500
Special
Coverage
Issue
‘City of Roses’
Black
Month
'and i
A Century of Activism
Past achievements create a
daunting challenge as the
NAACP turns 100
See story, page A5
ÌUnrtlanh ©bsBtUer
Volume XXXVIV. Number 7
TLW eek in
The Review
Obama Signs Stimulus
Racing to reverse the country's
ec o n o m ic sp iral. P resid en t
Barack O bam a signed the mam
moth stimulus package into law
Tuesday and readied a new
$50 billion foreclosure rescue
for legions o f A m ericans who
are in danger o f losing their
homes.
More Troops to Afghanistan
President O bam a has ordered
a significant troop increase in
A fghanistan authorizing the
deploym ent o f an additional
17,000 troops to take on the
resurgent T aliban in southern
A fghanistan. The first units
will begin deploying in the
spring.
Ginsburg Cancer Contained
S u p re m e
C ourt Justice
R u th B a d e r
G i n s b u r g 's
c a n c e r w as
found at the
earliest stage
and has not
spread beyond her pancreas,
the court said Friday. The 75-
year-old justice returned to her
hom e in W ashington Friday
after being released from the
Memorial Sloan-Kettering Can
cer C enter in New York.
«
California Budget Stalemate
California lawm akers gathered
again T uesday in another bid
to end the state's multibillion-
dollar budget stalem ate, as the
state w as poised to start laying
o ff as many as 20,000 govern
ment workers.
F
c ta h lk h p d in
in 1970
1970
Established
www
n n rtla n d o h se rve r.co m
www.portlandobserver.com
Committed to Cultural Diversity
Wednesday • February 18. 2009
Passing
the Torch
Avel Gordly
inspires
future leaders
by J akf . T homas
T he P ortland O bserver
O r e g o n ’s f ir s t f e m a le A f r ic a n
A m eric an se n ato r h as fo u n d a new
w ay to help the n ex t g en eratio n b reak
barriers o f its ow n.
A vel G ordly e n d e d her 18 y ears in
the O reg o n L egislatu re last m o n th by
not run n in g fo r re-electio n , but sh e’s
not retirin g to a life o f idleness. In
stead, she's w o rk in g to in sp ire new
le a d e rs as a p ro fe s s o r at P o rtla n d
S tate U niversity.
G ordly, a P ortland native and long
tim e social serv ices lead er b efo re b e
co m in g an adv o cate fo r the d isad v an
ta g ed d u rin g h er th ree term s in the
O regon H ouse o f R epresentatives and
tw o term s in the S en ate, sp o k e w ith
th e P o rtlan d O b se rv e r in an e x c lu
sive interview .
"I w as fee lin g a rea l u rg en c y in
p a s s i n g o n w h a t I k n o w ," s a id
G ordly, 62.
G ordly is h elp in g p rep are th e next
generation o f A frican -A m erican lead
ers by jo in tly te ach in g a lead ersh ip
sem inar w ith D alton M iller-Jones, the
ch air o f the B lack S tudies D epartm ent
at P S U , h er alm a m atter.
photos by
M ark W ashington /T he P ortland O bserver
Avel Gordly tours a ‘Living the Legacy' exhibit displaying key pieces from her personal archives at the Portland
State University library. The Black History Month exhibit has been extended to March 31.
T h e c o u rse se e k s to rec ru it s tu
d en ts o f co lo r w ho show lead ersh ip
p o ten tial and shape an d direct their
ab ilities. It also p o in ts them to o p
p o rtu n ities in local an d state g o v ern
m ent, said G ordly.
S he is also w o rk in g closely w ith
the A frican A m erican A lliance, a c o a
litio n o f civic o rg an izatio n s, to con-
nect you n g people o f co lo r w ith o p
portunities.
P a ssin g on th e to rc h o f le a d e r
sh ip to th e n ex t g e n e ra tio n o f A fri
c a n -A m e ric a n le a d e rs is p aram o u n t
c o n c e r n fo r G o rd ly , w h o s e n ew
ab sen c e fro m the L e g isla tu re leav es
o n ly th re e p e o p le o f c o lo r am o n g
th e 9 0 la w m ak e rs.
Oregon Considers Beer Tax
It's an issue that seem s to rise
and fall every legislative ses
sion — a proposed increase in
the beer tax. But with Oregon
facing another budget short
fall, Rep. Ben Cannon, D-Port-
land, has co-sponsored a bill
that w ould raise the tax on a 12-
ounce beer to 15 cents for drug
and alcohol abuse prevention
and treatm ent.
organizations.
"They w ere com m unity builders,"
she said.
H er parents goaded h er tow ard co l
lege. and expected her not to com e
hom e from school w ith "C's" w hile
Morgan Stanley VP Charged
grow ing up.
A fter being the first person in her
fa m ily to g ra d u a te fro m c o lle g e ,
G ordly w orked for years in co m m u
nity o rganizations until a friend en
courag ed her to seek a recently va
A form er M organ Stanley vice
president has been arrested on
charges o f em bezzling more
than $2.5 m illion from the in
v e s tm e n t b a n k . R ic h a rd
G araventa Jr., o f M analapan,
N.J., pleaded not guilty T ues
day to grand larceny and other
co u n ts.
cated H ouse seat.
"It w asn't my idea," said G ordly o f
her initial foray into the Legislature. She
dism issed the notion initially, but she
m ulled it over and began to ask friends
Burris Makes Admission
U.S. Sen. Roland Burris now
acknow ledges
attem p tin g to
Photographs document Avel Gordly's historic rise to power in Portland State University's 'Living the Legacy'
raise money for
exhibit, including Gordly swearing into office in 1991 and a picture from her first years as a lawmaker with then
ousted Illinois
State Rep. Margaret Carter (upper left).
G ov.
R od
B lagojevich—
an e x p lo s iv e
tw ist in hisever-changing story
on how he landed a coveted
Senate appointm ent from the
man accused o f trying to sell
the seat.
cism o f A d a m s, w h o has o p te d to A dam s used a lie to get into office,
H
Gas Prices Going Up
C rude oil prices continue to
drop but the average price o f a
gallon o f gas in Oregon in
creased about 6 cents in the
past w eek to $2.12, according
to AAA O regon/Idaho. The
n a tio n a l a v e ra g e a ls o in
creased, rising 3 cents a gallon
to $1.96.
"If you don't see the torch being
passed, com e and get it," said G ordly,
"but you g o tta be prepared."
For G ordly, carrying the torch o f
leadership in public service is about
strengthening com m unities. H er par
ents, w ho m igrated from Texas in the
late 1930s to P ortland, helped incul
cate this m essage to her w hile gro w
ing up in northeast Portland near G o
ing and P rescott Streets.
H er father w as a p o rter for U nion
P a c ific R a ilro a d a n d h e r m o th e r
w o rk ed as a d o m e stic . She rec alls
the dining room being stacked w ith
books, m agazines, an d new spapers,
w hich instilled in G o rd ly a genuine
cu riosity about the w orld. H er p ar
ents w ere active in ch u rch and civic
and family what they thought.
"W here can we send the check?"
w as the response she got back.
continued
on page A8
Ethics Cited in Adams Scandal
Gordly says
mayor acting like
he’s entitled
by J ake T homas
T he P ortland O bserver
M ayor S am A d am s’ adm ission that
he lie d d u rin g la st y e a r ’s m a y o ra l
cam p aig n ab o u t h av in g sex w ith an
1 8 -y e a r-o ld le g is la tiv e in te rn h as
d ra w n a lin e b e tw e e n th o s e w h o
w ant him to stay on and th o se w ho
w ant him to step dow n.
C o u n t f o r m e r S ta te S e n . A v el
G o rd ly in the latter cam p. In an e x
c lu siv e interview w ith the P o rtlan d
O bserver, G ordly h ad poin ted c riti
stay o n d esp ite a blarin g ch o ru s o f
calls for him to step dow n.
"We have som eone w ho lied to gain
p o litic a l p ow er," said G ordly, w h o
b a c k e d b u s in e s s m a n S h o D o z o n o
ag ain st A dam s in last M ay ’s election.
"T hat is not O K ," she added.
G o r d ly r e a s o n e d th a t b e c a u s e
he should now give u p that office.
"T here's truth in that position," said
K irk O. H anson, p ro fe sso r and e x
ecutive director o f the M arkkula C en
ter for A pplied E thics at S an ta C lara
U niversity in C alifornia.
H anson added that it’s difficult to
ju stify A dam s staying in elected o f
I think there is something
terribly wrong with the
political culture in our city.
fice after having m isled voters on a
subject that m ay have affected how
they m ight vote.
He said the scandal raises tw o eth i
cal issues: the relatio n sh ip itself and
A dam s' lying.
T he relatio n sh ip w ith the intern.
Beau B reedlove, m ay have been c o n
sen su al an d leg al, b u t th at d o esn 't
m ean that it w as eth ical because o f
the p o w er relatio n sh ip betw een the
tw o m en. he said.
A s a le g isla tiv e in te rn se ek in g a
c a re e r in p o litic s , B re e d lo v e w as
n ot on an eq u al fo o tin g w ith A dam s,
a c ity c o m m is s io n e r a t th e tim e
w h o w as in a p o sitio n to ad v an ce
- former State Sen. Avel Gordly
continued y ^ on page A8
community service
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