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November 10, 1999
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Metro/Politics/Government
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Salmon no longer a long shot at golf course Bill Bradbury swom-in as new Secretary of State
habitat restoration. W hen this project is com pleted, Crystal
Springs Creek m ay be the only spot in the city w here
people can see salm on spawning from a city bus line.
CONTRIBUTED STORY
for T he
P ortland O bserver
Salmon rely on w ell-shaded areas where the
water is cold and th ere’s plenty o f cover. At
Eastm oreland G o lf C ourse in Southeast
Portland, PGE volunteers plant 650 low-
growing native plants along Crystal Springs
Creek so salm on have a better chance o f
making it back and forth from their historic
spawning areas.
V olunteers from Portland G eneral Electric
and their families brought out their picks and
shovels for a day o f planting low -grow ing
native plants along C rystal Springs C reek a
the Eastm orelandG olfC ourse. It’s all part o f
a larger, ongoing effort to rehabilitate the
creek, which was once home to coho salmon,
steelhead and cutthroat trout. The Crystal
Springs Stream /R estoration Project is the
largest-scale fisheries restoration project
currently being undertaken within Portland’s
city limits.
More than 50 volunteers from PGE took part
in the planting. O ther partners in the Crystal
Springs Stream. R estoration project include
JohnsonCreek W atershedCouncil, Portland
Parks & Recreation, SO LV Team Up! For
W atershed H ealth and m any com m unity
groups and citizen volunteers.
C o n s tru c tio n o f a f is h w a y o n th e
E astm oreland G o lf C o u rse w ill allow
endangered steelhead, coho salm on and
cutthroat trout to return to their form er
spawning areas above Crystal Springs Lake.
For decades, 388 m iles o f P ortland’s urban
creeks like Crystal Springs have been buried,
polluted and blocked, virtually w iping out
the salmon that used to thrive there. PGE has
“adopted” the site as part o f S O L V ’s new W ayne Lei, director o f environm ental affairs at PGE, bores a
Team Up! For W atershed H ealth program , planting hole on the banks o f C rystal Springs C reek at the
designed to get volunteers involved in urban E astm oreland G o lf Course
CONTRIBUTED STORY
for T he
P ortland O bserver
Bill Bradbury, O regon’s new S ecretary o f State, took his
oath o f office before a sm all gathering o f fam ily, friends,
and sta ff at the State C apitol. B radbury, w ho was
appointed by G overnor K itzhaber to serve the rem aining
14 months ofPhil K eisling’s term , assum ed official duties
when K eisling’s resignation becam e effective at 5 p.m.
November 8,1999.
G overnor K itzhaber announced last Saturday that he had
chosen Bradbury from am ong a field o f highly-qualified
candidates as his appointm ent to O reg o n ’s second-
highest elected office. At S atu rd ay ’s press conference,
B rad b u ry th a n k e d K itz h a b e r a n d e x p re s s e d his
com m itm ent to earning the trust o f all O regonians. “ It is
truly an honor to be given the opportunity to service as
O regon’s Secretary o f State,” he said. “ I appreciate
G overnor K itzhaber’s confidence in me, and I will do my
utmost to earn the faith and trust o f citizens across
Oregon.”
Bradbury intends to m ake integrity, perform ance and
stewardship the hallm arks o f his adm inistration. “M y
priorities include protecting the integrity o f O regon’s
electio n s p ro cess, im p ro v in g th e p erfo rm an ce o f
governm ent through a vigorous state auditing function,
and ensuring the responsible m anagem ent o f state-ow ned
lands,” he said.
During the next few w eeks, Bradbury plans to m eet with
his agency’s 202 em ployees and to learn m ore about the
Secretary o f S tate’s m any program s and services. H e will
also spend tim e with O regon’s 36 county clerks who work
closely with the state E lections D ivision to conduct
federal, state, and local elections.
Bradbury’s appointm ent as Secretary o f State m arks a
return to public service for this 14-year legislative veteran.
From 1981 to 1985, Bradbury represented portions o f
O regon’s south coast as a state representative for House
D istrict48.From 1985 to 1995, he served as a state senator
for Senate D istrict 24. H e w as elected Senate M ajority
leader in 1986, and elected Senate President in 1993.
Prior to his tenure in the legislature, Bradbury w orked as
a television news reporter, director, and producer in Oregon
and northern California. To assum e his duties as Secretary
o f State. B radbuiy will be leaving his 5-year position as
E xecutive D irector o f For the Sake o f the S alm o n ...a
P ortland-based non-profit organization dedicated to
finding com mon ground for salmon restoration in Oregon,
W ashington, and California.
A formal swearing-in ceremony and reception for Secretary
o f State Bradbury will be held at 1 pm Friday. N ovem ber
12, 1999, in the Senate Cham ber at the State Capitol.
M em bers o f the public are encouraged to attend the
cerem ony and to m eet O regon’s new Secretary o f State.
Donald Trump proposes anti-rich platform, 14.25 percent tax
the
A ssociated P ress
D onald Trump wants to soak the rich,
including himself.
Seeking attention and credibility for
his potential presidential cam paign,
the billionaire real estate tycoon
proposed a 14.25 percent tax Tuesday
o n th e net w o rth o f w e a lth y
Am ericans. He said the one-tim e tax
package would:
-R aise $5.7 trillion to erase the
nation’s debt and save $200 billion in
annual interest paym ents. The $5.7
trillion is about two thirds o f the
nation’s gross dom estic product, a
figure sure to raise alarm bells on Wall
Street.
-U se the savings to save Social
Security and slash taxes for the middle
class.
-Increase his personal tax bill by at
least $7£5 million.
’’It’s a big hit for me, but I think it’s
worth it,” the potential Reform Party
c a n d id a te s a id in a te le p h o n e
interview from his N ew York offices.
People and trust valued at more than
$10 m illion w ould be subject to the
new tax. Trum p, a longshot for the
presidency, estim ates his net worth
at $5 billion.
The original plan called for collection
in a single year but, in a last-m inute
change. Trum p said he would allow
m ore tim e for people having trouble
liquifying their assets - " l e t’s sa y 10
years,” he said.
Financial experts said such a dramatic
tax increase could be an econom ic
d is a s te r , e v e n i f T ru m p w e re
som ehow able to surm ount a slew o f
technical and political hurdles that
would m ake it virtually im possible to
impose.
*’I f you think this is a bubble in the
stock m arket, this is a sure w ay to
prick it,” said M ark Zandi, ch ief
econom ist o f RFA Dismal Sciences,
an econom ic consulting com pany in
W est Chester, Pa.
’’Even talking about it w ould risk
capital flight out o f the country,”
said A ndrew H odge, senior vice
president o f the W EFA group in
E d d y s to n e , Pa. ” lt is p r e tty
confiscatory in term s o f property
rights.”
T rum p dism issed the doom -and-
gloom scenarios. ‘’It w ould not be a
shock to the sy ste m ,” he said,
predicting a 35 percent boost in
econom ic activity after he elim inates
the debt, cuts income taxes and erases
the inheritance tax.
Econom ics aside, Trum p hoped to
build political stature w ith his first
m a jo r p o lic y p r o p o s a l o f th e
presidential campaign. Known mostly
for his m oney, playboy lifestyle and
monogram ed buildings, Trump wants
to be taken seriously as a potential
candidate.
*’I think I ’m taken seriously. A lot o f
people are saying so and I can tell,”
Trum p said, though he is still a blip on
national polls. Trum p said one sign o f
his popularity is the high ratings he
generates by appearing on television
new s shows. "G e ra ld o Rivera says
I ’m a hot g uest,” he said.
A v o id in g th e tra d itio n a l sc e n e ­
setting speech. Trum p unveiled the
package in a series o f telephone
interview s w ith reporters after The
A ssociated Press was provided an
outline o f his plan.
T h e p a c k a g e u n d e r s c o re s h is
strategy to appeal to low- and middle-
class A m erican s. E ven am id an
econom ic boon. Trum p believes his
c la s s - c o n s c io u s m e s s a g e h as
resonance because m illions ofvoters
are leery o f A m erica’s econom ic and
p o litical elite. N icknam ed " T h e
D onald,” Trum p also believes he has
a rags-to-riches story that appeals to
A m ericans w ho dream o f follow ing
him to the gilded life.
T rum p’s political base begins w ith a
list o f A m ericans who gam bled at his
casinos.
H e says the rich w ould benefit, too.
H e w ants to elim inate the tax on
inheritance, giving the w ealthy a
break on the assets they plan to leave
for the next generation. Trum p said
the econom y w ould grow enough to
pay for the inheritance tax cut.
A m ong his rivals, R eform Party
contender Pat Buchanan proposed a
16 percent flat tax on earnings over
$35,000 before he left the Republican
P arty , as w ell as d ee p c u ts in
inheritance and sm all-business taxes
- to be paid for in part w ith higher
tariffs.
Flat-tax pioneer Steve Forbes and
G ary Bauer offer plans sim ilar to
B uchanan’s on incom e taxes. At the
top o f the GOP field, Texas Gov.
G eorge W. Bush and Arizona Sen.
JohnM cCain have spoken o f targeted
tax relief.
E xperts raised several questions
about T rum p’s plan, including:
-His numbers. Using Federal Reserve
Board tables, Zandi said the total net
worth o f all A m erican households is
$38.4 trillion. If Trum p taxed every
A m erican at 14.25 percent, he would
still not raise $5.7 trillion, Zandi said.
R o g e r S to n e, h ea d o f T ru m p ’s
ex p lo ra to ry co m m ittee, said his
reading o f the Fed figures suggests
that the total w ealth in Am erican is
$50 trillion.
-The technicalities. A ssets fluctuate
wildly in America, making it difficult
to determ ine a person’s tax bill. Also,
huge am ounts o f assets w ould have
to be liquidated to pay the bills.
“’W hat are you to do, send out an
appraiser to every h ouse?” Zandi
said.
Stone replied that the details would
be worked out once Trump took office.
-His chances.
Even Trump conceded the m easure
has no support on Capitol Hill, but he
predicted that voters w ould force
law m akers into action if he w as
elected. Trum p would not be assured
the Reform Party nom ination, and
ranks low in national polls as a general
election candidate.
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Senate OKs GOP boost o f minimum wage
the
.
A ssociated P ress
W ith eyes cast to the 2000 elections, the Senate voted
* Tuesday to give m inim um -w age w orkers a dollar raise
over three years - but tied the increase to $ 18.4 billion in
business tax sw eeteners opposed by the W hite House.
President Clinton imm ediately denounced the m easure as
a * 'cynical tool to advance special interest tax breaks’ ’ and
renewed his prom ise to veto it. He urged Congress instead
to pass a $ 1 -an-hour increase over tw o years w ithout the
large tax cuts.
Veto threats notw ithstanding, som e Republicans viewed
the package as a w ay to neutralize a D em ocratic political
advantage on the m inim um w age for 2000 races. O ther
Republicans were happy to vote for a new round o f tax
relief, an issue they w ant to resurrect follow ing C linton ’s
veto in S eptem berofthe G O P ’s signature $792 billion tax
cut.
’’This ju st seem ed like the right com bination as far as
pulling Republicans together,” said Sen. Pete D omenici,
R-N.M . * ’Sooner or later, a very significant tax reduction
for the A m erican people is going to be achieved.”
The vote was 54-44 for the Republican m easure. A few
mmutes earlier, the Senate had rejected, 50-48, a Democratic
alternative raising the m inim um w age by $1 over 13
months and providing $9.6 billion in tax relief. That measure
would have also raised other taxes.
I f the G O P bill becom es law, the current $5.15-an-hour
m inim um wage w ould rise by 35 cents in M arch 2000, by
35 cents more in M arch 2001 and 3 0 cents in M arch 2002.
About 11 million w orkers w ould be directly affected, half
o f them younger w orkers under age 24 and m any o f them
holders o f part-tim e jobs.
The five-year tax package includes a health insurance
deduction for people who d o n ’t have em ployer-provided
coverage and an im m ediate 100 percent deduction for the
self-employed.
It also w ould increase the business meal deduction from
50 percent to 80 percent and allow higher 401 (k) contribution
limits.
A lthough the W ays and M eans Com m ittee in the House
planned to take up a sim ilar G O P m inim um w age and tax
package, it is unlikely that differences betw een the two can
be ironed out before next year, i f at al 1. The Senate m easure
was attached to an unrelated bankruptcy bill that w ould
also have to be approved.
But the political fight was at full tilt on both sides o f the
Capitol.
Senate D em ocrats sought to portray the Republican bill as
a tax giveaw ay for w ell-off G O P business allies that would
do little for workers w ho are struggling despite the booming
U.S. economy.
*’We are talking about men and w om en w ho are trying to
do better,” said Sen. Edw ard M. K ennedy, D-M ass.
"T h e y are being given the back o f their hand by the
Republicans. Their proposal is a sham .”
But Republicans said the tax breaks w ould help absorb the
cost to businesses o f paying a higher m inim um w age that
they said could reduce the num ber o f available low -w age
jobs by as much as 500,000.
* ’W e’re talking about tax relief for small business, not the
w ealthiest,” said Sen. Rod Gram s, R-M inn.
The tax cuts w ould be paid for out o f projected non-Social
Security surplus dollars in all but the first year. C linton has
repeatedly said he will not accept the bill if it uses surplus
dollars before other priorities are met. Republicans contend
the president ju st wants to spend all o f the m oney on
governm ent programs.
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