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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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