November 2007 newsletter
Polk County voters easily pass
Measure 49
Yes on 49 spokesman tells PCD
Wide Margin Suggests Bi-partisan
Support for Measure
An election night party at the Grand Theatre in downtown
Salem had Measure 49 supporters cheering and clapping. "Tears came to
my eyes as I saw the returns," said Salem resident, Cindy Kimball,
whose fear farmland would be lost forever in a blizzard of subdivisions
turned her into a Measure 49 activist. She joined 1000 Friends of
Oregon, Yes on 49 and others dedicated to addressing the unforeseen
results of Measure 37, the land-use ballot measure passed
overwhelmingly by voters in 2004.
M37 Confusion
Meant to bring fairness to victims of its provisions who
could not pass on their land nor develop it, Measure 37 lead to more
than 7,500 land use claims governing over 750,000 acres of farmland,
most affecting the mid-Willamette Valley, forcing state and local
government agencies to either waive stricter regulations or pay those
landowners now unable to develop. With no consensus on how best to
follow the law, and with pressure mounting to meet deadlines to either
"pay or waive' on claims, the bulk of which were
from large timber companies and developers, lawmakers held hearings. By
June they crafted Measure 49 which the Democratic-controlled
legislature passed. Aftr a failed legal attempt to overturn the ballot
measure as containing biased language, Measure 49 went before voters
November 4.
Polk County voters high turnout
Final figures won't be available until December,
according to Josh Balloch, Yes t 49 regional director. "By the sheer
margin of victory," he told the Democrat, a large percentage of Republicans had to have voted for this measure."
At the PCD monthly meeting November 8 Balloch reported
Democrats turned out in higher numbers than Republicans across most of
Polk County. Overall, voter turnout was just over 61%% in Polk County.
67.4% of Democrats voted and 65.0% of Republicans voted. Significantly,
non-affiliated voters had far lower turnout than either major party.
Democratic turnout in Polk was highest in the rural
precincts 118 and 152 and in East Dallas precinct 154. Overall
Democratic turnout in rural areas was about 4-5% higher than in most
urban areas. Dallas was actually an exception, with some of the highest
Democratic turnout in the county. In Monmouth, Democratic turnout was
fair, but Republican turnout was even lower. Figures Balloch had
indicated the worst Democratic turnout was in Independence. Even though
there are more Democrats than Republicans registered in Independence,
more of the Republicans voted. (see Polk County Clerk election results
below)
|
SUMMARY REPORT Special Election November 6, 2007 |
||
|
Polk County Clerk |
VOTES |
PERCENT |
|
PRECINCTS COUNTED (14 OF 14) |
100.00 |
|
|
REGISTERED VOTERS - TOTAL |
39,184 |
|
|
BALLOTS CAST - TOTAL |
24,045 |
|
|
VOTER TURNOUT - TOTAL |
61.36 |
|
|
Measure 49 VOTE |
||
|
Yes |
15,549 |
65.00 |
|
No |
8,374 |
35.00 |
|
Measure 50 VOTE |
||
|
Yes |
8,710 |
36.36 |
|
No |
15,246 |
63.64 |
1000 Friends of Oregon posted the results of its survey of counties passing Measure 49:
53% in Umatilla County
54% in Deschutes County
55% in Wheeler County
59% in Jefferson County
63% in Yamhill County
65% in Hood River County
Measure 49 passed in 22 of Oregon's 36 counties. Even
without the results in the five most urban counties - Multnomah,
Clackamas, Washington, Lane and Marion, 1000 Friends noted - Measure 49
still won.
"Vested Rights" the new issue
The Dept of Land Conservation and Development will send
a letter to all the claimants Dec. 6, Measure 49's effective date. It
will ask which path they wish to take for their claim: the "express
route", allowing for the immediate building of 3 homes, or
"conditional", allowing 4-10 homes if they have a loss of value
appraisal. A third route is to continue on their
M37 claim with certainty their claim has vested right. Those would
include those claims approved by state and county. But
where is the line drawn? How much do they need to spend and how much do
they need to have spent in order to have a vested right?
"The bill didn't make that clear," says Roger Kaye of
Friends of Marion County. It involves factors such as whether the
claimant acted in good faith, the proportion of development costs
spent, and whether or not the claim is irreversably comitted to the
original design. Any one claimant cannot have more than 20 parcels for
home development statewide.
That's a concern to Kaye. "I'm afraid that 4 months
after the letter goes out", he said, "we'll have 5 months of building
in place."
Vested Rights, Future of Land Use Law Topic of Dec. 12 lecture
Ralph Bloemers of the CRAG Law Center, (http://www.crag.org/) will speak
to Friends of Marion County about M37/M49, vesting and the future of
land use law in Oregon. The talk is scheduled for Wed., December 12,
7:00 PM, West Salem Library. The event is free and open to the public.
Come early for refreshments. Doors open at 6:30. For more information
contact: Roger Kaye rkaye@oregonVOS.net or visit http://www.friendsofmarion.org/
Monmouth Peace Vigils Going Strongby PCD Arnelle Hofer
Peace vigils are still going! We're still meeting in the
same place (Monmouth Main Street Park), and on the same day (every
Wednesday), but a little earlier: we now meet from 4:30 until 5:30.
Our vigils are a success in a lot of ways: we see
tremendous public support (up to 200 positive responses each time, a
total of almost 3000 since we started 6 months ago!) Also, Suzi and
Truman Price have been sending regular reports to Darlene Hooley and,
we believe, affecting her position concerning impeachment (at least she
is now accepting to put it on the table for discussion). Unfortunately,
with the beginning of winter, night falling earlier and cold damp
darkness, attendance has somewhat decreased...
We would love to have more people showing up. In fact, we need
more people to show up to publicly express their beliefs, and send a
call for action. It's been one full year since the Democratic Party
regained control of Congress, and we are no closer to bringing the
troops back home from Iraq. In fact, now there's rumblings about
attacking Iran... Time to speak up!
People can stop and stand with us for as little as 5
minutes or for a full hour. There is always someone, and we have extra
signs. Do bring extra layers, gloves, hats and mufflers etc. No
long-term commitment necessary. We love the company, conversation and
community!
Feel free to email me for more info --hopefully we'll see you there one of these days? Armelle.Hofer@oregonstate.edu
Norman Solomon, author
"War Made Easy",
to speak
November 17 in Salem
Norman Solomon, author of "War Made Easy" which was made
into a movie shown Sept. 13 at the Salem Progressive Film Series will
speak Nov. 17 at Salem Public Library's Anderson Room from 3-5 pm. The
event is free and open to the public.
Norman Soloman is a nationally syndicated columnist on
media and politics. He has been writing the weekly "Media Beat" column
since 1982 (www.normansoloman.com). Soloman is the founder and
Executive Director of the Institute for Public Accuracy, a national
consortium of policy researchers and analysts.
His books include"Target Iraq-What the News Media Didn't
Tell You" (2003), "War Made Easy-How Presidents and Pundits Keep
Spinning Us to Death" (2005), and his recent book "Made Love, Got
War-Close Encounters with America's Warfare State" (2007).
Soloman's op-ed articles have appeared in a wide range
of newspapers and he has been a guest on CNN more than a dozen times,
on CSPAN, PBS and MSNBC.
Norman will be touring Oregon and visiting Salem on
Saturday, November 17th at the Salem Public Library. The library is
located at 585 Liberty St. SE. From 3 to 5. FREE. This event is
sponsored by Oregon Peaceworks and Silveton People for Peace. He will
have books for sale and signing.
Attorney General Candidates Kroger and Macpherson to Debate at Marion County Democrats meeting 
Polk, Marion and Linn County Democrats invited to potluck before forum
Democrats from Marion, Polk and Linn Counties are
invited to the monthly Marion County Democratic Central Committee
meeting Nov. 19 for a potluck dinner followed by a debate between John
Kroger and Greg Macpherson, the two Democratic candidates running for
Oregon Attorney General. The meeting will be held at Salem Heights
Hall, corner Madrona and Liberty. The potluck is from 6:30 to 7:15.
Meeting business will follow from 7:15 to 8 pm., followed by the
candidate's forum.
About the Candidates
Greg Macpherson
Greg Macpherson is a three-term State Representative
from Oregon's House District 38. Born in Corvallis, and raised on a
dairy farm in rural Linn County, Greg is a third-generation Oregonian.
A Democrat, Greg was first elected to the Oregon House
of Representatives in 2002, and is currently Chair of the House
Judiciary Committee, which is responsible for legislation protecting
public safety, civil liberties, and consumer rights in Oregon. More at http://www.votemac.com/
John Kroger 
John Kroger is an award-winning criminal prosecutor and
law professor. He has devoted his entire life to public service as a
United States Marine, federal prosecutor, public policy expert, and
teacher.
Prosecuting criminals
As a federal prosecutor, John convicted 97% of the criminals he
charged, winning major cases against mafia killer Gregory Scarpa Jr.,
drug kingpin Juan "The Puma" Rodriguez, and hundreds of other drug
traffickers and corrupt government officials. John helped prosecute
crooked Enron executives and served on the emergency response team to
the 9/11 terrorist attack on the World Trade Center. More at http://www.johnkroger.com/
"Reel Bad Arabs" explores Movie Stereotypes 
Special Salem Progressive Film Series showing
Thursday, November 29th, 7 PM, doors open at 6:15
Grand Theater- 191 High Street NE (corner of court & high streets)
$5.00, students in free
Film: "Reel Bad Arabs"
Explores Hollywood's degrading images of Arabs from the
earliest days of Silent Films to today's blockbusters. From Bedouin
Bandits to gun wielding "terrorists", these images over time serve to
naturalize prejudicial attitudes towards Arabs and Arab Culture and
reinforces specific US Policies.
Special Guest Speaker:
Reese Erlich, a 30 year veteran journalist,
investigative reporter for NPR, ABC (Australia), CBC, as well as,
several newspapers. Reese co-authored the book "Target Iraq-What the
News Media Didn't Tell You" with Norman Soloman in 2005. He will be
touring Oregon.
His new book "The Iran Agenda-The Real Story of the US Policy and the Middle East Crisis" takes a look at this looming crisis.
Will the Bush Administration bomb Iran? Half the warships in the US Navy currently sit within striking distance of Iran.
"A vital read for anyone concerned about the US foreign policy"....Walter Cronkite. For more information go to: http://www.salemprogressivefilms.net
Make a Note: Calendar Events
Monmouth Peace Vigils - every Wednesday We're still meeting in
the same place (Monmouth Main Street Park), and on the same day (every
Wednesday), but a little earlier: we now meet from 4:30 until 5:30.
Contact Armelle Hofer: Armelle.Hofer@oregonstate.edu.
Nov. 17 "War Made Easy" author Normon Solomon lecture at Salem Public Library Anderson Room. 3-5 PM. Free.
Nov. 19 Marion County Dems Potluck and Debate
Bring a dish! Hear debatre between Democratic Attorney General
Candidates Greg Macpherson and John Kroger. Salem Heights Hall, Liberty
and Madrona, potluck from 6:30 -7:15, meeting until debate starts at 8
PM
Nov. 20 French Film Festival Western Oregon University will
host the last in its series of of French films as part of the third
annual Tournées Festival. Each film is free and open to the public, and
will be shown at 7 p.m. in room 211 of the Instructional Technology
Center. For more information on this film please contact film studies
and geography professor Shaun Huston at 503-838-8296 or
hustons@wou.edu.
Nov. 26 Global Migration and Education Teacher Conference 8:30
a.m. - 6:30 pm Columbia Room, Werner Center Western Oregon University.
A collaborative project from the WOU College of Education and the
Departments of Geography,Social Sciences, Sociology and Student's
Multi-Cultural Services. Plus the Salem-Keizer Public Schools and
Representatives of the Hispanic and Russian/Ukrainian Communities in
the area. More information: Dr.Patricio Ortiz (503) 838-8414 ortizp@wou.edu
Nov.29 "Reel Bad Arabs" Grand Theater, 191 High St.
(corner Court and High) Sponsored by the Salem Progressive Film Series.
Explores Hollywood's degrading images of Arabs from the earliest days
of Silent Films to today's blockbustersSpecial Guest Speaker:Reese
Erlich, a 30 year veteran journalist, investigative reporter for NPR,
ABC (Australia), CBC, as well as, several newspapers. Fee: $5.00
December 3 Holiday Party - 4th Quarter SCC Meeting
Dec. 12 - Vested Rights, Future of Land Use Law. Ralph Bloemers of the CRAG Law Center, (http://www.crag.org/)
will speak to Friends of Marion County about M37/M49, vesting and the
future of land use law in Oregon. The talk is scheduled for Wed.,
December 12, 7:00 PM, West Salem Library. The event is free and open to
the public. Come early for refreshments. Doors open at 6:30. For more
information contact: Roger Kaye rkaye@oregonVOS.net or visit http://www.friendsofmarion.org/
Dec. 13 Polk County Democratic Central Committee monthly meeting Time: 7-9 p.m. 6:30 pm refreshments Salem Electric, 633 7th St. NW, Salem
From Dallas/Rickreall: Head east on Hwy 22. Take the West Salem exit.
This will put you on Edgewater Street heading east. Four blocks past
the Safeway, turn left on Patterson. Continue six blocks. Turn right on
7th Street. Go one block to Murlark Ave. Take the left fork. Salem
Electric will be immediately on your left. Take your first left into
the main parking lot and proceed to the side patio entrance. From the
North or East: Take Wallace Road (aka Salem-Dayton Hwy 221) to the
intersection with 7th Street. Turn south onto 7th Street. Salem
Electric will be in the first block on your right. Proceed to the side
patio entrance. For questions/information: Email our Chairperson, Alan
Holland, or call him: 503-371-3920 or 503-551-0580 cell.
Dec. 13 Salem Progressive Film Series audits America's debt with "Maxed Out."
The Salem Progressive Film Series will present its monthly film and
community discussion event, featuring Maxed Out at Salem's Grand Theater
(191 N High St.) on Thursday, Dec 13th starting at 7:05 PM. More information at www.salemprogressivefilms.net