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November I. 2006
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Opinion articles do not
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The P ortland
O bserver
USPS 9 5 9 -6 8 0
Established 1970
Democracy in Action!
Our Voter Guide:
T h e P o r t la n d O b s e r v e r m a k e s th e f o l l o w i n g
endorsem ents f o r the N ov. 7 G e n e ra l E le c tio n :
4 7 4 7 NE M artin Luther King, Jr.
Governor:
Blvd., Portland, OR 9 7 2 1 1
Gov. Ted Kulongoski,
Democrat
Enrrt > r - i \-C ' hie i , Pi ibushe r :
ChorlesH. Washington
E ditor : Michael Leighton
P dbik K eiations : Mark Washington
C reative D irector : Paul Neufeldt
O eeke M anager : Kathy Linder
R eporier :
\l I
H IG H i s
R I S I RV I D.
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( D b s f U ip t
Put Obama and Kerry at Top of Ticket
Coalition for a
winning strategy
by J vimje G reg
M atiiis
U.S.Sen. Barack Obama,
Circuit Court Judge:
Ulanda L. Watkins
Sarah Blount
fhe Port land Observer welcomes freelance
submissions Manuscripts and photographs
should be clearly labeled and w ill be
returned i f accompanied by a self addressed
envelope. A ll created design display ads
become the sole property o f the new spaper
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19% TH E P O R TLA N D OBSERVER
Adv(irtise#ith
diversity F/
kind o f America that we ought to be: an
Am erica that w orks for everyone.
But, it is not enough to just pass the
Voting Rights Act. W e must fulfill the
ay U.S. R ep . A i . beri W ynn
vision o f equality by fighting
It is tim e for a new direction
against discrim inatory voter ID
in the country. The war in Iraq is
laws that work to disenfranchise
a mess, the num ber o f A m eri­
African A m ericans, Hispanics,
cans w ithout health insurance
young people, seniors and the
continues to rise and our public
disabled.
schools continue to suffer from
T o ad d ress the p ro b lem s o f
underfunding. T he only way to
fau lty e le c tro n ic v o tin g m a­
change the d irection o f our
ch in es, w e need to in su re that
country is to get involved in the Nov. 7 electio n o ffic ia ls are p ro p erly train ed .
election process and vote.
T he state and co u n ty board o f e le c ­
In 1776, when this country announced tions m ust be c e rtain that electio n o ffi­
its independence from Britain, voting cials have ad eq u ate tim e to fam iliarize
rights w ere based on property ow ner­ th em selv es w ith new te ch n o lo g ies and
ship. T his typically m eant that those vot­ p ro ce d u re s.
ing w ere C aucasian, Protestant males.
W hile it is fair that we hold election
"The 14th and 15th A m endm ents rec­ adm inistrators accountable, we must also
ognized African A m ericans as citizens insure that they have the support, train­
and gave us the right to vote. However, ing and com pensation they require to
som e state officials continued to prevent perform their duties. Therefore, m anda­
African A m ericans from voting. As a re­ tory refresher training program s must be
sult, it took passage o f the 1965 Voting taught during off-election years to boost
Rights Act to increase the African A m eri­ operational efficiency.
can com m unity's access to voting booths.
Lastly, rem em ber some people want to
Recently, we w itnessed a historic mile­ use the prospect o f Election Day prob­
stone with C ongress' passage o f the reau­ lems or voter fraud to discourage African
thorization o f the Voting Rights Act. d e­ A m ericans from voting. Do not let that
signed to protect the right to vote against happen. You can do the follow ing things:
m odem voter suppression tactics, such vote; help eligible family m em bers get
as providing an inadequate num ber of their ballots east: and rem ind your neigh­
voting m achines in minority neighbor­ bors and friends to vote.
hoods. The Voting Rights Act represents
Congressman Wynn represents the
the hard work and hopes o f m any great state o f Maryland. He is a member o f the
Am ericans w ho shared a vision about the Congressional Black Caucus.
Multnomah County
Commissioner:
Lew Frederick
Measure 40: No
Takes away your vote for all Supreme Court judges.
Measure 41: No
Fax deduction would reduce revenue for state services.
Measure 42: Yes
Credit scores in insurance rates discriminate against minorities,
poor.
Measure 43: No
Another attempt to chip away at Roe v. Wade.
Measure 44: Yes
Opens Oregon Prescription Drug Plan to all.
Measure 45: No
1 hrows out limited African-American incumbents with term
limits.
Measure 48: No
Imposes arbitrary state spending limit that hurts schools, se­
niors and low-income people.
Multnomah County Library Levy: Yes
Retain our vital library services.
D-1II..has finally adm itted
that he is thinking o f run­
ning for president in 2008.
The first term senator says
h e’ll make his decision af­
ter the Novem bereleetions.
O b am a's name and the
word ‘president' have been
lin k e d e v e ry s in c e he
w owed the nation at the
2(X)4 Dem ocratic National
C o n v e n tio n , in fact. i.
seem ed O bam a w as the
o n ly o n e sa y in g he
o f the poor. In his current role as a
U.S. Senator, he focuses on bring­
ing jo b s and econom ic growths to
Illinois. O bam a understands the
needs o f the average
A m e ric a n an d has
worked tirelessly to make
sure they have access to
the opportunities they
need to succeed.
Kerry on the other
hand is considered one
tion cards D em ocratic voter drives
generated and mostly D em ocratic
precincts d id n 't receive an ad ­
equate num bers o f voting machines.
Though Kerry is considered a
potential D em ocratic candidate in
the 2008 race, his perceived lack o f
personality has alw ays been seen
as a w eakness. O bam a, considered
one o f the cou n try ’s greatest ora­
tors, has both the vision and the
charism a to m ake a strong run for
the W hite House.
Sen. H ilary C lin to n ’s
nam e has also been m en­
tioned - num erous tim es -
zy-
. z
_ ,
as a possible candidate. But
her experiences as the first
lady during the Bi II Cl inton
years make her more o f a
liability to the D em ocratic
J
Party than an asset.
o f the country’s m ost respected
Cam paigning for the 2008 presi­
voices on national security and dential election h asn 't even gotten
international affairs. Com bined, started but, already, the race is shap­
Obama and Kerry represent a politi­ ing up to be an interesting one. If
cal ticket that fights for the rights the D em ocrats w ant to m ake a seri­
and needs o f al I Americans whi le, at ous push for the office, they must
the same tim e, realizing Am erica be strategic about the alliances they
must w ork closely with other na­ form within the party. If they play
tions to advance a global agenda. smart, A m erica could finally begin
Kerry w ould have won the 2004 to move aw ay from the elitist co n ­
election, if it h ad n 't been stolen servative m entality that has led it
from him. O hio, the state that gave astray for the last six years.
President Bush the electoral votes
Judge Greg Mathis is national
he needed to win a second term, vice president o f Rainbow PUSH
reported many voting irregularities. and a national hoard member o f
Election officials in that state re­ the Southern Christian Leadership
portedly failed to process registra- Conference.
I f the Democrats want to
.
,
io
HlClkp Cl SC PIOUS fllish foi
die office, they must be
gfrafegic about the
alHailCeS t/ieV fotTH.
w ouldn't run for president.
N ow th a t his tu n e has
changed, the criticism s have be­
gun: His challengers have said
O bam a d o esn 't have enough ex p e­
rience w orking on national and for­
eign policies. T o som e degree this
is true. But, over the years, many
presidents have lacked certain skills.
T o com pensate, they chose a run­
ning m ate to fill in the gaps.
If O bam a chooses to run. Sen.
John Kerry, D -M ass„ the 2004
Dem ocratic presidential nominee,
would m ake up for any holes in
O bam a’s experience.
Obam a, once a com m unity orga­
nizer and civil rights attorney,spent
many years fighting for the needs
Portland Public Schools Levy: Yes
Funding is needed to improve, maintain local schools.
Vouchers Weaken Public Education
Lets government give up
O re g o n
D e p a r tm e n t
o f T ra n s p o rta tio n
ODOT IS KEEPING
OREGON ON THE MOVE
Major construction is under way on
Interstate 5.
The Oregon Department of Transportation is
investing in Oregon’s economy and
infrastructure with nearly $3 billion in
highway construction projects. Construction
over the next five years will be the heaviest
Oregon has seen since the interstate system
was built 50 years ago.
SLOW DOWN!
BETTER ROADS AHEAD
Oregon remains open for business while
ODOT modernizes one of the state's most
critical transportation lifelines. ODOT is
keeping motorists on the move by
scheduling work during nighttime and off-
peak hours and planning ahead to minimize
delays for events such as university football
games in Eugene and Corvallis.
Still, some delays are unavoidable. For
up-to-date information about construction
and traffic on 1-5 and around the state, visit
TripCheck.com or call 5-1-1.
OTIA
mi « m nuMnranw «mitmur act
by
R ev . E ric B rown
As a m inister, I fully support the right o f religious
private schools to exist, but as a Christian my first
com m itm ent is to providing a quality education lo r all
children. V ouchers drain vital resources aw ay from
our public schools, and steal money from the children
who need it the most.
It's no secret that our public schools face great
challenges, but I'm appalled by lawm akers who seem
to think that the best solution is to give up on them.
Eor years in this country, public education has
been the great levcler. No matter where you com e from
or how poor you are, o ur com m unities have taken on
the responsibility to give every child a quality educa­
tion. In the public school classroom , all students are
equal, and they have the ability to accom plish w hat­
ever their G od-given gifts will allow them.
Education lifts us all together. Education is good
for the econom y: it drives dow n crim e; it creates good
citizens. In my opinion, we provide an education to
every single child because it is the moral thing to do.
In his tim e walking the earth, Christ show ed love
forall, but he show ed special concern forthe poor, the
vulnerable, the dow ntrodden, and children. If we are
to follow in his footsteps, we must follow his call to
behave in the same way.
All o f us arc required to stand up for those who
cannot stand up for them selves and to make sure that
the least o f our brothers and sisters are eared for in a
responsible, Christian way.
W e ow e it to every child to offer a quality educa­
tion. The only way to give one to eaeh and every child
is to build strong public schools. V ouchers don’t
work, and it's tim e that C ongress faced up to that fact.
The voucher program takes m oney from all children
to give it to some children. T hat's exactly what the
public schools are supposed to avoid.
When O hiooffered vouchers in Cleveland, we saw
that the children w ho got them were the children who
were going to go to private schools anyw ay. The rest
o f the students stayed in the same school, but now it
had few er resources than ever.
The voucher program did nothing to help the
students w ho needed help the most:
It punished them. It is immoral to punish children
because o f the poor econom ic status o f their parents.
O u r tax d o llars should stay in public schools.
T hey don't b elong in private sch o o ls: they should
w ork to help ev ery sin g le stu d en t. F or the state to
em b race vou ch ers is for the state to give up on our
co m m itm en t to e d u catin g ev ery ch ild . E m bracing
v o u ch ers en a b le s the sta te to co n tin u e b eing
u n co n stitu tio n al, and th erefo re illeg al, in its fu n d ­
ing o f public schools.
Rev. Eric Brown is pastor at Woodland Christian
Church in Columbus, Ohio.