May 25.2005______________________________________
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Black
Caucus
Taps
Winters
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Neighborhood
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If the military draft was
reinstated, do you think women
should be included?
Women don’t need to go to
war; they are the producers not
the destructors. Sending
women to fight is a modem
form of genocide.
Jamaal l^ne
The National Black Caucus
of State Legislators has ap­
pointed Sen. Jackie Winters to
serve as vice-chair for its Inter­
national Affairs Committee. The
former Portland resident and
current Republican lawmaker
from Salem said she plans use
the post to help bring jobs to
Oregon.
Non-Partisan Legislature Wanted
Local senator helps bill advance
Women are a part of this
country and they have to share
fighting for its freedom.
Paula Songster
Women have equal rights. We
can’t keep them out of the
military just cause they
are women.
Billy Gonzalez
The draft should include
women; they should get the
same opportunities as a man if
they want to join the military.
Also women should get the
same rank and privileges.
Sherra Neal
Leaving out women is a form
of sexual discrimination.
Everyone should do what he or
she can for his or her country
if there’s a war.
Thuan Nguyen
bers. The group also advocates
for legislators and their con­
stituents at the federal level.
“ It is an honor for me to
accept this appointm ent,” said
W in ters. “T his g ro u p has
played an integral part in the
exchange o f ideas am ong A f­
rican Am erican legislators and
their staffs.”
“With so much of Oregon’s
economy dependant on foreign
trade. I hope to use this position
to strengthen our state’s inter­
national standing,” Winters said.
The caucus’s primary mis­
sion is to develop, conduct and
promote education and training
programs designed to enhance
the effectiveness of its mem-
In an historic vote, the Or­
egon Senate Friday approved a
bill that would make all legisla­
tive seats non-partisan. It also
would make all statewide of­
fices, including governor, sec­
retary of state, and attorney
general, non-partisan.
If Senate Bill 161 becomes
law, Oregon will be the first
state in the nation with non­
p a rtisa n sta te w id e offices.
Nebraska is currently the only
state with a non-partisan Legis­
lature.
State Sen. Avel Gordly, an
African American lawmaker
who represents northeast and
southeast Portland, spoke on the
senate floor in favor of the bill.
Gordly said a non-partisan
Legislature would put emphasis
on consensus-building and mini­
mize the opportunity for legisla­
tive gridlock.
“Partisanship keeps us from
looking at what is the best public
policy that will move our state
forward,” she said. “This is an
historic opportunity to change
this process for the better.
“Not long ago I changed my
back to D em ocrat, but I have
held on to that registration card
and look at it from tim e to tim e
as a rem inder o f my roots and
a rem inder what goes wrong
in this process, which is so
tainted by partisan politics,”
G ordly said.
Sen.
Linder SB 161, each primary
Avel
Gordly election will be open to as many
candidates meet the filing re­
party registration from Demo­ quirements. The top two vote-
crat to Independent. It was a getters will then advance to the
moment when I was through general election regardless of
with the party politics that im­ party affiliation.
The reforms would not affect
pede the progress that benefits
any federal offices, such as U.S.
all of Oregon.
“I changed my registration Senator or Congressman.
Homeless Man Killed Confronting Police
A n A f r ic a n - A m e r ic a n
m an d escrib ed as hom eless
and recently released from a
W ashington State prison got
into a co n fro n tatio n with po­
lice and was shot and killed
in P o r t l a n d ’ s o ld to w n
T hursday m orning.
V e rn o n C liff o rd A lle n ,
also know n as D uane Dave
A llen, 48, b randished a knife
and began to sw ing it tow ard
an o f f ic e r b e f o r e p o lic e
o p en ed up th e ir w eapons.
Police and w itnesses said the
incident o ccu rred shortly af-
SAFEWAY ©
Vernon Clifford Allen
ter o fficers w ere c alled to
the area reg ard in g an a g i­
tated m an w ith a knife.
P olice said the first o f­
ficer arrived and saw A llen
standing on the sidew alk and
attem pted to talk to him and
then take hold o f him . Based
on w itness statem en ts, o f­
ficers repeatedly told him to
drop his knife ju s t b efore he
lunged directly at the o ffic ­
e rs.
T hree o fficers along w ith
the o rig in al resp o n d in g o f­
fic e r fire d a to ta l o f six
Ingredients for life.
rounds at the suspect who
died at the scene.
“ W ith every deadly force
incident the com m unity has
m any questions about the use
o f deadly fo rc e ,” said C h ie f
D errick F oxw orth. “ In this
incident, a person fought with
one o fficer and then upon
the arrival o f o th er officers,
refu sed in stru ctio n s to drop
his knife and charged o ffic ­
ers. The su sp e c t’s actions
forced the o fficers into m ak­
ing a d ecision w hich no o f­
ficer w ants to m ake.”