be ruining our ability to choose what we want and what we want to pay for i t Oregonians and Americans want choice, not a huge bu reaucracy to oversee how their health care is administered. We need to fine- tine our health care system so everyone can receive cost-effectivecare. Currently, the poorest of our population arc forced to rely on more expensive emergency room care, costing us more. Basic pre ventive care, consumer choice and less bureaucracy is what we need.” On Leadership: I will work closely with the legisla ture and provide the leadership to change the way government operates in Oregon. I will see to it that it is not “business as usual” in Salem. We have too many people telling us how to live, work, and play. The people of this state have come to distrust their government, and that must be changed. Whether voters will once again give Smith their confidence, just like they did a decade ago will depend on future po litical judgement. There is a strong indi cation that Denny Smith campaign pro gram based on Crime control and less government will swap votes in his favor. C O A L IT IO N It’s A Crime (Bill)! HE CRIME BILL IS ITSELF A CRIME. R ather than attem pting to reduce crime, Congress is playing politics. There isam plccvidencc that the bill’s assum ptions, and the effect it will have, arc racist. W hile strides have been made to balance “crime preven tion and punishm ent” no one should be fooled. W hile even progressive m em bersof Congress, including some members o f the Black Caucus, are being tempted to support this bill, no amount of Kool-Aid can offset the cyanide in H.R. 4092. Bureau of Justice Statistics re veal that W hites Com prised 69% O f all A rrests In 1991. This percentage remained fairly constant even when geographical location and age groups were taken into account. Forexam ple, W hites W ere A rrested For 65.7% O f The Crim es In Cities. 69.5% o f per sons under age 18 arrested in cities were W hite, as were 64.9% o f persons over age 18. In suburban and rural communities, the percentage o f W hite arrests increased. W hites Com prised 78.7% O f All Suburban A rrests, 80.1% o f suburban arrests under 18, and 78.4% of suburban arrests over 18. In rural counties, W hites com prised 83.9% o f all arrests, 86.9% of arrests under age 18, and 83.6% o f arrests o v e ra g e 18. T h ese s ta tis tic s c le a rly show th a t A fric a n A m e ric a n s a re a r re ste d for a re la tiv e ly sm a ll p e r c e n ta g e o f c rim e s in th is c o u n try . W h ile C o m p risin g O nly 12% O f T he P o p u la tio n , B lack s A rc 48% O f T h e F e d e ra l P riso n P o p u la tio n - o n l y to be in c re a se d by the p e n d in g c rim e b ill. T he im p a c to f this law , if p a sse d a fte r the S p rin g re c e ss, w ill be so d isc rim in a to ry th a t c rim e and c rim in a l ju s tic e w ill b e c o m e the p re e m in e n t c iv il rig h ts issu e o f o u r tim e . C o n s id e r th e s e fa c ts fro m C o n g r e s s m a n B o b b y S c o tt (D -3 -V A ): (1) In m ost countries, the incar ceration rate is approxim ately 100 per 100,000 population. Among the three highest, how ever, are Russia, with a ratio o f 268 per 100,000; South A frica, at 311 per 100,000; and the U.S., with 450 per 100,000. IN The African A m erican Com m unity, The Average Is 1,300 Per 100,000, w hile in m ost o f our inner cities the rate is 3,000 per 100,000, a rate 10 tim es more severe than that o f South Africa. (2) T w e n ty -fiv e p e rc e n t o f y o ung A frican A m erican m en find th e m se lv e s u n d e r th e c o n tro l o f th e c r i m i n a l j u s t i c e s y s te m , w h e th e r th ro u g h p a ro le , p r o b a tio n o r in c a rc e ra tio n . (3) T here arc ram pant racial dis parities in the application o f crim inal penalties. A study o f mandatory m ini mum sentences in Florida concluded that race was a m ajor factor in im pos ing their m andatory minimum sen tences. (4) The racial disparity betw een those sentenced for crack versus pow der cocaine possession is well known- -5 gram s of crack, 5 years m andatory; 499 gram s o f powder, p ro b a tio n -a 100-to-l sentencing disparity. Thus, sentencing disparity punishes people for their socio-economic status--poor, Black and Brow n use crack; the wealthy and W hite use powder. (5) E ig h ty -n in e p c r c e n to f the d eath p e n a lty p ro s e c u tio n s sin c e 1988 u n d e r th e fe d e ra l d ru g k in g pin “ D eath P e n a lty ” w ere a g a in st m in o rity d e fe n d a n ts (29 B la c k . 4 H isp a n ic and 4 W h ite ), d e sp ite the fa c t th a t 75% o f th o se c o n v ic te d w ere W h ite . In the C lin to n A d m in is tra tio n , a ll 11 o f th o se b ein g trie d in fe d e ra l d e a th p e n alty c a se s are A fric a n A m e ric a n . U n d e r th is c rim e b ill, th e d eath p e n a lty is e x p a n d e d to 6 6 se p a ra te c rim e s, th e m a n d a to ry m in im u m s in s e n te n c in g a re e x p a n d e d , an d the “ th re e s trik e s and y o u ’re o u t (i.c ., in ja il fo r lif e ) ” p ro v isio n w ill be b o th c o stly and in e ffe c tiv e —an d w e a lre a d y know th a t a ll o f th e se p ro v is io n s a re ra m p a n tly r a c ia lly d is c r im in a tory. A ll o f the c rim in a l p e n a ltie s in the c rim e b ill w ill d is p r o p o r tio n a te ly a ffe c t N a tiv e A m e ric a n s b e c a u se a ll N a tiv e la n d s a re s u b je c t to fe d e ra l c rim in a l ju r is d ic tio n ; an d H isp a n ic s a re d is c r im i nated a g a in s t by p ro v is io n s th a t e lim in a te the re q u ire m e n t o f a h e a rin g p rio r to d e p o rta tio n fo r a lie n s c o n v ic te d o f c e rta in crim e s. There is still lime to lobby your congressperson to vote against H.R. 4092, and the Rainbow urges you to do so. Call 202-225-3121. 6 r s p e c t i v e s More Undercurrents At Work In That Health Care Agenda Send your letters to the Editor to: Editor, PO Box 3137, Portland, OR 97208 AST WEEK I CITED SEVER- ALOFTHEMEDICALSIDE ___ SHOWS THAT ARE GOING On February 8, 1994, my turning merchandise, was at- handcuffed by Meier & Frank ON OUTSIDE THE MAIN TENT. THE PUBLIC NEEDS TO PAY CLOSE teenaged daughter, while re- tacked, thrown to the floor, and security officers at the Lloyd ATTENTION BECAUSE THEY Center Mall. She was held by COULD GET RUN OVER BY THE security for approximately two ELEPHANTS WHILE LOOKING UP hours and was then taken to AT THE TRAPEZE ARTISTS. Donald E. Long Juvenile Ser O ne read er vices, where she was held ap expressed disgust (USPS 959-680) proximately for another two th at a m inority OREGON’S OLDEST AFRICAN AMERICAN (Indians) w ould PUBLICATION hours. h a v e a m a jo r Established in 1970 by Alfred L. Henderson To date, my daughter has problem, consid not been charged w ith any ering the exagger Joyce W ashington Publisher crime. We are aware of numer ated pitches made I ous incidents of this nature at to people of color by the adm inistrator The PORTLAND OBSERVER is located at the Lloyd Center Mall, and are for a state agency adm its that he really 4747 NE Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd. hadn ’ t given that m uch thought to the looking for other community “e n fo rc e m en t” pro v isio n s o f the Portland, Oregon 97211 members to join us in finding a ' Health Care Security A ct’. Yes there 503-288-0033 * Fax 503-288-0015 solution to the abusive and dis would be a “ Health Police” to make Deadline f o r all subm itted materials: respectful treatment of our chil sure everyone went to the right place, Articles: Monday, 5:00 pm Ads: Tuesday Noon dren and community as a whole. got the right service, billed the right POSTMASTER: Send Address Changes to: Portland Observer, If you arc a concerned citi agency, charged the right price, signed P.O. Box 3137, Portland, OR 97208. up only ’real’ relatives, and so forth. zen and interested in address Second Class postage p a id at Portland, Oregon. Another ‘side show ’ that is de ing these violent attacks on our veloping quite rapidly is the federal The Portland O bserver welcomes freelance submissions. M anuscripts and photographs should be clearly labeled and will be returned. If children, please call 293-3373 governm ent’s heightened interest in accom panied by a self addressed envelope. All created design display for more information. We need nutrition, food packaging and preser ads become the sole property of the newspaper and can not be used in Ss vation. The m edia, of course, has your support. other publications or personal usage, w ithout the written consent o f the gotten on the band wagon and we arc Thank you. general manager, unless the client has purchased the com position o f shocked daily as hidden cam eras dis Concerned Citizens such ad. © 1994 TH E PO RTLAND OBSERVER. ALL RIGHTS gust us with scenes of chickens fall RESERVED, REPRODUCTION IN W HOLE OR IN PART W IT H ing to the floor and being put right OUT PERM ISSION IS PROHIBITED. back on the line in a A rkanasa poultry Subscriptions :$30.00 p er year. processing plant. This practice is not The Portland O b se rv e r-O reg o n ’s O ldest A frican-American Publica restricted to President C lintons home t i o n 's a m ember o f the National N ew spaper A ssociation-Founded in 1885, and The National A dvertising Representative A malgamated © lie J lo r tla n b Publishers, Inc, New York, NY, and The W est C oast Black Publishers (Ll]e ©bserrier Say You Saw It In... Association • Serving Portland and Vancouver ODbserber bailiw ick, but it docs hit an ironic note. These com ers arc being cut by the nation’s largest supplier of chick ens — and recipient o f the state’s largest “ Smail B usiness” loans I’m sure it is not lost upon the reader how large a consum er o f fast foods is the African American popu lation, and why blacks should be ex p re s s in g m o re than a passing in- ..... terest in food stan- By dards - from the Professor farm to the pro- Mckintey cessing plant, and Burl from the restau rant to the store shelf. Certainly, we should be aware by now that the State o f Oregon is only very recently been tightening up its standards for food outlets; storage, cooking and periodic inspections. And this, we suspect, is a result of media attention due to the E-Coli scares. Interesting, itw asjusta few weeks ago that I detailed here the contribu tions o f Dr. Lloyd A. Hall, the black pioneer in food chemistry (1894-1971) to w ho the w o rld is in d e b te d for h e a lth y , n u tritio u s and a p p e tiz ing m o d es o f food p re se rv a tio n : c u rin g o f m e a ts, s te riliz a tio n o f sp ic e s to rid th em o f m o ld s and b a c te ria (a lso m e d ic a l su p p lie s), n o n - r a n c id fa ts an d o il fo rm s (C ris c o ), etc. The current em phasis o f govern ment agencies like the D epartm ent of A griculture on dissem inating infor- mation is under fire; not only from medicine but from the governm ent itself (GAO). Not ju st because the flawed and unreliable reports and stan dards are a general disservice to diet ers, athletes, food processors, and the general public to whom “ nutrition” is a key factor in the m aintenance o f h e a lth -b u t because there arc special disease-specific and ethnic-specific groups where the accuracy o f sub stance in-take can mean life or death (diabetes, low sodium, etc.). An investigating congressional panel says it does not know how bad the data are. The situation is bad with go vemmen t agencies, such as the Food and Drug adm inistration “depending upon industry sources” when m aking policy decisions (can you believe that ? The com panies arc using the flawed data they got from the governm ent in the first place; Poor Mr. Espy, w hat has he inherited?) Only $299,000 is budgeted annually for nutrient analy sis while a single analysis can cost $2000! And now all that package labeling is suspect. The culprit in this m atter is a publication known as “ Handbook 8”. The head of the departm ent o f n u tri tion at New York University describes the situation as an absolute disaster; “Every single dietary intake survey done in this country is based on H and book 8. It is the basis o f all food assistance programs, including school lunches. W ell, its back to m other wit, folklore and grandm a, I guess. H a v e A H a p p y E a s te r
