A4
OPINION
Blue Mountain Eagle
Wednesday, May 27, 2020
Redistricting
and politics
O
regonians trust
politicians to make
decisions about what
taxes are collected, how taxes
are spent and policies that
shape lives. But should poli-
ticians be trusted with setting
up voting districts?
A proposed ballot measure
aims to take politicians out
of political redistricting. The
measure would create a citi-
zen commission to draw the
lines. Would it be more fair?
That’s unclear.
The new census will mean
Oregon’s congressional and
legislative districts will be
redrawn. In Oregon, the dis-
tricts are now redrawn by leg-
islators. That could be putting
the fox in charge of the hen-
house — at least that’s what
the groups supporting a cit-
izen commission argue. The
measure is backed by the
League of Women Voters of
Oregon, Oregon Common
Cause, the Independent Party
and The Taxpayer Association
of Oregon.
It would work like this: It
creates an independent, mul-
tipartisan commission of 12
Oregonians. They would hold
public meetings across the
state and draw up the bound-
aries in an open process. The
goal is for it to be done fairly,
respecting communities and
less manipulated by partisan-
ship or other politics.
The proposal takes sub-
stantial steps to keep politi-
cians out of it. People would
apply for the commission
spots. Basically, paid poli-
ticians couldn’t be chosen.
People who have recently run
for such offices couldn’t be
chosen. Neither could their
staff. Political consultants are
barred. An individual who
has given more than $2,700 a
year to any single candidate
couldn’t be chosen. There are
also requirements to limit the
members from the two largest
political parties and include
nonaffiliated voters. From the
pool of applicants, candidates
for the commission would be
winnowed by administrative
law judges and would even-
tually be chosen by lot. The
governor could remove some-
one from the commission, but
only with a two-thirds major-
ity vote of the Senate.
Gerrymandering began
before it was called gerry-
mandering, before the coun-
try’s independence. It’s the
idea of drawing a voting dis-
trict so it will get a certain
kind of candidate elected.
The name was immortalized
in a political cartoon satiriz-
ing a law signed by Massa-
chusetts Gov. Elbridge Gerry
in 1812. The law redrew state
Senate districts to ensure Ger-
ry’s party — Thomas Jeffer-
son’s Democratic-Republi-
cans — would be strong and
John Adams and Alexander
Hamilton’s Federalists would
be weak. It worked. One of
the districts looked a bit like
a salamander. Gerrymander
was born.
The U.S. Supreme Court
has been reluctant to decide
when partisanship goes too
far in gerrymandering. It
would require two things dif-
ficult for the courts: defining
what is fair and divining the
future. What’s a clear test for
fairness? There are many dif-
ferent ways to measure what’s
fair. Fair to whom? Fair to
what? As Chief Justice John
Roberts wrote, choosing one
“poses basic questions that
are political, not legal.” The
courts would also have to
look at a district and some-
how know that in the future
the outcomes it creates would
turn out to be unfair — by
some definition. It’s addition-
ally unclear that the found-
ers intended judges to decide
such things.
These days, leaning on
big data, political consul-
tants have more tools than
ever to draw up districts to
get an outcome they want.
Does Oregon need to change?
Oregonians could do noth-
ing. If legislators are mak-
ing the redistricting decisions,
they can be held accountable
by voters, though it would be
mostly after the districts are
drawn.
An independent redistrict-
ing commission creates a way
to try to minimize the influ-
ence of some politicians on
the process. Commissioners
will still have to make choices
about defining what is fair.
They will still have to guess if
sticking the lines in one place
will produce more “fair” out-
comes in the future. We don’t
know if the commission
would be more fair. It might.
It would, however, get more
Oregonians involved in mak-
ing important decisions about
how they are governed.
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GUEST COMMENT
National Military Appreciation Month is
a time to honor America’s many heroes
M
ay is National Military
Appreciation Month, since
1999 an annual opportu-
nity for Americans to honor veter-
ans and active-duty members of our
military services. But this month-
long observance takes on special
meaning in 2020, a year so dis-
rupted by COVID-19, because so
many men and women on the front
lines of this pandemic are also
active-duty military or veterans
now protecting us on a very differ-
ent kind of battlefield.
Perhaps thousands now serving
their nation so heroically as medi-
cal caregivers and first responders
honed their skills in military ser-
vice, sometimes under the stress of
combat conditions. Today they are
gallantly applying their compas-
sion and skills in a no-less stress-
ful battle against COVID-19.
Recent months have also seen
active-duty military called to assist
in the pandemic, for example the
physicians and nurses on military
hospital ships in New York City
and Los Angeles harbors, and the
soldiers who set up temporary hos-
pitals in stadiums, convention halls
and New York’s Central Park. In
my own state of Ohio, National
Guard troops helped communi-
ties deliver food, while others with
medical backgrounds stepped in to
care for the sick in an overwhelmed
federal prison. Other examples
abound.
As we use National Military
Appreciation Month to salute these
heroes — and indeed all the men
and women serving our country
today and veterans who served in
years past — we must not forget
thousands of veterans who continue
to struggle with service-related
injuries, including traumatic brain
injury (TBI) and Post Traumatic
Stress Disorder (PTSD), which is a
form of brain injury.
In fact, nearly
450,000 com-
bat veterans have
returned from
their tours of duty
in either Iraq or
Afghanistan with
Chrisanne
TBI sustained from
Gordon, MD
an improvised
explosive device blast, the explo-
sion of a rocket-propelled grenade
or the concussive force of heavy
artillery. All are struggling with a
potentially devastating, yet out-
wardly invisible consequence of
service to our nation.
Because these veterans had great
difficulty receiving medical assis-
tance for these wounds of war, I
founded the Resurrecting Lives
Foundation, a nonprofit organiza-
tion dedicated to seeing that combat
veterans with TBI receive expert
medical care, rehabilitation and
community support services they
need for a successful return to civil-
ian life. Our goal, put another way,
is to keep our former military ser-
vice members in “service” to their
families and communities by col-
laborating for their brain health.
As a rehabilitation physician
and as someone who has worked to
recover from a serious, though not
service-related, brain injury of my
own, I empathize with these injured
veterans and their families. Their
injuries are greater; their resources
are limited. But from my dual per-
spective of having treated TBI
patients while also having lived
firsthand with those dark days of
depression, I know just how chal-
lenging it can be to summon up the
motivation and courage to find a
new normal — to “turn the lights
back on” in a world grown dark.
This May, as we pause to honor
all who have worn America’s uni-
form, we as a nation cannot over-
look the “invisible” wounds of
war and must commit to providing
the best rehabilitative and psycho-
logical long-term support for our
injured service members, upon and
after their return.
If you or someone you know is a
veteran who is experiencing one or
more signs of traumatic brain injury
— headache, blurred vision, diffi-
culty with bright light, ringing in
the ears, excessive tiredness, mem-
ory loss or poor concentration —
seek medical help for yourself or
your loved one as early as possible.
The good news is that TBI is treat-
able and its symptoms are manage-
able with proper treatment.
National Military Appreciation
Month is our opportunity — one
I believe is an absolute obligation
— to honor past and present mem-
bers of the military. This year, it is
a particular occasion to salute those
past and present military mem-
bers who are serving us now in the
fight against COVID-19. But it is
also our responsibility to speak out
on the debt we owe to those who
returned home struggling to over-
come injuries sustained while serv-
ing us.
No one is more deserving of the
expert medical care, rehabilitation
services and community support
that are needed for their success-
ful return to civilian life. Those who
get involved in serving our returning
heroes, no matter how small a ges-
ture that work may be, will be a sav-
ing grace in the eyes of an injured
veteran. For those struggling with
TBI, you must be the light they are
searching for.
Dr. Chrisanne Gordon, author
of “Turn the Lights On!” is a physi-
cian who has personally struggled
to recover from a brain injury, an
experience that inspired her to cre-
ate the national Resurrecting Lives
Foundation to help military veterans
recover from TBI.
GUEST COMMENT
Answers to PPP and EIDL questions
M
any business owners have
applied for or received
funds from the Paycheck
Protection (PPP) and/or Economic
Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL). We
have received the following ques-
tions and want to share information
we hope will be helpful.
Q: I’ve applied for the EIDL or
the PPP and have heard nothing
back yet. What do I do?
A: You may call the customer
service line but be aware there
are long wait times. The number
is: 800-659-2955. For questions
regarding PPP applications you may
try contacting your lender. Unfortu-
nately, you may just have to wait as
there are tens of thousands of appli-
cations, limited staff and amounts
of money.
Q: I did not apply during the first
go-round of applications for the
EIDL. Can I apply now?
A: At this time the EIDL is accept-
ing applications only from agriculture
businesses. Keep monitoring the web-
site to see when (and if) they open it
up again to other businesses.
Q: I applied during the first
round of funding but did not hear
anything from SBA. Do I need to
reapply?
A: No. Existing applications will
be processed on a first come, first-
served basis.
Q: I’ve applied for the EIDL
and the loan amount I’ve received
requires collateral. I already have
assets mortgaged or with a UCC fil-
ing. Do I still qualify for the loan?
A: Yes, the SBA
will take a subordi-
nate position, and
if there is no collat-
eral available, bor-
rowers will not be
Greg Smith
denied the loan.
Q: I heard the
maximum EIDL loan has been
decreased. Is this true?
A: Yes, the most current infor-
mation we have is that the maxi-
mum loan amount for the EIDL has
been reduced to $150,000.
Q: I received no notification
from the EIDL regarding the loan
advance (grant), but the money just
showed up in my account. Is this
normal?
A: Yes. They are just depositing
the loan advance into your account
so monitor it frequently.
Q: I obtained a PPP loan and
want to hire back my employees.
However, they are collecting more
on unemployment and don’t want
to return.
A: Those collecting unemploy-
ment who turn down work stand a
strong chance of losing their ben-
efits except under certain circum-
stances. As long as you have doc-
umented their refusal to return to
work you should not be penalized
and can hire new employees to
meet the required 75% threshold
for loan forgiveness.
Q: I’ve not received either the
PPP or EIDL and am self-employed.
Can I apply for unemployment?
A: Yes. Under the new Pandemic
Unemployment Insurance Program
(PUA), those who are self-em-
ployed, are independent contrac-
tors, or “gig workers” can apply
for unemployment benefits. Visit
workinginoregon.org and click the
“Cares Act” link in the yellow ban-
ner at the top of the page to learn
about the program and to apply.
Q: What documentation does the
PUA require to apply?
A: You are not required to pro-
vide documentation at the time
of application but will complete
and sign a certification stating
the information you provided is
true and correct. However, in case
your application is reviewed, you
will need to have proof of your
income. This would include your
tax return, 1099’s, etc.
Q: As the economy opens,
where can I find information on
the guidelines required for my
business?
A: Visit https://govstatus.egov.
com/or-covid-19. It will provide
you all the latest information spe-
cific to your business.
We will continue to provide
business owners the most up to
date information we have and are
here to assist you.
Greg Smith is the director of
the Eastern Oregon University
Small Business Development Cen-
ter located at 1607 Gekeler Lane,
Room 148, in La Grande. For free,
confidential business advising, call
541-962-1532 or email
eousbdc@gmail.com.