 |
  |
|
 |
||||||||||
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
||||||||||
|
Police
Review We join the ACLU, Citizens United for Better Policing, Eugene Police Commission, Whiteaker Community Council, Community Alliance of Lane County, Sexual Assault Support Services, and hundreds of citizens and elected officials in supporting Eugene Ballot Measure 20-106. Measure 20-106 is a modest, conservative attempt at police reform. The charter amendment would allow the Eugene City Council to hire an auditor and appoint a citizen board to provide independent, external reviews of complaints against police. The auditor/board would have no direct power — its recommendations on police discipline would be advisory only. Almost no one questions the need for an auditor/review board for the police, including the police chief. Recent police sex abuse scandals have made the need for oversight abundantly clear. Unable to argue against 20-106 on the merits, opponents have resorted to flimsy arguments about the city manager system and the cost of the program. Because the board/auditor is advisory only, the measure wouldn't undermine the power of the city manager. The council already appoints a municipal judge, so the measure wouldn't even set a precedent. The measure would save more money than it costs by reducing the risk of future lawsuits, rogue cops and erosion of citizen trust. The same opponents who argue that the measure is too costly would create a manager-controlled internal police review system that would cost the same, but be far less effective. Manager-controlled police review is what we had for years with Roger Magaña, the Eugene cop who sexually abused a dozen women over six years. Magaña's victims complained to at least six of his fellow officers, but the EPD failed to act. Another police officer, Juan Lara, plead guilty to a smaller sex crime spree. A manager-controlled review process would be more police policing themselves and wouldn't be trusted by citizens. After Magaña/Lara, the police promised to clean up their act. But they haven't come clean. The police chief promised a public investigation into Magaña-related wrongdoing by other officers but never did it. The department also balked at a consultant recommendation to prioritize resources to adequately supervise and discipline officers. The current internal review process remains mired in secrecy and citizen distrust. Although advisory only, the most valuable thing about the proposed external review board and auditor may be the light they will shed on police discipline. Without that light, the department won't be able to restore citizen trust. The police need that trust, but citizens need it, too. Cities with police who aren't trustworthy aren't safe. This measure is hardly radical. Hundreds of cities, many with city manager forms of government, have successfully adopted similar independent review processes. Some cities do it in response to chronic problems, other cities do it to prevent chronic problems. All do it with the recognition that effective policing requires community involvement and support. City managers come and go. Police chiefs come and go. Eugene needs a stabilizing, permanent method for dealing with police issues that don't seem to want to go away. Measure 20-106 is a modest first step towards police reform, but a very important one that everyone who cares about public safety should support. Please get your ballots in by Nov. 8.
Looking
Through the Glass Carmen Urbina is a community member, vice-chair of the Eugene Human Rights Commission, and a member of Whiteaker Community Council's Advisory Committee. She spoke about race, class and poverty at the Eugene rally — part of the National Mobilization Against the War in Iraq — Sept. 24. Below is the text of her comments. Buenas tardes a todos. Good afternoon to all of you.Thank you, Marion (Malcolm) and to all the folks involved in putting this rally together. I started thinking and talking to folks about this issue and what I found out are several things. People feel uncomfortable speaking about the war — in many respects.
I hear, "What war? We are not in a war. The war ended." It would seem so when in the U.S., in Oregon, in Lane County and in Eugene, our dead soldiers have been placed in the last pages of the newspaper, and of course, if we want to know what is happening to the Iraqi people and their casualties we have to go to foreign newspapers and media. But then I started talking to folks about poverty and race. Then we absolutely do not want to talk about it. It makes us uncomfortable. And then I started talking to folks about classism — and this is what I heard: "That only exists in those Third World countries." We are way too sophisticated to endorse classism. Well folks, please indulge me and take a mental journey with me. I will call it, "The Window." Through this window we are going to explore in the next minute or so the issues of poverty, race and Katrina. And let's start by quoting two people when they were asked about Katrina. The first one is Michael Brown, former FEMA director, when he found out he didn't have a job. He said, "I'm going to go home and walk my dog and hug my wife, and maybe get a good Mexican meal and stiff margarita and a full night's sleep." Good for him that he could go to such a wonderful place. Then we have former First Lady Barbara Bush commenting on the refugees in the astrodome: "What I'm hearing, which is sort of scary, is they all want to stay in Texas. Everyone is so overwhelmed by the hospitality. And so many of the people in the arena here, you know, were under-privileged anyway, so this is working very well for them," insinuating this was a step up, so it was OK. Now: Are you still looking through this window — are you with me? Through this window, let's start to look at the issues. We started seeing some images of white folks carrying food that were actually labeled, "survivors of Katrina carrying food." Then we saw images of African American folks carrying food, and suddenly that is called, "looting." Then we don't see images of Latinos at all, therefore that population is invisible. What's new? I ask you: What do we call that? Now, let's continue looking through this window: In the U.S., the richest country on Earth, we have New Orleans, and why is it looking like a Third World country? How can that be? We saw, through the disaster of Katrina, communities that were forgotten and invisible with substandard schools, dilapidated housing, inadequate health care, homelessness and hopelessness. We then suddenly started seeing and asking: Who are the poor? Then we see a nation that as a value system sees folks that live in poverty as being responsible for their own economic woes. And we judge it. We judge poverty as, "It's your fault." We judge. In that same judgment we are ignorant. We hear what our government and leadership wants us to hear with no critical thinking or questions. We hear that in the U.S., if you are poor, it is because you want to be. We hear of these amazing programs that will help the poor achieve the American dream — a great house, white picket fence, 2.5 children, summer vacations, two cars, etc. We hear about Social Security and Medicare. "Don't we have those programs to take care of the poor?" Well, reality is that during the last four decades those programs have been totally eliminated, and our elders, our seniors are suffering. We hear, "Food stamps feed all the hungry." Huh? Reality is that people are hungry and children are hungry. We find children hiding food and milk in the lunch room at the schools so they can have something to eat during the weekend. We have children that are hungry. We hear "Welfare reform took care of that poverty. Aren't they on welfare? Aren't they taken care of?" But reality is that the welfare reform came to punish the poor. Reality is that we find single moms struggling — working two to three jobs and trying to make ends meet with minimum wage jobs. We find single moms working several jobs, one to pay child care, one to barely pay rent and another one to barely survive. Now I am checking in with you. Where are we? Are we still looking through the window? Yes, or no? Or did I trick you all and we are now looking at a mirror? Well, I tricked you. We are looking at a mirror. I am sorry to tell you that we are here in Eugene looking at a mirror called poverty and classism in our backyard. Here in beautiful Eugene, Oregon. To end it, I will leave you with some numbers and a call for action. Childhood in America: One in five children is born poor. One in nine children is born to a teenage mother. One in 146 children will die before his first birthday. One in seven children will never graduate from high school. One in 13 children will be arrested before age 17. Now the challenge to action. Let's take back our America, for our communities! Let's call our community back and see the values that it has and challenge them. Let's look in our backyard at the homeless situation. Let's look in our backyards and look at our educational system — the lack of funding — and really see that our generation is letting "the powers that be" commit criminal activities against our children. Let's look at the lack of mental health services. Let's look at the violations of human rights that happen everyday in our community. Let's look at racism in our community. Let's take action and change it. Without fear.
The
Long and Dusty Trail When I started running for governor last January, I knew that a campaign would have to start early and run a long road to overtake the advantage of an incumbent whose campaign funding will result from catering to corporate wealth. I harbor no ill will, but I have issues with the governor and believe that an honest, principled, grass-roots campaign will motivate the vast numbers of individuals whose lives are not being served by special interest dominance. I urge Oregonians to amplify their power and stop to fight these unfair forces by joining the thousands of names on our email list who agree with my perspective on issues. We can be found at www.petesorenson.com
To run for governor, you've got to travel. With our crew of volunteer drivers, I have traveled the 308 miles of the I-5 corridor counties many times since January. I've logged many thousands of miles while talking and listening, presenting and learning. I've been from Newport to Ontario on U.S. 20; from Pacific time to Mountain time. I've recently traveled 1,300 miles to 10 cities in six days attending conferences, interviewing on radio and in newspapers; talking to community college presidents and personnel, teachers' groups and labor, Headstart directors and the leader of Oregon's Vietnam vets. As Cary, Wayne and Brian (the main volunteer drivers so far) drive, I'm constantly on the phone planning, coordinating and revising scheduled stops. I've stood with Tillamook cheese workers on strike on Highway 101, spoken at a Latino political gathering in north Portland, and talked to the Oregon Small Business Coalition. Wayne from Springfield drove me on the odyssey that ended in Ontario where I talked with local farmers about issues involving an ethanol plant. The governor had flown in and talked only to the people promoting and building the plant, and flew out. He had no time to deal with the people whose lives will be affected by the plant. While on the road, I meet interesting people. I met with the owners, management and staff (one family) at Hampton Station. It's a small place, only on one side of the road on Highway 20 between Bend and Burns. It is so incredibly satisfying to talk to such a diversity of Oregonians — real working people — in this beautiful state. The memories of that will last, no matter where the politics end. People ask all kinds of questions about the state. They ask what can we do about the war in Iraq, they ask whether cities and counties can control wildlife eating their gardens, they ask what the government can do to help improve the schools and health care, they ask about gangs and illegal drugs and they ask about jobs and the environment. In general, I find they ask what we can do to make things better for more people. One of the stories I tell is that Jennifer, my daughter, is working as a grocery clerk to help pay her way through LCC. I pointed out that Jennifer paid more in Oregon income taxes than two-thirds of the big corporations doing business in our state. In 1973, when I was a student at the UO, those same corporations paid 18 percent of the total share of state taxes. Today they pay 5 percent of the total. One of the things suffering most from that revenue loss is the very educational institutions that provide the corporations with the skilled people they need. We need to develop a fairer tax system and big corporations need to carry a fair share. It may not have to be 18 percent, but 5 percent is unconscionable in the face of our faltering institutions. The excuse for cutting corporate taxes is to attract new business. Oregon is now dead last, offering the lowest corporate taxes of all the 50 states. In our state, the last big businesses we attracted were Sony and Enron. Sony packed up and left despite low taxes, and the governor vetoed an effort to make bankrupt Enron a public utility answerable to the people. I want Oregon to have only the best in statecraft and leadership. I would truly appreciate the opportunity to serve her. I ask you to join me at www.petesorenson.com Let's make Oregon shine, not take a shiner! Peter Sorenson was a practicing lawyer in Eugene and a state senator. He's currently in his third term as a Lane County commissioner and is a Democratic candidate for governor.
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
 |
|||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||
