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About The skanner. (Portland, Or.) 1975-2014 | View Entire Issue (May 16, 2012)
WWW . THESKANNER . COM P ORTLAND , O REGON V OLUME XXXIV, N O . 20 25 CENTS For The Skanner news alerts Text "NEWS" to 503-715-0890 or scan this QR code C HALLENGING P EOPLE TO S HAPE A B ETTER F UTURE N OW Primary elections see surprises, outright wins By Lisa Loving Of The Skanner News O ne of the most competitive primary ballots in years has ended in an elec- tion night of historic low turnout in Multnomah County and across the state of Oregon. In unofficial returns, on the local level in the city of Portland, million-dollar mayoral candidate Eileen Brady was trounced in double-digit losses to Charlie Hales and Jef- ferson Smith, who spent about half as much on their campaigns and who now advance to the Nov. 6 General Election. State campaign finance records show that Brady loaned her campaign $125,000 last week; in total, as of May 16, the state’s ORESTAR computerized reporting system shows Brady received $817,538.28 in total contributions, but spent $908,879.08 and ended the campaign with $250,000 in total outstanding loans. Altogether, Brady’s cam- paign has a deficit of $213,235.78. Jefferson Smith’s campaign, according to ORESTAR, took in $414,682.22 in total contributions but is now looking at a $91,367 deficit Charlie Hales took in $531,952.11 and ended with a $68,537.56 deficit. In the sometimes-bitter race for Portland City Commissioner Position #1, incumbent Amanda Fritz – the only candidate current- ly holding office elected through publicly- funded elections, which have since been discontinued — had pulled ahead of chal- lenger Mary Nolan by 90 votes as of noon on Wednesday; no matter which of the two emerges with the most votes they will both be heading to a runoff. The Multnomah County Library Bond Levy sailed to passage with almost 84 per- cent “yes” votes, while the “housekeeping” changes to the City of Portland charter all passed as well. In East County, David Douglas High School’s $49.5 million bond measure was CHARLIE HALES Charlie Hales and his wife, Nancy, at the Portland student protest rally in downtown Portland last Friday. Hales, a candidate for Portland mayor, bested all comers in the field of 23 and now heads to the November runoff vote against challenger Jefferson Smith. PHOTO BY LISA LOVING Low Voter Turnout Kitzhaber Criminal Justice Reform Poll supports expanding treatment and community supervision By Helen Silvis Of The Skanner News G has Kitzhaber ov. Oregon’s expanded Commission on Public Safety so it can take a deeper look at how to reduce costs in the Criminal Justice system, while at the same time improv- ing public safety. “With Oregon’s biennial cor- rections budget now exceeding $1.4 billion, we can no longer delay improvements to our cor- rections system here in Ore- See ELECTIONS on page 3 INDEX News ...................2,3,6 Opinion .....................4 A & E ......................5,8 Food..........................6 Bids/Classifieds .......6,7 gon,” said Governor Kitzhaber. “It’s time for us to re-examine which policies are working and fix those that are not providing a clear benefit to our public safe- ty.” Kitzhaber signed an executive order, Monday, May 14, expanding the commission from seven to 12 members. The five new members are: a District Attorney; a Criminal Defense Attorney, a law enforcement representative chosen by sher- iffs and chiefs of police; a com- corrections munity representative and a senior judge. “The state is on an unsustain- able path of corrections growth that will limit funding available for proven crime-prevention, reformation and re-entry strate- gies,” the order says. Crime in Oregon is at a 30- year low, but a new opinion poll released today by the PEW Cen- ter shows that more than two- thirds of Oregonians don’t know this. The study showed 40 per- cent of voters think crime has increased and 28 percent think it’s about the same. Only 19 per- cent of voters knew the correct answer – that both violent and property crimes have been drop- ping for decades. The Skanner News reported the mismatch between reality and public perception last year. The commission will now work with the Justice Reinvest- ment Initiative in the U.S. Department of Justice, and the Pew Center on the States’ Public Safety Performance Project, to bring together a wide range of See JUSTICE on page 3 Memorial Basketball League Grows More schools are participating in sports in honor of Walter Dines Jr. By Helen Silvis Of The Skanner News B asketball coach Paul Kelly was too devastated to remember much about the homegoing ceremony for Walter Dines Jr. Kelly’s godson, the son of his best friend, died in June 2010 at just 18 years old, in a tragic drowning accident on the Clackamas River. What Kelly does remember is the rainbow that lit up the sky that day. Fast forward two years and Kelly is coaching the Walter Dines Memorial Bas- ketball League. Set up by Kelly and Walter Dines Sr., the league offers teens the oppor- tunity to play and compete at a high level. Many of them would otherwise be shut out of high school sports. On the first day of the second season, Kelly brought his players together to explain how the league started. “As I’m speaking I look out the window and I see a rainbow,” Kelly says. “I thought, ‘I just know you are here.’ And it gave me the greatest satisfaction to feel that he was looking down and approving of what we were doing to honor him.” See MEMORIAL on page 3
