Page A 9
OCT. 28, 1998
{The IJortlanh (O bsm irr
Campaign 199
VOTE" It's your priviledge & your responsibility
Voting Is My Choice, Everyone’s Responsibility
by
H arold L. “ B utch ” M iller
On November 3rd, I will be
1,500 miles from my home in
Woodbridge, Va. Still my voice
will be heard because my absen­
tee ballot is in the mail. I have
never missed voting in an elec­
tion since 1 became eligible to
vote. 1 do it because it is my
choice.
As Election Day 1998 draws
near I wonder where the majority
of American voters will be. Sta­
tistics show me they won’t be at
the polls. That’s a disgrace.
During a span of 28 years, the
number of Americans of voting
age has increased more than 77
million while the number of vot­
ers has grown by just 26 million.
It doesn’t take a math professor
to calculate that more Americans
are failing to exercise the one
right, the one responsibility, that
sets us apart from so many other
Charles Jordan Receives
1998 Roundtable Award In
Washington D.C.
C h a r l e s J o r d a n , th e
D ire c to r o f P o r tla n d ’ s
P a rk s and R e c re a tio n
D e p a rtm e n t
w as
re ­
c e n t l y a w a r d e d th e 1998
R o u n d ta b le A s s o c ia te s
A w a rd on O c t o b e r 2 3 r d
f o r h is p u b l i c a n d p r o ­
fe s s io n a l s e rv ic e .
The R o u n d ta b le A s s o ­
c i a t e s , I n c . is a n o n ­
p ro fit
o rg a n iz a tio n
b a s e d in W a s h i n g t o n
D .C . A n n u a l l y ,
th e y
h o n o r o u t s t a n d i n g w o rk
by A f r i c a n A m e r i c a n s in
th e f i e l d s o f R e c r e a t i o n ,
P a rk s, C o n s e rv a tio n or
Y o u th S e r v i c e .
M r. C h a r l e s J o r d a n
w as th e t h o u g h t f u l l y
c h o se n aw a rd r e c ip ie n t
th is y e a r. T h ro u g h o u t
h is c a r e e r , M r. J o r d a n
in c lu d e d p a rk s , r e c r e ­
a tio n an d c o n s e r v a tio n
in h is a r s e n a l o f h u m a n
s e r v i c e t o o ls f o r p r o v i d ­
in g g u i d a n c e , g i v in g
hope and fin d in g w ays
(right)
Charles
R.
Jordan,
D irector
of
Portland'
Parks
and
Recreation
Depart­
ment.
to op en d o o rs th a t lea d the
w ay to o p p o r t u n i t y an d
q u a li ty o f l if e . T h ro u g h
r e s p o n s i b il it y and e x p e r i ­
e n c e th a t has ra n g e d from
s e n io r an d y o u th p r o ­
g ra m s , jo b s tr a in in g and
hum an r e l a t i o n s , he le n d s
a p e r s p e c tiv e to the p a rk s ,
r e c r e a tio n a n d c o n s e r v a ­
tio n m o v e m e n t th a t h a s
b e e n d e s c r ib e d as i n s i g h t ­
fu l, r e f r e s h i n g , b o ld and
v is io n a r y .
Report Reveals Wide Wage
Gap for Oregon’s Women
E v ery tim e an O re g o n
woman opens her paycheck,
she sees two penalties - sh e’s
penalized 28 percent for be­
ing a woman and gets an extra
three percent penalty for liv­
ing in Oregon.
T hat’s the conclusion of a
new re p o rt is s u e d to d ay
(O ct.22) by the Institute for
W o m en ’s P o lic y R e se a rc h
(1WPR) in W ashington, D C.
Entitled “The Status o f Women
in O regon,” the report was co­
published by the U niversity o f
Oregon C enter for the Study
of Women in Society (CSWS).
According to the IWPR re ­
port, women in the U nited
States are paid slightly more
than 72 cents for every dollar
men are paid. The wage gap is
three cents worse in Oregon,
which ranks in the bottom third
of states for wage equity.
The situation is especially
bad for the least educated O r­
egon women. The report finds
that the real earnings o f O r­
egon w om en w ith o u t high
school diplom as dropped 26
percent in the last two decades,
and they are paid only 62 cents
for every dollar paid to men
who did n 't graduate from high
school.
In addition, the study found
significant wage gaps between
racial and ethnic groups. Me­
dian in co m e s fo r A fric a n
Am ericans, Hispanics and Na­
tive Americans are between 67
percent and 75 percent o f those
of white fam ilies.
These findings are among
the most striking in the new
report, which used national
d a ta s o u rc e s to c o m p a re
women in the 50 states and the
D istric t o f C olum bia on a
range of indicators o f p o liti­
cal participation, employment
and earnings, economic au­
tonom y, reproductive rights
and health.
“ Even in areas where Or­
egon enjoys relatively high
rankings, there is plenty of
evidence that some groups of
women do not share in the
good news because poverty,
racism and d isc rim in a tio n
against lesbians and women
with disabilities keeps them
from rea p in g the b e n e fits
shared by other women," notes
Sandra Morgen, CSWS direc­
tor and chair o f the Oregon
A dvisory C om m ittee, which
consulted with IWPR on the
report.
As an example, the report
shows that poverty rates for
women of color in the state
are between seven and 16 per­
centage points higher than for
white women.
One place where Oregon
w om en’s progress has been
m ost v isib le is the voting
booth. The report finds that
Oregon women rank sixth in
the nation for voter reg istra­
tion, the highest in the West.
Despite this, women remain
a distinct m inority in elected
office, both in Oregon and in
the nation, according to the
report. In Oregon, only one
statew ide elected official is
female, and men outnum ber
women three to one in the state
legislature. The high point for
Oregon women is the congres­
sional delegation, in which
women constitute 40 percent
of the five-person delegation
to the House o f R epresenta­
tives. But, neither o f O regon’s
U.S. senators are women.
Rep. Jo Ann Bowman of
P ortland’s D istrict 19, a mem­
ber o f the Oregon Advisory
Com m ittee, is concerned that
the numbers of women elected
to state offices fell in the last
legislative session.
“We cannot go backw ards,”
she says. ‘We have far too
many im portant issues facing
Oregon, and we need elected
officials who represent all O r­
egonians, men and women, and
members of all racial and e th ­
nic groups."
Rep. Kitty Piercy o f Eugene,
O regon H ouse D em o cratic
leader and another member of
the Oregon Advisory Com m it­
tee, says that the report is
tim ely as lawmakers return to
Salem for the legislative ses­
sion in January.
“The Status o f Women in
Oregon report is an im portant
tool for state policy m akers,”
she says. “ It not only compares
us to other states, but helps us
to understand both O regon's
successes and rem aining chal­
lenges when it comes to full
equality and opportunity for
Oregon wom en.”
In addition to ‘The Status
of Women in O regon,” IWPR
on Oct. 22 released a national
50-state report and nine other
state reports, covering C on­
necticut, Florida, K entucky,
L ouisiana, M ississippi, N e­
braska, O hio, P ennsylvania
and Vermont.
Copies o f the Oregon report
are available for $ 10 each from
the Center for the Study of
W om en in S o c ie ty , 340
Hendricks Hall, 1200 U niver­
sity o f Oregon, Eugene, OR
97403;
or
by
c a llin g
541.346.5015, To receive a
copy o f the national report,
c o n ta c t J ill B r a u n s te in ,
202.785.5100.
nations - the right to freely vote
for the candidates of our choice.
What is the compelling reason
why Americans are not going to
the polls? There is none. The
biggest reason given for not vot­
ing: Too busy and no time off top
the list at 21.5 percent in statis­
tics compiled by the U.S. Census
Bureau. Couple that with 13
percent who dislike the can­
didates and 16.6 percent who
ju st don’t have an interest and
w e’re faced with an epidem ic
of voter m alaise.
There is no magic pill to
stop this epidem ic. Yet there
is a place to start with you.
Voting is essential if America
is to rem ain strong and free.
If you vote, encourage others
to vote. If you are a non-voter,
i t ’s tim e to accept your re ­
sponsibility. For our repre­
sentative dem ocracy to work
w ell, your voice and vote are
needed.
Yes on 26-70, Is A Vote for
the Future of our Parks
M easure 26-70 is a S68.4
m illio n , 2 0 -y ear g e n e ra l o b ­
lig a tio n bond m easu re for
park re n o v a tio n , im p ro v e ­
m e n ts and c o n s t r u c t i o n
th ro u g h o u t the c ity . It also
w ill a llo w a c q u is itio n o f
park a c re a g e in p ark d e fi­
cien t areas such as S o u th ­
w est and O u te r S o u th e a s t
P o rtlan d .
T h e re a re 51 d i f f e r e n t
parks or park fa c ilitie s ta r ­
geted. M easure 26-70 w ill
im p ro v e or add 15 p l a y ­
g rounds, upgrade five co m ­
m u n ity p o o ls , fix s o c c e r
fie ld s, and c o m p le te o th er
m ain ten an ce p ro je c ts .
M easure 2 6-70 has been
rec e iv e d by C o m m issio n er
Jim F ra n ce sc o n i as a great
leg a c y fo r fu tu re g e n e ra ­
tions. T here h a s n ’t been an-
o th er bond like it since 1994
w here $58.8 m illio n was a l ­
lo tte d to p a rk s and r e c re ­
a tio n p r o je c ts th ro u g h o u t
N orth and N o rth e a st P o rt­
land. Funds w ere used in the
c re a tio n o f the I n te rs ta te
F ire h o u se C u ltu ra l C enter,
P e n in su la C om m unity C en ­
te r, C a th e d ra l P ark, A lb erta
Park and o th e r site s.
A levy in s titu te d in 1989
m ade it p o ssib le to b uild the
M a tt D is h m a n C e n te r in
N o r t h e a s t P o r tla n d . The
c e n te r has serv ed as a v e­
hicle for all cu ltu res to come
to g e th e r for so c ia l and r e c ­
re a tio n a l play.
P o rtla n d ’s Park system is
over 147 y ears old and has
receiv ed little a tte n tio n and
m inor in v estm e n ts.
“ F a c ilitie s w ere hand me
dow ns and m ost o f them
have o u tliv e d th e ir u sefu l
life at the tim e o f a c q u is i­
tio n . It is m ore than tim e to
step up for the fu tu re g e n ­
erations and protect th eir in ­
h e rita n c e ,” supports C harles
J o rd a n
(D ire c to r
of
P o rtla n d ’s Parks and R e c re ­
atio n ).
The P o rtla n d O b se rv e r
recom m ends M easure 26-70
as a n ecessary in v estm en t to
secure the sa fe ty and e n jo y ­
m ent o f p ark s and r e c r e ­
ational fa c ilitie s thro u g h o u t
the c ity . P le ase vote Yes on
M easure 26-70 this N ovem ­
ber 10th.
F o r m o re i n f o r m a t io n ,
c a lI 8 2 3 .5 5 8 8 o r 8 2 3 .2 2 2 3 .
T h e re is a lso in f o r m a tio n
on o u r web p a g e : h t t p : / /
w w w .p ark s.ci.p o rtlan d .o r.u s
Expanding The Convention Center
by
L y le P e t e r s
S u p p o rtin g the C e n te r a
d e c ad e ago m ade s e n se and
v o tin g fo r the e x p a n s io n
m akes s e n se now as w ell.
S u p p o r t i n g th e O r e g o n
C o n v e n tio n C e n te r e x p a n ­
sio n is s u p p o rtin g the i n ­
c re a s e d v ita lity o f ou r r e ­
gion.
T he e x p a n d e d C o n v e n ­
tio n C e n te r w ill p r o v id e
n e e d ed m om entum fo r our
C o n v e n tio n C e n te r D is tr ic t
to c o n tin u e to e v o lv e in to
the v ib ra n t liv in g room for
O reg o n . S om eone can and
w ill s ite a b o u t the a d d i­
tio n a l $ 1 7 0 ,0 0 0 ,0 0 0 p e r
y e a r e x p e c te d a d d itio n to
ou r e co n o m y . T hat is c e r ­
ta in ly an im p re ss iv e num ­
b e r and th e r e are m an y ,
m any m ore f in a n c ia l e x ­
am p les o f why we sh o u ld
all su p p o rt th is b a llo t m ea ­
su re as a p ru d e n t use o f
p u b lic fu n d in g .
But th e re is a rea so n th a t
is m ore im p o rta n t than all
th e f i n a n c i a l e x a m p le s .
T h is n e ig h b o rh o o d w here I
sp en d the m a jo rity o f my
tim e d e s e rv e s our s u p p o rt.
I see how c lo se we are to
e m e rg in g in to a p r e m ie r
d i s t r i c t j u s t as o c c u rr e d
w ith th e t h r i v i n g L lo y d
D is tric t
to
th e
e a s t,
D o w n to w n ’ s r e b o u n d e d
C e n t r a l D i s t r i c t to th e
w e st, the b o o m in g B ro a d ­
way c o rrid o r to the N o rth
and the H a w th o rn to the
South.
We are a p roud n e ig h b o r ­
hood aro u n d the C o n v e n ­
tio n C e n te r. I w ant to see
th a t p rid e grow as o u r r e ­
gion as a w hole c o n tin u e s
to grow . Jo in me to v o te
yes on N o v em b er 3rd.
O r e g o n C o n v e n t io n C e n t e r
A t T he C e n te r O f S u ccess
1990-1997
ALL EXPECTATIONS SURPASSED
ATTENDANCE:
350,000 per year originally projected
660,000 average achieved each year
Nearly 5 million total attendees
JOBS:
3.300 jobs per year originally projected
5.300 jobs average each year
TAX REVENUE:
$4.3 million per year originally projected
$17.5 million average generated each year
Total o f $122 million to help pay fo r
schools, police & social services
ECONOMIC IMPACT:
Total o f $2.5 billion in economic benefits
to the region