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About The Siuslaw news. (Florence, Lane County, Or.) 1960-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 27, 2018)
SIUSLAW NEWS | SATURDAY, OCTOBER 27, 2018 | 5A Opinion “I never considered a difference of opinion in politics, in religion, in philosophy, as cause for withdrawing from a friend.” —Thomas Jefferson (1800) donations coming to Republicans running in some of Oregon's state- wide and even national races. We have to ask ourselves: Who stands to benefit from this outside interference in our elections? Certainly not Oregonians. —Vicki Dunaway Florence What exactly is an ‘Independent’ vote? Sometime during the past week we received a flyer prepared from Art Robinson’s election committee, deliv- ered by the USPS. Not being a sup- porter of Robinson in the past, I sat down to read his accusation that Pe- ter DeFazio’s lawyers (Meek and Wil- liams) have co-opted Oregon citizens who are registered “Independent” (as am I). I thought “what an accusation?” Our ballot arrived this past week- end, also per USPS. Lo and behold, the Independents are rolled into De- Fazio’s vote. As an Independent, I am disturbed by this and plan to take my time thinking about where to place my vote. Whatever happened to “cogito ergo sum?” —Elenor Sullivan Florence Be realistic about school needs A question of ethics I have read the lengthy and infor- mative article in The Siuslaw News headed “Chaos in the community” (Oct. 24) I found it ironic and coinciden- tal that both Councilor Lacer and Councilor Greene, who are each sit- ting councilors, found it convenient at virtually the same time to advise candidate Geraldine Lucio that may- be the City Councilor position was “not for her." Ms. Lucio was hardly known by councilors Lacer and Greene, accord- ing to them, yet they found it was es- sential that they advise her to with- draw. To me, this sounds like partisan politics and bullying. What happened to helping someone younger and less experienced become more efficient in any endeavor when we have the opportunity? Additionally, voters have the right to cast a vote before the choice is ed- ited for them. My suggestion is to put this before the State of Oregon's Ethics Commit- tee and have them determine wheth- er either Councilor Lacer's email or Councilor Green's “heart to heart” with candidate Lucio violated Ore- gon’s Anti Bullying Law. —Pamela Richardson Florence How to achieve balance on city council I am told that Florence has always been liberal leaning. I looked up some party affiliations and it is true that Ron Preisler, Joshua Greene and Maureen Miltenberger (current can- didate) are all registered Democrats, and Joe Henry and Woody Wood- bury (current candidate) are regis- tered Republicans. Only Geraldine Lucio is registered as a non-affiliated voter. I have ob- served her as truly non-partisan in actions and words as have so many of her friends and customers in Flor- ence. Only in the past year or so have polarizing topics been mentioned or proposed to the Florence City Coun- cil such as: Designate Florence as a Sanctuary City; a hate-free zone; a gun-free zone; support of the May- ors’ climate agreement; etc. Let’s not fool ourselves that in these days there aren’t people on both sides pushing radical agendas. So, the perfect balance would be Joe and Woody on the right, Ron and Joshua on the left and Geraldine in the middle. I trust them all to vote for what is in the best interests of Florence. —Sherry Harvey Florence I know Florence is better than this I’m writing in support of Maureen Miltenberger who is running for a seat on the Florence City Council. She has the experience to work in this position from day one and previous- ly served on a city council in Canby, Ore. She has been serving as Chairper- son on the City of Florence Environ- mental Management and Advisory Committee (EMAC) and the Siuslaw Climate Alliance. She also organized the 2018 Earth Day Celebration in Old Town. She is a volunteer tutor in Adult Basic Education at Lane Communi- ty College in Florence. She has not been campaigning in a partisan way and will not. The city council posi- tions are non-partisan for a reason — so that people will do the work of the city they live in and work for the good of all citizens. Maureen has made every effort to be available for town halls so peo- ple could meet her. Most have been cancelled because the other two candidates could not, or would not, participate. One town hall was at the Florence Elks, where she could not participate because she was asked to pay to enter; she had already spent the limit for her campaign ($750) and could not legally spend any more. Come on people, we are better than this. Florence is better than this. —Nancy Rickard Florence Disapprove of intimdation tactics in election We are in support of Geraldine Lucio for City Council. As stated by many, we are shocked and dismayed on how this non-partisan election has become political. In addition, we disapprove of the apparent intimida- tion tactics used by current council members encouraging her to drop out of the race. I’ve never heard of one’s politics being a consideration in their elec- tion for city council. I think before people believe what they read about Geraldine, they should meet and talk with her directly. It is shameful for her to be expe- riencing this sort of hositility when she should be applauded for caring to make a difference in her community. She is a young, intelligent and suc- cessful business woman with a pos- itive vision for our future. She is a good listener and able to calmly con- sider all sides before formulating her decisions. We will be voting for her for the city council and allowing her to live up to the job for which she is capable. —Leo and Christine Duwell Florence Very disappointing The idea that two of the three can- didates for Florence City Councilor chose not to participate in City Club’s Open Forum is very disappointing. Neither Woody Woodbury nor Ger- aldine Lucio apparently thought it was important for the voting public to hear their views on any number of issues facing our city. As voting citizens, are we not enti- tled to as much information as pos- sible directly from the candidates themselves? The Open Forum is an example of direct democracy, some- thing perfectly suited to our small coastal community. I certainly appre- ciated the opportunity to hear what candidate Maureen Miltenberger be- lieves she can bring to our city coun- cil, but without the appearance of the other two candidates it will be very incomplete information when I fill out my ballot. There are a plethora of road signs telling Florence voters whom they should vote for, but they provide nothing to help the voter who wants information and do much to lure the uninformed with advertisements that are meant to make one believe that more signage equals a more qualified candidate for city council. The Siuslaw News has done its part as a neutral conduit for information about the candidates and election. But their reporting is not a substi- tute for the chance to hear from the candidates themselves and have them answer questions from the commu- nity. Again, what a disappointment. —Judith Preisler Florence Loose with the truth I am a retired state worker and re- cent Florence transplant. I have been following the current city council election and am concerned about some of the claims made by Maureen Miltenberger. People applying as candidates for city council sign a form, which states in part, “Supplying false information on this form may result in convic- tion of a felony with a fine of up to $125,000 and/or prison for up to 5 years.” (ORS 260.715). The application also states that, “All information provided by me on this form is true to the best of my knowledge.” Yet on two occasions, Ms. Milten- berger signed this affidavit knowing there were at least two willful misrep- resentations in her application. She stated on her application that she served from 1991-1994 on the Canby City Council. Based on a Se- attle Times article (Dec. 15, 1993), Ms. Miltenberger was recalled by the voters for failing to represent the in- terests of her constituents. Ms. Miltenberger failed to disclose her recall on two separate applica- tions for candidacy. I learned about the recall from her recent interview on Coast Radio and did some inquiry after that. Ms. Miltenberger also stated on two separate applications that part of her occupational background was as a social worker. During the radio interview, she stated that someone from the state told her it was ok to use the title “social worker” since she supervised social workers. Surely she is well aware of the state law regarding this title: According to the department of social work for the state of Oregon, Ms. Miltenberger has never been licensed as a social work- er in Oregon. The title “Social Work- er” is protected under Oregon Rules and Statutes (ORS 675.520). In or- der to represent yourself as a “Social Worker,” you must be licensed, certi- fied or registered with the Board as an LCSW, CSWA, LMSW or RBSW. The application is available for all to see on the city website. Can the city of Florence really afford to elect someone who has shown she will not represent the interests of her constit- uents and has a history of misrepre- sentation and outright falsehood? —Ruby Norris Florence Who stands to benefit? Thanks to the Siuslaw News for its informative article, “‘Chaos’ in the Community” (Oct. 24). It seems to have been fairly writ- ten, and I look forward to reading the second part. I hope in the next segment that Siuslaw News will keep its promise to address, in-depth, the story behind the external funding coming in for Geraldine Lucio’s cam- paign, as mentioned in the article: “Lucio has a strong conservative base, is financially backed by Repub- lican donors and, as the Siuslaw News has found, is receiving help from a conservative campaign manager and treasurer — both of whom live and operate outside the Siuslaw region. ” The article also states that Lucio has a press agent. Really? Doesn’t that seem a bit odd for a first-time candidate in a small- town election? There are several assertions in the article that the two council members who spoke to Lucio did so because they were partisans, and there is also the implication that Maureen Milten- berger is running as a partisan candi- date because she works with the local Democrats. Yet there is no reference to Lucio's association with Patriot Place, which appears to be a rather hyperpartisan group that I’ve heard (and perhaps can be verified or dispelled) is also funded — at least in part — by do- nations from outside our community. All of this is very troubling, espe- cially in light of known huge outside I would like to address the school bond issue 20-291 that appears on the November ballot. We are being asked to fund construction and im- provements to the school facilities in Florence in excess of over $100 mil- lion. I do not believe this request is re- alistic. I agree that we need to support proper facilities, safety and sound curriculum for all children. Howev- er, the complete redevelopment of the school properties is unnecessary. The school district needs to plan in terms of realistic needs rather than such extensive rebuilding at the expense of our community in exorbitant property taxes. Many of our families with children are low in- come. How will they stretch to pay more in taxes to support the suggest- ed needs in this bond issue? How will senior citizens support an inordinate increase in property taxes? Then there are other needs for public funds like the fire district, li- brary, ambulance, police, road repair, etc. If we incur the tax increase for schools, how will the rest of our community needs be met when they arise? I am a retired school teacher. I know from past experience there are school district expenditures that can be curtailed. Let’s be realistic about what needs to be done and what may be nice to have. Educating children goes way beyond having state-of-the-art facil- ities. What happens in classrooms makes the difference in the long run. I am going to vote wisely. —Ada Fowler Florence Over age 65 and supporting school bond measure I, like many other seniors, have moved to Florence from out of the area. My own children are grown and live elsewhere. However, I still see the importance of supporting our local school district. In fact, I am a member of the Florence Community PTA because I want to be part of making positive changes in our schools. The PTA is endorsing the Siuslaw School Bond Measure 20-291. All of our schools need to be upgraded to make them seismically safe. With re- gards to building a new high school, it will actually cost $3 million less to put a new high school than to remod- el the current building. There will also be a large savings in utility costs with energy-efficient systems. Larger classrooms and en- hanced technology will support the 21st-century instruction and career education our students need to suc- ceed in jobs and college. Why do I think supporting schools is important? I know that educat- ing children helps us all. Supporting schools is a sound investment in the future of our community. A vibrant school system attracts new business- es, as well as professionals. The doctors we so badly need here certainly want good educational op- portunities for their children. Make a choice to make a difference. Please support the schools and vote “Yes” for the Siuslaw School bond. It will benefit all of us. —Nora Kent Florence
