Posted in2020 election City Council

Here’s the Salem City Council candidates to vote for in May 2020

I've got my favorite City Council candidates. And I'm not shy about urging you to vote for them in the May 19, 2020 election. Today I made this online "lawn sign," leaving aside the fact there are no lawns in cyberspace. I also updated my Salem Can Do Better web page to reflect the newest thing people can do to improve our town: VOTE for Stapleton, Phillips, Oakes-Miller, and Nordyke. Check out the web page by clicking on the image below if you're not convinced, as I am, that these are the best candidates. On it I've got videos of each…
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Posted in2020 election City Council

Special interest money propels Reid Sund campaign to record contributions

Reid Sund is running against Vanessa Nordyke for the Ward 7 Salem City Council seat. His campaign apparently has set a record for contributions to a city council candidate: $46,847. But there's a lot of room for debate about whether this record deserves applause or boos, since $18,000 has come from special interest PACs: $10,500 from the Oregon Association of Realtor's PAC and $7,500 from the Mid-Valley Affordable Housing Coalition, which is the political arm of the Marion-Polk Homebuilder's Association. After all, PACs (Political Action Committees) carefully choose which politicians they support financially. In my opinion, it isn't so much…
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Posted in2020 election City Council

Crazy talk from Reid Sund and Jan Kailuweit about climate change

Two conservative Salem City Council candidates in the upcoming May 19 election have decidedly crazy ideas about idling cars and climate change.  Reid Sund (Ward 7) and Jan Kailuweit (Ward 1) are claiming that building a 3rd Bridge across the Willamette would be a big contributor to lowering greenhouse gas emissions in Salem. Yes, they say, it is one of the best solutions we have in our “tool kit” for fighting climate change. In this regard they have a lot in common with Donald Trump. They make stuff up that has no basis in fact and then they repeat it…
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Posted inCoronavirus

Survey shows Oregonians strongly support stay at home orders

Facts matter. And it's a fact that a recent DHM Research survey found that 82% of Oregonians support Governor Brown's Stay Home, Save Lives orders. Here's the graphic from the first survey release. You can read about the findings in this DHM Research PDF file.Download COVID Survey--Annotated--March 2020 Below is an excerpt from the report about the overwhelming support for stay at home orders, and how this undercuts the claim of right-wing activists that people want Oregon opened up for business as soon as possible. Oregonians overwhelmingly support the state’s stay at home orders. 82% of Oregonians support the state’s…
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Posted in2020 election City Council

Salem, be wary of Citizens for a Livable Community

A few days ago I wrote "Fascinating facts about contributions to Salem City Council candidates." The compilation of contributions that I shared had Citizens for a Livable Community as a major donor to each of the conservative candidates: Jan Kailuweit, Brad Nanke, Jose Gonzalez, and Reid Sund. That got me to wondering, "What the heck is Citizens for a Livable Community?" I'd never heard of the group before. So who are those citizens with such a concern for making our community livable? And why are they only contributing to conservative candidates? Well, the answers to those questions point to why Oregon has…
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Posted in2020 election City Council

Fascinating facts about contributions to Salem City Council candidates

As we approach the May 19, 2020 Oregon primary election, where each of the four Salem City Council races likely will be decided (candidate with more than 50% wins outright), I'm pleased to present a detailed look at the campaign finances of those races as of yesterday, April 15. Salem City Council: Kaser, Andersen, Nanke, Leung, Mayor Bennett, Ausec, Hoy, Nordyke, Lewis The images below, which I converted from a spreadsheet, come from a fellow political junkie who compiled the information from campaign finance reports on the state ORESTAR system. There's a lot to digest in the images. Here's some…
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Posted inCity of Salem Peter Fernandez Trees

Salem tree outrage: city officials slumber while chain saws thunder

It's an open secret that the folks at City Hall don't care much about protecting Salem's street trees. I've documented this over the years in numerous blog posts, the most notable one being "Outrage: the true story of Salem's U.S. Bank tree killings." Two of the U.S. Bank trees prior to their needless destruction  Peter Fernandez, the Public Works Director, was the city official who was most responsible in 2013 for the outrageous destruction of five healthy, beautiful, large downtown trees that weren't causing any problems.  But so far as I know, Fernandez didn't face any consequences for engaging in…
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Posted inDonald Trump National politics Oregon politics

Trump will have to pry Oregon’s stay-home order out of my cold, dead hands

Today President Trump's authoritarianism reached a peak when he said at the White House coronavirus briefing that his authority is total. This was in reference to his supposed ability to order states to relax their stay-at-home and physical distancing orders. “The president of the United States calls the shots,” he said at his evening news briefing. “They can’t do anything without the approval of the president of the United States.” Asked what provisions of the Constitution gave him the power to override the states if they wanted to remain closed, he said, “Numerous provisions,” without naming any. “When somebody’s the…
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Posted in2020 election City Council

These Salem City Council candidates deserve your vote

Yes, the coronavirus crisis is consuming our attention. That's understandable. But don't forget something important.Next month, May, there's an election for four City Council seats. And it's clear to me who you should vote for.The candidates who will move Salem forward to a brighter future. I'll have more to say about them as the May 19 election nears.For now, keep these names in mind. Because they're the most progressive candidates.Which is what Salem sorely needs in this trying time. Progress.  Click on a name to visit the candidate's web site. Virginia Stapleton (Ward 1) Trevor Phillips (Ward 3) Hollie Oakes-Miller…
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Posted inCity of Salem Coronavirus

Minto Brown dog park should be open during COVID-19 crisis

Woof, woof. That's the sound of our dog agreeing with the title of this blog post. For some unknown reason, parks in Salem are open, but the Minto Brown off-leash dog park is closed. I took this photo today at the entrance to the parking lot that serves the dog park. My wife and I, along with Mooka, our dog, were disappointed to see this barricade and sign saying "This Area is Closed Until Further Notice."  But it wasn't a total surprise, since I'd read this letter to the editor in the Sunday Statesman Journal. Closure of dog park disappointing…
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Posted inCoronavirus

Survey finds Oregonians anxious about coronavirus crisis

Today DHM Research released the results of an online survey of 507 Oregonians aged 18+.Download COVID Survey--Annotated--March 2020 Not surprisingly, it found that people are anxious about the coronavirus, worried about their financial situation, feel that things will get worse for at least another month, disapprove of how Trump is handling the federal response, and approve of how Governor Brown is handling the state response. But as you can read below in the summary of findings that I copied from the survey report, there's some surprises. Young people say they're more concerned about the coronavirus than people 65+. But maybe…
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