WWW . THESKANNER . COM
S EPTEMBER 12, 2012
P ORTLAND , O REGON
V OLUME XXXIV, N O . 37
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C HALLENGING P EOPLE TO S HAPE A B ETTER F UTURE N OW
Crime
Rates
Falling
FLUORIDE: YES
AG Ellen Rosenblum
signals support for
sentencing reforms
By Helen Silvis
Of The Skanner News
PHOTO BY LISA LOVING
P
roperty and violent crime fell by 25
percent between 2000 and 2010. Yet,
unless state corrections policies
change, Oregon is on track to add 2,000
more prison beds over the next decade, at a
cost of $600 million. That’s on top of the
existing $1.4 billion corrections budget.
Last Saturday, Oregon Attorney General
Ellen Rosenblum signaled she is prepared to
back major revisions to sentencing guide-
lines, including those mandated by voters
through Measure 11 in 1994 and Measure
57 in 2008.
“Nothing – Nothing is sacred,” Rosen-
blum told a statewide gathering of the Part-
nership for Safety and Justice in Keizer
Oregon, Sept. 8. “All of our state’s felony
sentencing structure has to be on the table
for review.”
Calling the rising costs unsustainable,
Gov. Kitzhaber last year tasked Oregon’s
Commission on Public Safety with review-
ing sentencing policy. The commission is
expected to issue recommendations towards
the end of 2012, with draft legislation
expected in 2013.
Research by the Pew Center for the States,
found more than 50 percent of the expected
rise in Oregon’s prison population would
constitute people convicted of property
crimes (36 percent) and drugs charges (17
percent). The same study shows that 66 per-
cent of people imprisoned in 2011 were
rated as low or medium risk, up from 55
percent in 2005.
Rosenblum contrasted spiraling prison
spending with cuts to victims’ services.
More than 20,600 requests for emergency
shelter from victims of domestic violence
were turned down in 2011, for example.
“We need to invest in life-saving services
for victims, not only because it’s smart
spending, but because it’s the right thing to
do,” she said. “We need to lake a long hard
Portland City Council has voted to add fluoride to the city’s water supply in a unanimous 5-0 vote Wednesday, Sept.
12. At least eight protesters opposing fluoridation were ejected from the council meeting after shouting at
commissioners, who said the issue has caused more dissension than almost any other.
Voter ID: The Battle Comes to Oregon
It’s a campaign to persuade voters the elections are rife with abuse
By Helen Silvis
Of The Skanner News
S
ince 2006, 30 states have
passed laws that require
voters to show identifica-
tion at the polls. Advocates
argue stricter laws are needed to
prevent voting fraud. Oppo-
nents reply that voter ID laws
will prevent millions of Ameri-
cans from voting, hurting poor
and minority communities most,
not to mention U.S. democracy.
Oregon, has sidestepped the
controversy –so far. But a group
See CRIME on page 3
INDEX
News ...................2,3,6
Opinion .....................4
A & E ......................5,8
Church ......................6
Bids/Classifieds ..........7
of activists, connected to the
right-wing Cascade Policy Insti-
tute and the Oregon Tea Party, is
trying to change that. The U-
Choose Education Forum has
issued a six-point criticism of
Oregon elections with sugges-
tions it calls, “improvements,” –
including requiring voter ID.
The move is the first step in a
campaign intended to persuade
Oregonians that the state’s elec-
tion system is rife with abuse.
Next step is a meeting, titled,
“When Does 1 and 1 make 3?”
“Learn about the wide-spread
possibilities of massive election
fraud and what you can do about
it!” runs the blurb on the group’s
website. The meeting is set for
6:30 - 9 p.m., Sept. 26 at 4101
Kruse Way, Lake Oswego.
“First we are surveying all
office holders and legislators in
the state and asking for their
comments,” said Chana Cox, a
retired Lewis and Clark profes-
sor and U-Choose group
founder. “We’d like to refine
these proposals so they can be
passed next session.”
Well, pigs might fly. But voter
ID is unlikely to get traction in
Oregon. Neither Kate Brown
nor her opponent in the Secre-
tary of State’s race, Knute
Buehler, are campaigning on the
issue. In fact, both candidates
have publicly rejected calls for
stricter voter ID, saying that
Oregon’s signature matching
system works as well as any
other identification.
“Every signature, on every
ballot is checked by highly
trained election staff,” Brown
said in a statement. “A bar code
See VOTER ID on page 7
Pot Could Be Tax Windfall, but Skeptics
Since no state has legalized marijuana for anything but medical
By Kristen Wyatt
and Jonathan J. Cooper
The Associated Press
DENVER (AP) — A catchy pro-marijua-
na jingle for Colorado voters considering
legalizing the drug goes like this: ``Jobs for
our people. Money for schools. Who could
ask for more?’’
It’s a bit more complicated than that in the
three states — Colorado, Oregon and Wash-
ington — that could become the first to
legalize marijuana this fall.
The debate over how much tax money
recreational marijuana laws could produce
is playing an outsize role in the campaigns
for and against legalization — and both
sides concede they’re not really sure what
would happen.
At one extreme, pro-pot campaigners say
it could prove a windfall for cash-strapped
states with new taxes on pot and reduced
criminal justice costs.
At the other, state government skeptics
warn legalization would lead to costly legal
battles and expensive new bureaucracies to
regulate marijuana.
In all three states asking voters to decide
See POT on page 3