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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 13, 2010)
^ortlanh (Ohserurr O ctober 13, 2010 Page 13 New Prices Effective May 1,2010 Fair, Open and Accountable Elections A co u n terw eig h t to wealthy special interests K ayse J ama When I was growing up in Somalia, I remember won dering what it would be like to be able to vote and choose who our next president, gov ernor or our mayor would be. O f course, that was not an option in Somalia, but now I am a United States citizen and I take my electoral participation very seriously. by dates to run based on their ideas, values, and com munity support rather than on their ability to raise money. They also agreed to put the program on the November 2010 ballot for us all to vote on. Voting Yes on Measure 26-108 will keep Voter-Owned Elections in place and prevent the Portland Business Alliance and other wealthy spe cial interests from drowning out the voices o f everyday Portlanders. The organization that I lead, the Center for Intercultural Organizing, empowers many Portlanders who have historically choose to use the program are required to collect at least 1,000 (1,500 for mayoral candidates) $5 contributions just to qualify for a limited amount o f public financing. Candidates are then free to continue listen ing to and earning support from everyday Portlanders. And, when they’re in office, there are no big donors to worry about — just the voters who elected them. This means we get more choices and better representation in City Hall. Voter-Owned Elections is getting big money out o f politics — candidates using the program don’t accept any private funding once they qualify. It has only been in place for three election cycles but has already seen two candidates to run and win. The program is lim ited to 0.2 percent o f the budget and k has never even come close to that cap. If we vote yes, no new taxes or fees will occur. L et’s keep Voter-Owned Elections when it comes to the ballot in November. L et’s make sure that all o f our voices are heard. L et’s continue to work together to make Portland a better place. And let’s not let special interests dominate our elections or City Hall. L et’s keep our elections fair, open, and accountable. Please join the Center for _____________ o_____ o ________ Intercultural Organizing and more _____ than 30 other community organizations and thou sands o f everyday people in voting YES on 26-108. Visit www.yesforportland.org for more information. K a y s e J a m a o f P o r tla n d is th e fo u n d e r o f th e C e n ter f o r In te rc u l- tu r a l O rg a n izin g . Voter-Owned Elections provide a “one person, one vote’’ should . be what matters, unfortu- pathway for everyone to participate S S E S '» ‘he political process, no! ju s, those are voting with their wallets that have money or political capital, Here in the us, i know that who want to keep it that way. What if instead o f spending time on the phone calling wealthy donors and special interests for money, our candidates ran for local office in a way that trained them to be good public servants? What if they spent their time talking with everyday voters in- stead? And what if, once we elected them to office, our candidates remained account- able and accessible to us, rather than those wealthy donors and special interests? Under Portland’s Voter-Owned Elec- tions, we can have just that. In fact, we already do, but we ’ 11 have to vote yes on 26- 108 this November if we want to protect our program that keeps our local elections fair, open and accountable. In 2005, the Portland City Council passed Voter-Owned Elections to allow candi- been shut out o f the political process to develop a unified voice, advocate for their rights, and create an environment in which they are recognized and supported as val- ued community members. In that same spirit, Voter-Owned Elections provide a pathway for everyone to participate in the political process, not just those that have money or political capital. At the heart o f the program is the goal o f fairness. Portland voters can contribute $5 to help select a candidate that they want to represent them in City Hall. That $5 makes just as much difference as someone who can write a big campaign check. No longer do candidates have to spend all their time talking to big donors while ignoring every- day Portlanders — in fact, candidates who Cultural Heritage Makes Me Diverse Em pty music classroom brings tears K imberly H oward It was a cool summer morning when I stepped into Jefferson High School, on a mission. I was there to meet Alumni President Maggie Mashia and Rose City Music Festival Event Coordina tor Bonnie Gilchrist, who’d called me to say, “I have something to share with you. And you have to see it to believe it.” By the end o f that morning, I had watched a little less than 500 students gather on the field dur ing an unexpected fire alarm drill, and been taken on a tour o f w hat is now Jefferson High by School’s empty music depart ment classrooms. As manager o f the Oregon Cultural Trust, the only cultural funding mechanism o f its kind in the nation, and as a trained per forming artist, I ended our tour o f a ransacked choir room, empty practice cubicles and a sheet m u sic-strew n classro o m , in tears. I was standing in a beau tiful wood-lined room full o f marching band uniforms, pur chased in the 1980s and never worn. This is why I do what I do, I thought. This is why I spend my days making sure that Orego nians know that the Cultural Trust is how we provide our young people with the tools to imagine their futures - as musicians, art ists, teachers. It is how we pro vide our young people with the tools to preserve and celebrate their past, as African-Ameri cans, Latino-Americans, Native- Americans, A sian-Americans, and European-Americans in Or egon. It is how we provide our young people with the tools to think critically and with a spirit o f exploration to be civic and com- Q ii • U h p n U 1 1 U C JUSt $60 p er year ( p le a s e in c lu d e c h e c k ) munity leaders. Oregonians are the why. The Oregon Cultural Trust is the how. Culture makes me diverse be cause it asks me to look closely at our world, to see it, imagine it, create it. K im berly H ow ard is trust m anager fo r the Oregon Cul tural Trust. 503-288-0033 Attn-. Subscriptions, The Portland Observer, PO Box 3 137, Portland OR 97208. 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