August 30, 2017
Page 3
INSIDE
The
Week in Review
page 2
This page
Sponsored by:
New Justice Reform Push
Aim is to
redefine the
role of DAs
page 9
M ETRO
Arts &
ENTERTAINMENT
pages 7-11
A major new campaign to
make Oregon’s criminal justice
system more effective, fair, and
accountable was launched Sun-
day by the American Civil Lib-
erties Union of Oregon
Over 100 supporters of the
organization gathered in Bea-
verton Sunday to hear about
the local chapter’s “They Re-
port to You” initiative which
aims to redefine the role of the
state’s district attorneys in or-
der to bring needed changes.
“At a time when President
Trump and Attorney Gener-
al Jeff Sessions are trying to
turn our criminal justice sys-
tem back to the 1990s, we are
moving forward for reform in
Oregon,” said David Rogers,
ACLU of Oregon executive
director. “This campaign is a
top priority. It will last several
years and we already have staff
working on it full time.”
The group’s initial goals are
focused on increasing voters’
understanding of the role that
district attorneys play and in-
creasing direct engagement be-
tween voters and DAs.
Ultimately, the campaign
will push for district attorney’s
to increase transparency in the
justice system; emphasize pre-
David Rogers
vention and treatment; focus
on addressing the root causes
of crime; commit to fair prac-
tices and policies; and be in-
tentional about reducing racial
disparities.
“District attorneys need to
understand that there is more
to accountability than building
and filling prisons,” said Dan-
iel Lewkow, the ALCU cam-
paign’s manager. “Account-
ability includes doing what is
fair and effective such as using
more smart-on-crime strategies
like prevention, treatment, ed-
ucation, and re-entry support.”
The reform efforts follows
progress made during the 2017
Oregon Legislature when the
ACLU successfully lobbied
lawmakers to pass laws de-
signed to end law enforcement
profiling, reduce unreasonably
harsh penalties for simple drug
possession, limit expansion of
prison populations, and make
the grand jury system more ac-
countable and transparent.
“These smart reforms all
faced serious and vocal opposi-
tion from the district attorneys,
yet Oregon was able to push
them forward,” Rogers said.
“This marks a major shift in the
political landscape in our state,
and we’re just getting started.”
Nikki Fisher, executive di-
rector of The Bus Project,
which is teaming up with the
ACLU of Oregon on the “They
Report to You” campaign, said
many people do not know who
their district attorneys are or
what they do.”
“But once they learned about
the role that district attorneys
play, they wanted to engage.
People recognize that our crim-
inal justice system is out of bal-
ance, and they want to see their
DAs provide solutions to make
the system work better,” Fisher
said.
The ACLU said interest in
the civil rights organization
has spiked since the election
of Trump and membership in
Oregon has quadrupled to over
40,000.
Officials said supporters
have been hungry for ways to
get involved and the campaign
will continue to build and ex-
pand its footprint in the state
over the coming months.
Hardesty Runs as Unity Candidate
O PINION
C LASSIFIEDS
C ALENDAR
page 16
F OOD
pages 12-13
pages 14
page 15
A long time political leader in
Portland and member of Port-
land’s African American com-
munity kicked off an election
campaign for a position on the
Portland City Council Satur-
day with a rally drawing a large
group of supporters.
Former state representative
and current president of the Port-
land NAACP Jo Ann Hardesty
says she is running to make sure
all voices and every walk of life
is represented at City Hall.
“This is the voice of One Port-
land,” said Hardesty. “We mean
to unite our town, to be a beacon
of enlightenment shining across
Jo Ann Hardesty
our country. We cannot be silent
as dark clouds of racism and ha-
tred roll out from some places.
That is what this campaign is
about.”
The high energy event at the
Mt. Scott Community Center
was opened by Oregon Music
Hall of Fame Inductee Norman
Sylvester and his band, and fea-
tured short rousing talks by Rev.
LeRoy Haynes, a Portland black
pastor who leads efforts for po-
lice justice reforms in Oregon
and is a member of the Albina
Ministerial Alliance, and Hard-
esty.
Volunteers with clipboards
and campaign messages then
went into local neighborhoods
to listen to Portlanders’ concerns
and invite them to be a part of
the Hardesty campaign.