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April 30. 2003
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School Board Candidates Address Forum
Pending election
finds few minority
candidates
by J aym ee R. C utí
T he P o rtland O bserver
Closing the learning gap for children
attending struggling schools was a major
focus for Portland Public School Board
candidates at a forum sponsored by the
Portland League of Women Voters, South
west Neighborhoods, Inc., Community and
Parents for Public Schools and the Port
land Schools Foundation.
Twenty-three candidates will compete
in a May 20 vote-by-mail election to fill
four open seats o f the seven-m em ber
board.
While several o f the broached topics o f
interest to local families, such as recent
school closures and the bias o f standard
ized testing, only three people o f color and
two women could be seen on the panel.
“ I have dedicated my personal life and
career to the issue o f diversity,” said
Dilafruz W illiams, an immigrant from In
dia running in zone seven. “ Issues of social
justice and diversity are at the heart o f
what I teach. I know first hand what those
issues are.”
W illiams has a broad education back
ground, holding multiple degrees, teaching
grade school, preparing future teachers
and principals as an education professor at
Portland State University, and co-found
ing Environmental Middle School.
W illiams is running against Richard
Garrett, an educator and former president
of the Portland Association of Teachers,
Jon Jacob, a parent and self-em ployed
computer programmer and Richard Nichols,
a Portland business owner.
Martin Gonzalez, director of Portland’s
A m erican Friends Service Com m ittee,
earned the endorsem ent o f the Rainbow
Coalition for his work as a peace worker
and union organizer.
Like many candidates in the election, he
joined the race on day of the filing deadline.
“ I didn’t see a candidate that had a
chance to win that had anything different
to offer,” said Gonzalez, a zone two candi
date representing north, northeast and a
’>
A W t W N '. 'A / \W /
photo by J aymee
R ev . J esse J ackson S r .
Stay committed
to open doors of
opportunity
S o licito r G eneral T heodore B. O lson is a
proud “ m ovem ent conservative. ” He m ust have
th o ught he had a w inner w hen the S uprem e
C ourt agreed to hear the ch a lle n g e to the U n i
v ersity o f M ic h ig a n ’s a ffirm a tiv e action p ro
gram.
A R epublican p artisan , O lson has been a
lead er in the e ffo rt to roll back ou r civil rights
laws and to repeal affirm ativ e action. W ith four
votes locked up from the right w ing o f the court
and S andra D ay O ’C o n n o r th e re for the taking,
O lson m ust have thought that his tim e had
come.
But by the tim e O lson got to the courthouse on
April F o o l's Day, things w ere very am iss. H un
dreds o f buses brought in tens o f thousands o f
student dem onstrators in one o f the largest dem
onstrations ever before the Suprem e Court.
Inside, the justices had been presented with a
record num ber o f briefs by outside parties 102
filings in all. M ore than three-fourths supported
affirm ative action, but even more im pressive than
u w in
R .C lti /T he P ortland O bserver
Martin Gonzales (from left), Rion Lyle, David Wynde and Louie Sloan attend a forum to explain what they hope to do for area children should they be
elected to the Portland School Board in a May 20 vote-by-mail election. The four candidates are running in Zone Two, an area that includes all of
north and northeast Portland and a part o f southeast Portland.
part o f southeast Portland.
A 1998 endorsement by Rev. Jesse Jack-
son described Gonzalez as a person “driven
by a moral obligation to lift ourchildren up
rather than locking them up.”
G onzalez's opponents are Rion Lyle, a
yoga instructor and by far the youngest
candidate in the race, Louie Sloan, a
teacher, John Sweeney, a land m anage
ment consultant and David W ynde, re
gional vice president for a m ajor bank.
Jim Hanna, a zone one candidate of
Arab descent, has a strong business and
real estate background.
On the topic of equal opportunity, Hanna
said, “ We have a responsibility to help
every child enrolled in our schools to be-
come a responsible, independent, success-
fill citizen. Personalized support will be
provided to every student to develop per
sonally, socially and academ ically to the
highest level that her or his interests and
abilities will allow .”
Hanna runs against Jim Davis, a pub
lisher, John Liljegren, a lawyer and charter
schools consultant, Eamon Molloy, a former
neighborhood association president, Dou
glas M organ, director of PSU’s Executive
Leadership Institute, Douglas M organ, a
retired teacher and Ron Stull, a CEO and
regional sales manager.
Zone three candidates are John Ball,
ch ief operating officer for M ultnomah
County, James Laidler, a physician, John
A s s a u lt o n D iv e r s ity
by
r io m m i
the num ber was the who.
The ju stices who bothered to scan the briefs
surely w ere stunned. Dozens o f Fortune 500 com
panies w eighed in on the side o f affirm ative ac
tion. V irtually all o f the n atio n 's 3.900 universi
ties— which seldom agree on anything— defended
the M ichigan plan, including the alm a m aters o f
every ju stice on the court.
And most striking, 2 1 retired generals and ad
mirals, including three form er m ilitary academ y
superintendents, signed briefs urging the ju s
tices to uphold race-conscious
p olicies in university ad m is
sions. Affirmative action was de
fended by the most pow erful in
stitutions in our country.
Affirmative action, argued the
b rief tor G eneral M otors, is “es
sential to our n atio n ’s econom ic
su ccess.” In a global m arket
place, a skilled, multiracial corps
ofexecutives isessential. “ W on
der B read” d o esn 't work w ell if
you are doing business where
m ost o f the w orld’s people live.
Therefore, argued the companies,
it is vital that educational insti-
____________
tutions adm it and educate a d i
verse student body.
A ffirm ative action, argued the retired generals
and adm irals, is vital to the n atio n 's security. “ A
highly qualified, racially diverse o fficer corps,
educated and trained to com m and our n atio n 's
racially diverse enlisted ranks, is essential to the
m ilitary 's ability to fulfill its principal m issio n ,”
they wrote.
The W hite H ouse m ight hope that no one
w ould notice under the din o f war, but the ju stices
did notice. The most striking exchanges in the oral
argum ent cam e on the question o f the m ilitary
academ ies. Judge Ruth Bader G insberg asked
w hether the acad em ies’ program s were illegal.
“The position o f the U nited S tate s,” Olson re
sponded. “is that w e do not accept the proposi
tion that black soldiers will only fight for black
o fficers.' ’ That is surely true, but irrelevant to the
gen erals’ argum ent that a diverse officer corps is
________________
vital to U.S. security.
Thirty-five years after Dr.
K in g ’s
a s s a s s in a tio n ,
w e’ve com e a long way. En
trenched patterns o f hous
ing and em ploym ent dis
crim ination still close doors
and put lids on dream s.
B ut
in c r e a s in g ly ,
Am erica is not only becom
ing m ore diverse, it is com
m itted to opening the doors
o f opportunity to all.
N ow it is not a c o u ra
w
g eo u s band o f d e m o n stra
to rs w h o are d e fe n d in g
civ il rig h ts. N ow it is the
F o rtu n e 5 0 0 , th e m ilita ry a c a d e m ie s, the
n a tio n ’s u n iv e rsitie s N ow A frican A m erican s
are jo in e d by w om en, by H isp an ics and by
other m in o rities. T he vast m a jo rity o f A m eri
cans b en e fit from d iv e rsity .
America is not
only becoming
more diverse, it
is committed to
opening the doors
o f opportunity
to all.
1
Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr. is a long lime civil
rights leader and founder and president o f the
Rainhow/Push Coalition.
Lekas, a business owner, Sam Oakland, an
a professor, Bobbie Regan, a m arketing /
com m unications consultant, and James
West, an on-site apartm ent manager.
Current board mem bers express con
cerns about the upcoming school board,
particularly because o f the trem endous
turnover the board faces during a financial
crisis that threatens to cut teaching posi
tions throughout the district in the upcom
ing school year.
"It's going to be a very interesting elec-,
tion," said Lolenzo Poe, an African Ameri-.
can school board member half-way through.'
his term. "Most organizations try to m ain f
tain some historical memory. Ours will-
only be tw o-and-a-half years old."
betters to röhe
(3cdit0r
Non-Discrimination
Policy Applauded
The board of directors o f the United Way o f the
Columbia-W i Barnette unanimously endorsed a new policy,
to require its funded partners to have a comprehensive'
non-discrimination policy in place to receive funding. .
I am thrilled that United Way has decided to move,
in this direction. During my time on the United Way.
board. I strongly advocated for an inclusive policy
that embraced all members o f our community. I ap
plaud the Board o f United Way for their leadership,
and vision and for doing the right thing.
Multnomah County Commissioner Maria
Rojo de Steffey
•
Bigoted Remarks
BasicRightsOregon calls on Oregon'stwo Republican
members of congress to condemn Sen. Rick Santorum’s, •
R-Pa., tor his anti-gay remarks and cal I for his resignation
from his leadership position within the GOP.
H is comments reflect a level ofbigotry toward the
gay and lesbian community that should not be deemed '
acceptable for any elected official, let alone one with
a leadership position in his party. As the Republican,
members o f the Oregon delegation. Sen. Gordon '.
Smith and Congressman Greg Walden owe it to the
people o f this state to stand up against this level o f
bigotry and call for Santorum to step down from h is'
position within the Senate leadership.
Roey Thorpe, executive director o f Basic Rights
Oregon
•
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