Two Weeks to Go! Big Stakes in Primary Election.
Jon Isaacs
Last weekend at the 13th Annual Dinner for the Environment we took the time to recognize thirteen elected officials as the OLCV Environmental Champions of 2010. We recognized them in this special video presentation that tied their accomplishments of the past year with Oregon’s landmark environmental victories – strong laws that built Oregon’s reputation as a State on the cutting edge of environmental protection.
The reality is we focus so much of our energy on winning elections, we often forget to focus on the accomplishments of those we work to elect. Isn’t that why we work so hard to elect champions for the environment, the middle class or equal rights in the first place? We make calls, give money, knock doors and anything else we can to help the candidates we support win. We then expect that they will get to work in the Legislature or on county commissions and city councils to make Oregon a better place to live. If you don’t think elections matter just look at what our 2010 Champions accomplished in the last year alone.
With two weeks to go in the primary election OLCV is working hard to elect a new generation of progressive champions, and we urge you to volunteer for or donate to one of our endorsed candidates. Primaries and local races are often overlooked, but there is a lot at stake in this election.
For example, yesterday I sent an e-mail out to the OLCV supporter list urging folks to get involved with the Dick Schouten for Washington County Commissioner campaign. As I said in the e-mail, this race, more than any other, gives voters a choice between a true environmental champion, Dick Schouten, and Andy Duyck, who continually stands against environmental safeguards.
Schouten, who has scored 100 percent on all OLCV Scorecards as a Washington County Commissioner, can be counted on to protect Washington County's farms and forests from sprawl. He will also develop a broader range of transportation choices that reduce congestion for those who live in and visit the area.
On the other hand, take a look at the abysmal record of his opponent, Andy Duyck...
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In 2006, Andy was the only regional elected official to oppose the Metro Open Spaces bond that helped protect special places in Washington County like Cooper Mountain.
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Andy also supports an unbalanced management plan for the Tillamook Forest that puts timber interests above all others.
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Andy has voted against offering public transportation options to county employees (MO 05-307, August 16, 2005, passed 3-1).
This is one of the most important elections in Oregon not just in the primary, but in the entire 2010 election cycle!
If this race doesn’t get you motivated, there are plenty of other great candidates to choose from. You can help Bob Stacey, Will Rasmussen, Karol Collymore, Duke Shepard, Greg Mecklam, Pat Riggs-Henson, Jerry Rust or another one of our endorsed candidates. Whatever you do, don’t sit the next two weeks out because like all elections, this primary election matters.
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connect with blueoregon
12:49 p.m.
May 4, '10
Vote those who live in Washington County, District 2: Please cast your ballot for Greg Malinowski. Greg is endorsed by OLCV and The Sierra Club. He has an incredible breadth and depth of knowledge about the issues (especially land use and the workings of the county systems).
His website is here:
http://friendsformalinowski.com/
12:50 p.m.
May 4, '10
That should say.."For those who live in WaCo District 2..".
Sorry....
2:02 p.m.
May 4, '10
seriously: Betsy Johnson? who sat back, said nothing & then voted to kill the BPA ban in February? she gets your support because she does something else ok?
meanwhile, a 20-year record of fighting for the environment is not good enough to get Gerritt Rosenthal your support because ... i haven't figured that one out yet. OLCV used to be an organization i could trust & respect. now they confuse the hell out of me. endorsements of candidates the day after they file -- without any interviews?
you broke the bond of trust pushing political expediency. good luck fixing that one.
10:44 p.m.
May 4, '10
TA,
The Metolius River is now protected as an area of critical concern - official recognition as an iconic special place in our State. This absolutely would not have happened witouth Betsy Johnson's leadership and we were thrilled to give her the credit she deserved for this accomplishment.
While Senator Johnson has disappointed from time to time - and she certainly did on the BPA bill - she has been there for the environment far more often than not.
My experience has shown me that we accomplish far more by focusing on areas of agreement, giving credit where credit is due and working through disagreements to find common ground.
This approach is far more effective than attacking folks for the 5% - 10% of the time they don't agree with you. Those who choose to go this direction usually find themselves kicking and screaming because no one listens to them any longer.
6:36 a.m.
May 5, '10
Thank you for this post, Jon. One thing I would like to add is a shout out to Rep Tobias Read, without whose leadership we would not have a solar feed-in tariff pilot program among many others. That's pretty dang cool, too.
9:22 a.m.
May 5, '10
Also, dig a little deeper than OLCV endorsements. Much of the time they make the right decision but if we were to score them as they score elected officials performance on the environment, they'd fall a tad short of 100% (says the guy who lost their endorsement to someone who happily supports the mega-bridge).
9:34 a.m.
May 5, '10
Great post Jon! I continue to be impressed with the leadership role OLCV is taking. Your well-researched and thoughtful endorsements are very helpful to those of us outside of the political network. Keep up the great work!
1:52 p.m.
May 5, '10
As a resident of Beaverton, and having attended the candidates forum at Beaverton City Hall last night, my impressions are:
Yes, vote for Dick Schouten for WaCo chair. He emphasized that the state constitution calls for a mixed emphasis as regards state forests- not a pre-eminent role for timber. And he talked about efficiency refits of property and renewables as strategies for economic stimulus. And he talked about how even though an area is designated "urban reserve", it still should not be developed unless a strong case is made to do so.
I noticed OLCV does not have an endorsement for Beaverton City Council position 1. I recommend Ernie Conway for this- he best answered a question about Beaverton's plan for a walkable downtown- about how we have to find a way to deal with the mistakes- lack of planning- which have occurred here over the past half century. And, he's a bicycle commuter.
His opponent, Mr. King, seemed to be a credible and experienced candidate but was more vague and less visionary as regards walkable downtown- he pretty much said let's just see what comes from the visioning process.
As for Tobias Read for re-election as our state rep- what about his support of LNG? Sure, as of today it's been announced that the Bradwood Landing plan is dead- yes!- but the plan to build the Palomar Pipeline has not yet been stopped.
I heard Read a little while ago at Beaverton ibrary- when asked about LNG he was somewhat evasive- not specific- he merely used politician talk, such as "I believe natural gas should be a part of our future energy mix" (that might be an exact quote).
Trouble is, I'm not sure Tobias Read has a viable opponent in this race.
7:09 p.m.
May 5, '10
The OLCV endorsements always raise some eyebrows. I, for one, support Joelle Davis in her race for the house district covering Tualatin. She has the full support of her fellow City Councilors and continues to show her constiuents that she cares about their concerns regarding the environment.
9:01 a.m.
May 6, '10
With all due respect, it seems really out of touch to start the video with Lewis & Clark and pioneers 'exploring and settling' Oregon, as if the native American population of the region didn't already exist.
9:35 a.m.
May 6, '10
i didn't expect you to agree with me Jon. your goal is to win elections, which is fine. but OLCV has been trampling rather heavily on allies this primary season, something the organization seems oblivious about.
your rationalizations have great political merit but allow us to continue to take 1 step forward, 1 step backwards. hence OR's inability to upgrade the bottle bill sufficiently, inability to protect babies from poisons, inability to keep our rivers clean, inability to protect public lands properly. you may win elections, but we're not winning the bigger battle to save our state.