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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (May 4, 2016)
Page 6 May 4, 2016 O PINION Opinion articles do not necessarily represent the views of the Portland Observer. We welcome reader essays, photos and story ideas. Submit to news@portlandobserver.com. Reproductive Rights and Economic Survival Now we’re ighting on two fronts m artha b urk We heard a lot about the “war on women” during the 2012 election cycle — mostly over Re- publican attacks on abortion rights and birth control. While the phrase has faded in this election year go-round, the war on women has not. The only change is that now we’re ight- ing on two fronts — reproductive rights and economic survival. To a man, the three Republi- cans still in the nomination race oppose abortion rights. No surprise there. But Ted Cruz has upped the ante and come out against exceptions for rape and incest. John Kasich would allow the exceptions, but says there’s no point in talking to him about choice. The formerly pro-choice Trump is now not only against abortion, but blurted out recently what oth- ers undoubtedly believe but are by too dishonest to say out loud — that the government should punish the women who have abortions. And probably the girls, too. While reproductive rights are fundamental to women’s well-being and autonomy, the right to fair pay and ben- eits is no less so. After all, adult women are by far the majority of those working for the federal min- imum wage. It’s parked at $7.25 per hour because the feds 1991. Women make up 70 percent of tipped servers, and most of them don’t work in those high-dol- lar, white-tablecloth restaurants. They’re working in low-level hash houses and places like Den- ny’s and Red Lobster. A Census report last year showed that the poverty risk for women spikes once they enter the workforce. For women with kids, the poverty rate is almost double that of men in the 25-34 age range among single mothers. Could be — but I’m betting a bigger fac- tor is the poverty-level minimum wage, which disproportionally af- fects women of color. Every presidential candidate has weighed in on the minimum wage. While Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders argue over how much is enough — $12 for her, $15 for him — Cruz says $0 is the right number. He’d do away with the federal minimum alto- gether, having deemed it a “bad while declaring a preference for leaving the minimum at $7.25. Not to be outdone on the con- tradiction front, Kasich says it’s “very important that we don’t raise the minimum wage willy nil- ly,” but then adds that Uncle Sam ought to let the 50 states set 50 different minimums if that’s what they want. All this adds up to a multi- pronged attack on low-wage working women, who are the least able to ight back. They’re trapped by the ironclad partisanship on Capitol Hill, where Republicans have promised not to raise wages as long as they control Congress. And pushing back on those abor- tion restrictions states have been rolling out? Forget it. Between Congress and the nut- case wing of the GOP calling the shots in the presidential race, the war on women promises to be a long one indeed. Martha Burk is the director of the Corporate Accountability Project for the National Council of Women’s Organizations and haven’t raised it since 2009. — prime working years. policy.” the author of the book Your Voice, The legal base pay for tipped Some experts say the growing In typical Trump fashion, the Your Vote: The Savvy Woman’s workers lags even further behind gap may be partly due to con- GOP front-runner has said Amer- Guide to Power, Politics, and the — it’s been a measly $2.13 since tinuing high unemployment rates ica needs “good paying jobs,” Change We Need. A Census report last year showed that the poverty risk for women spikes once they enter the workforce. For women with kids, the poverty rate is almost double that of men in the 25-34 age range — prime working years. My Non-Traditional Face Closes Doors in Election Why I am running for mayor Mayor with my back- ground as African Amer- ican and female who has never held a major pub- lic ofice. There’s been a lack of equity and in- clusion for me as a par- by d eborah h arris ticipant in many of the I’m writing to respond candidate forums and in- to those Portlanders and entities that continue to question terviews that only white candidates why I am running for the ofice of have been invited to. KIC Ministries presents Sunday, 11am - 12:30pm Living Heart Faith Community Location: 8219 NE Glisan St Pastor Antonio L. Thomas The question has been posed to me both at forums that gracious- ly have invited and embraced me as a mayoral candidate, and by forum sponsors that chose not to welcome my participation. Media also askiwhy I chose to run for the ofice of Mayor instead of another position such as county commis- sioner or state representative. My response is that the need to take action on social justice, af- fordable housing, houselessness, economic development, quality of education are issues facing the next mayor of Portland . These issues have not been suficiently addressed and cannot simply be placed on lay-away. In order to address the multi-tier issues that face our city, we must begin by building a healthy city, neighborhood by neighborhood, through strengthening citizen in- volvement through the creation of single-member geographical districts. Very recently I attended a can- didate’s fair sponsored by the Rose City Park Neighborhood Association, although I was not invited as one of the “signature” participants, my attendance and observations validated our city’s historical and continued problem with a lack of equity and inclu- sion. Portland’s political arena has a traditional process of force feed- ing their favorite candidates to the citizens. Considering my parents and grandparents who worked very hard and sacriiced much for my ability to obtain a Bachelor of Arts degree, Master’s Degree, and my success as a manager for a a multi-million dollar industry, not to mention designing and manag- ing mentoring programs for youth, faith-based participation in food, clothing and mission work with- in and outside of the community, and engaging with Oregon cor- rectional facilities to encourage and inspire incarcerated men and women to “Move Beyond Their Walls,” I deine these attributes and credentials as “signature.” . Portland is in a time and season that demands bold and courageous leadership with a compassion for the needs of all of the people, not just a chosen few. It is time-out for a traditional mayor whose desire is to make the city livable for the haves while leaving the have-nots more broken promises and dreams deferred. I am on this journey to transform the traditional mindset of leader- ship within our city where deci- sions that signiicantly impact the livelihood of all citizens cannot be made solely behind the walls of city government. I am in this race to paint and exemplify leadership that will move into the commu- nities, listening with a passionate ear to the concerns for the people who have walked in those shoes and lived the experience. Nontra- ditional choices can open a lood- gate to resolutions on issues that are community speciic and culti- vate higher values and principles. The lyrics to one of my fa- vorites songs resonate, “Nobody told me the road was going to be easy.” Historically as I roll back the camera, I have encountered many rough roads, yet through de- termination and being conident, whatever the outcome, I win. Be- ing a new and non-traditional face in this mayoral race does cause some doors to close, yet those closed doors can be permanently re- opened with a vote for me at the Primary Election on May 17. Deborah Harris is candidate for the ofice of Mayor of Port- land.