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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 29, 2000)
N ovem ber 29, 2000 Page A4 (Tlje 'JJortlanb (ßheeruer ü Opinion Articles do not necessarily reflect or represent the views of (£lje } J n r t l a n i i (O b s e rv e r Give Thanks for Strengthened Property Rights STfje ^portlanh (lib serrici' The U nited States w as founded in the principles o f individual liberty and econom ic opportunity, but in the past 50 years those principle have been eroded by the grow th o f the regulatory states. W hether its medi cal marijuana use, over-sized garages, o r the use o f polystyrene foam cups, no problem s is too small foragovem - m ent bureaucrat to regulate in Or egon. The result is that w e ’ve all lost m any o f the freedom s that the Ameri can Revolution w as fought for. Fortunately, in the spirit ofThanks- giving O regonians can be proud that the recent election charted a new course. Three successful ballot m ea USPS 959-680 Established 1970 STAFF E d it o r P C in h ie f , u b l is h e r Charles H. Washington E d i T o R Larry J. Jackson, Sr. B u s in e s s M anager Gary Ann Taylor A sst . P ublisher Michael Leighton C E opy d it o Joy Ramos C r e a t iv e D sures helped restore important prop erty rights in Oregon: M easure 7 (passed 54 percent), requires finan cial com pensation for certain gov ernm ent actions that dim inish the value o f private property. M easure 3 (passed 67 percent), prohibits the governm ent from taking your prop erty under so-called “asset forfei ture’’ laws unless y o u ’ve actually been convicted o f a crim e, and M ea sure 88 (passed 51 percent), increases from $3,000 to 5,000 the m axim um am ount that may be deducted on Oregon personal income tax returns for federal income taxes paid. These m easures all deal with the same basis issue: who controls your assets, you or the governm ent? ir e c t o r Robert Parker 4 7 4 7 N E M a r tin L u th e r K in g, Jr. Blvd. P o rtla n d , OR 9 7 2 1 1 5 0 3 -2 8 8 -0 0 3 3 the passage o f M easure 3, law en forcem ent authorities could seize your hom e, car or bank accounts, even if you w ere never convicted o f a drug-related crim e. In 1999, police reported taking $2.1 m illion from 1,069 people in Oregon. In 72 percent o f those cases, no one w as an-ested, charged or convicted o f crim e. The passage o f M easure 3 will prevent this kind o f abuse in the future, by requiring a conviction before property is seized, and by requiring that the seizure be propor tional to the crime. T he passage o f M easure 88 show s that a m ajority o f O regonians con sider incom e to be a type o f property, and resent paying a tax on property they never received because the gov ernm ent took it first. M easure 88 w ill reduce state tax revenues, w hich means individuals will now have more control over their ow n assets. A lthough ourcountry was founded on the principle o f freedom and eco nom ic opportunity, those principles are m eaningless without strong rights. A s D aniel W ebster said, “N o other rights are safe w here property is not safe.” Y our property is now ju st a bit m ore secure than it was on N ovem ber 7. T hat is truly som ething to be thank ful for. John A. Charles is environmental policy director at Cascade Policy In stitute, a Portland-based think tank. Blacks in G overnm ent Prom ote Non- Discrim ination, Professionalism Letter To The Editor Clark County Needs Diversity w ould like to have the County Com m issioners and Sheriff Lucas address w hy the numbers are so low and w hat plans, if any, they have to address this lack o f repre s e n ta tio n . The s h e r if f departm ent’s lackofdiversity has to have an im pact on how they deal with people o f color living in the county. I would like to seejust how m any times a young man or w om an o f color is stopped w ith out a legitimate reason. I’m sure it’s quite often, with an all white police force, and a lack o f understanding/ training on their part. The county is beginning to grow quite rapidly and I would hate for my children to become a target for racial profiling w hich is usually the result o f a department lacking in diversity. It is quite obvious that the popu lation o f people o f color in the county is less then that o f white occupants, but that should have no bearing on the counties hiring prac tices. I am a five year resident o f V ancouver and I relocated here from Los A ngeles. I have a con cern that is o f im portance and I w ould like to bring it toyouratten- tion. 1 am an A frican A m erican female and a single m other o f two teens. M y so n s’ friend was ar rested a few w eeks ago and taken to the Clark County Jail . He shared his experience w ith us during a conversation and said that he no ticed only a few people o f color w orking there. This becam e very intimidating to him espec ially after living in Los A ngeles. W e ques tioned w hy there w as such a lack o f diversity and it cam e to our attention that w e have never seen a person o f color in a patrol vehicle for the county. A s w e discussed this w ith other fam ily m em bers and friends, there appeared to be som e validity to this observation. W e then began to notice the num- b erso fpeo p leo fco lo rw o rk in g for the county in general. The sad reality is that there are very few. As a resident o f the county, I In the first case, M easure 7 re quires governm ent officials to fully consider the costs o f regulations before they adopt them. U nder our present system , the governm ent can wipe out the value o f som eone’s prop erty through a zoning ordinance, with out having to pay that person one dim e in com pensation. M easure 7 w ill force elected offi cials to w eight both the benefits and the costs o f a governm ent decision, and to spread the cost o f regulation am ong all taxpayers, not ju st a few property ow ners. M easure 3 significantly strength ens rights ofp ro p erty ow ners enough to be cau g h t in the w eb o f the governm ent’s “drug w ar”. Prior to Mrs.LorithaM. Hazeldale The new ly form ed G reater Port land C hapter o f Blacks in G overn ment is hosting a recognition and Chapter Presentation C erem ony at the Lutheran C om m unity C enter at 4219N.E. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. on Dec. 2 at 5 p.m. The actual charter presentation ceremony will start at 6p.m . with local officers ofthe Greater Portland Chap ter and regional O fficers ofB lacks in Government officiating. B lacks in Government is a national, state, regional, and local organiza- tion devoted to the follow ing goals and objectives. 1 .To be an advocate o f equal opportunity for blacks in governm ent. 2. To elim inate p rac tices o f racism and racial discrim ina tion against blacks in governm ent. 3. T o prom ote professionalism am ong blacks in governm ent. 4. To develop and prom ote program s w hich en hance ethnic pride and educational opportunities for blacks in govern ment. 5. To establish a mechanism for the gathering and dissem ination o f inform ation to blacks in government. 6. To provide a non-partisan platform on m ajor issues o f local, regional, and national significance that affect blacks in governm ent. M em bership in Blacks in G overn m ent is open to any person w ho is in accord w ith the philosophy, princi pals, policies, and objectives o f this organization. Regular m em berships are open to any em ployee or retiree o f federal, state, or local governm ents. T hose desiring more inform ation can contact E verette Rice at 503-285- 0886. NAACP Commends Record Turnout Kweisi Mfume, President and CEO, National Association for the Advancement o f Colored People com m ended A frican American voters for their record turnout in the national elections. Mfume said, “The NAACP spent a tremendous amount o f time, money and energy in a well- organized grassroots effort to in crease the number o f African Americans who cast their votes at the polls on Election Day.” The civil rights organization fi nanced a $12 million high-tech Get-Out-The-Vote campaign that utilized scores of volunteers, paid staff, a multi-media blitz, the Internet, telephone banks and comprehensivepollingstudies, re sulting in the most m assive GOTV effort in the association’s 91-year history. “Let the record show that this unprecedented voter empower ment initiative signals that Afri can American voters are right fully claiming their place as powerbrokers and stakeholders in the nation’selectoral process,” said Mfume from the official NAACP Election Day2000Com- mand Central in Baltimore. Some o f the states the NAACP voter drive targeted included: Maryland, Florida, Michigan, Illi nois, Tennessee, Mississippi, Ala bama and Pennsylvania.Founded in 1909, the NAACP is the nation’s oldest and largest civil rights orga nization. Its half-million adult and youth members throughout the United States and the world are the premier advocates for civil rights in their communities, con ducting voter mobilization and monitoring equal opportunity in the public and private sectors. Fax 5 0 3 -2 8 8 -0 0 1 5 e^nail n ew s@ p o rtlan d o b serve r.co m |sdbecdptlan@portlandafasen«rxxxn ad s@ po rtlan d ob server.co m P ostmaster : I Send address changes to Portland Observer PO Box 31 3 7 Portland, OR 9 7 2 0 8 Periodical Postage paid in Portland, OR Subscriptions are $60.00 per year D E A D L IN E S SAFEWAY FO OD & DRUG Look For Your Safeway W eekly Shopping Guide Coke Products FOR ALL SUBMITTED MATERIALS: ARTICLES: Monday by 5 p . m . 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