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April 2. 2008
S p e c ia l E d itio n
Political Job Interviews Attract 26 Candidates
Nearly 90 percent o f the candi­
dates running for local governm ent
positions in the upcom ing May 20
Prim ary Election answ ered q ues­
tio n s b efo re the p ublic at the
A m bridge C onference C enter next
to the O regon C onvention Center
in northeast Portland last W ednes­
day.
T he forum sponsored by the
African American Chamber ofCom -
m erce, the Oregon Business N et­
work, The Portland O bserver, and
o th e r partnerships w as entitled
“T he Job Interview ." attracting 26
candidates. Some are more known
than others, but all had an opportu­
nity to be able to express their plat­
form on a w ide variety o f subjects
and questions.
M a y o ral fro n t ru n n ers Sam
A dam s and Sho D ozono both pro­
vided expanded answers to ques­
tions delivered by a highly diverse
panel o f individuals representing
the entire spectrum o f the city and
region.
Roy Jay, cham ber president,
says that the organization is also
looking to have a sim ilar even t in
the fall involving O regon’s U.S.
Senate race.
Candidates for local office jam the podium for a forum sponsored in part by the African American Chamber o f Commerce.
Bill Clinton Visits Portland
HillaryClinton
Bill Clinton
Hillary due Saturday
( AP) - Stumping through Oregon
on behalf o f his wife's candidacy,
former President Bill Clinton prom ­
ised the state's voters M onday that
the contest would continue through
their May 20 primary.
Hillary Clinton's cam paign m an­
agers said she will visit Portland
and Eugene on Saturday, but re­
leased no further details.
"The way Oregon votes may de­
termine who the Democratic nomi­
nee is going to be,” Bill Clinton told
about I5()cheeringseniorcitizensat
a southeast Portland senior center.
"It's a big test for Democrats this
year, whether everyone will get a
chance to vote, and every vote will
be counted."
Clinton's tw o-day visit included
stops in M edford. Salem and Bend
and followed a sweep down the
W illam ette Valley by Illinois Sen.
Barack Obama, who is challenging
New York Sen. H illaryC linton for
the presidential nomination.
"Don't you bel ieve she can’t win
the nomination... because she will,"
Clinton said. "Don't you believe it
when all those people in W ashing­
ton say your votes don’t count and
this race is over. If this race was
over, they wouldn't tell you that.
The form er president also talked
o f the need for energy indepen­
dence and changes in the m anage­
ment o f Iraq w ar policy.
O ver the next 10 years, Clinton
saideconomic growth will he mostly
in jobs to develop clean energy and
reach energy independence, and
that will be followed by a w ave o f
growth in biotech.
" I f we do this right," he told about
500 people at Oregon Health & Sci­
ence University, "by the next de­
cade, when you'll have me as an old
codger, we will generate (jobs)
through advances in biotechnology.
But we won't get there if we don’t
stop wasting so much money on the
financing system of health care."
As president. Bill Clinton said, his
wife would want to see vehicles that
could get I (X) m i les to the gal Ion, and
he criticized the relatively small
amount of money spent on retrofit­
ting buildings for energy efficiency.
Housing Secretary Resigns
h av e
re d u ced
c h ro n ic
homelessness. And we have pre­
served affordable housing and in­
crease d
m in o rity
homeownership," he said.
(AP) - HUD Secretary Alphonso
The FBI has been exam ining
Jackson, his tenure tarnished by
allegations o f political favoritism
the ties between Jackson and a
friend who was paid $392,000
and a criminal investigation, an­
by Jackson's departm ent as a
nounced his resignation Monday
construction m anager in New
amid the wreckage o f the national
Orleans. Jackson's friend got
housing crisis. He leaves behind a
the jo b after Jackson asked a
trail of unanswered questions about
staff mem ber to pass along his
whether he tilted the Department
name to the Housing Authority
of Housing and Urban Develop­
AlphonsoJackson
o f New Orleans.
ment toward Republican contrac­
In another instance of alleged favoritism that
tors and cronies.
came to light in February. the Philadelphia housing
authority alleges that Jackson retaliated against
the agency because it refused to award a vacant
lot worth $2 million to soul-music producer-tumed-
community developer Kenny Gamble for redevel­
opment o f a public housing complex.
Alphonso Jackson
Jackson's problem s began in 2006, when he
In announcing that his last day at HUD will told a group o f commercial real estate execu­
be April 18, Jackson said, "There com es a time tives that he had revoked a contract because the
when one must attend more diligently to per­ applicant who thanked him said he did not like
President Bush. Jackson later told investigators
sonal and family matters."
Jackson said he was proud of his record.
"I lied" when he made the remark about taking
"W e have transformed public housing. We back the contract.
Amid allegations
of favoritism
There comes a time when
one must attend more
diligently to personal and
family matters.-
County Program
Remembers King
N O W D E LIV E R IN G
Y o u r fa v o r ite n e ig h b o r h o o d g r o c e r y s to r e n o w d e liv e r s
g r o c e r ie s r ig h t to y o u r h o m e o r o ffic e .
M anagers of Color of M u Itnomah
County will sponsor a program on
Dr. Rev. Martin Luther King and
the Civil Rights M ovem ent this
Friday.
Speakers include Sam Jackson
Jr., a participant in the M ontgom ­
ery bus boycott who was inspired
by Rosa Park’s refusal to give up
her seat to a w hite passenger, and
Pastor J.W . M att Ilennessee of
V ancouver Avenue First Baptist
C hurch, who was a contem porary
o f Dr. K ing's children and has long
been a close friend o f the family.
"Remembering a Lifetime o f Ser­
vice: A Tribute to the Reverend
Martin Luther King. Jr. on the 40th
A nniversary o f his Death" will take
place form 11:30 a.m. to I p.m. on
April 4. in the M ultnom ah County
Building,501 S.E. Hawthorne Blvd.,
room 112.
For further inform ation, contact
Patricia W elch at 503-988-6280 or
Carl Goodw in at 503-988-3983.
I
Judge Mathis Reschedules
A local visit by TV Judge Greg
Mathis, a syndicated colum nist and
lifetime m em berofthe NA ACP. has
been rescheduled.
M ath is w ill be the key n o te
speaker when C orner Stone C om ­
m unity Services hosts a Youth
Summit for Jefferson andGrant high­
school students at the Lloyd C en­
ter D oubletree Hotel on April 27.
The event will begin with a jo b fair
at 5 p.m. and the banquet at 6:15
p.m.
Mathis cancelled his March 15
engagem ent in Portland due to a
death in his family.
For more inform ation on the up­
com ing youth summ it, call B. E.
Johnson at 503-2814 5 8 7 orLaVeme
Davis at 503-891-5 8 12.
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