Posted inStatesman Journal

No opinion section in Statesman Journal getting more irritating

Wow, while eating breakfast today here in Salem, Oregon it was so great to use my iPad to read the opinion section of a local newspaper. I enjoyed seeing an editorial about a local controversy, along with intelligent commentary on the recent horrible killing of 19 elementary school children and two teachers in Uvalde, Texas. There were columns by nationally syndicated writers, both progressive and conservative. And the letters to the editor showed me how ordinary people are viewing various important issues. Only problem was, I was reading the Portland Oregonian (which arguably is "local," especially compared to the New…
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Posted inCity Council Cycling

Why are progressives on Salem City Council so uninterested in protected bike lanes?

I'm a confused progressive. Along with many others, I've spent a lot of time, money, and energy working to get progressives elected to the Salem City Council. Now they have a 7-2 majority on the council. I put councilors Virginia Stapleton, Tom Andersen, Trevor Phillips, Jackie Leung, Chris Hoy, Vanessa Nordyke, and Micki Varney in the progressive camp, with Mayor Chuck Bennett and Jose Gonzalez in the conservative camp. So it's perplexing why the highly appealing Salem Bike Vision proposal to build a network of protected bike lanes in Salem appears to be getting such little love from the progressives…
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Posted inChuck Bennett City Council

Mayor and city staff try to keep Salem from having protected bike lanes

Given how pleasurable and safe it is for all ages to ride a bicycle on protected bike lanes, rather than dangerous white lines painted on the side of busy streets, it was irritating to watch a video of last night's City Council meeting and see Mayor Bennett, along with city staff, do their best to shoot down the popular proposal put forward by Salem Bike Vision.  One way among several to create a protected bike lane Councilor Virginia Stapleton handled the falsehoods with more patience and calm than I would have been capable of. Stapleton is taking the lead in…
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Posted inCity Council Cycling

Tell the Salem City Council you want protected bike lanes

While it is unclear whether the Salem City Council will be deciding tonight, May 23, on what to include in a $300 million bond measure to be voted on by citizens in the November election, it still would be a good idea to urge them ASAP (before 5 pm today, if possible) to include $15 million for protected bike lanes in the measure. Email your testimony to cityrecorder@cityofsalem.net Say you heartily support the proposal to use existing infrastructure to create the protected bike lanes, and want to see money for this in the bond measure. I described the proposal by…
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Posted in2022 election

Local election results look positive for progressives

Election night results always change in Oregon, even with vote by mail. This year they likely will change to a greater degree, since for the first time ballots postmarked today will count if they're received within a week. That said, it's no fun to be cautious and say, "Let's wait until all the votes are in." Instead I say, "Let's look at the results as they are now!" Assuming those results hold up -- again, a big assumption -- progressives like me should be pleased with how things are looking in local races.  Chris Hoy leads in the race for Salem…
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Posted in2022 election

Big bucks flowing to conservatives in mayor and city council races

Today the Statesman Journal had a story about spending on the races for mayor and four city council seats in next Tuesday's primary election (which usually determines the winner in those contests, since a candidate getting 50% of the vote plus one more vote wins outright and avoids the November election). The title of the story by Whitney Woodworth shows its primary focus: where the $375,000 came from. But equally important is where the money went. There are four contested Salem races on the ballot -- mayor and three of the four even-numbered city council seats up for election (Ward…
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Posted inNational politics

Hating Russia, I now better understand why so many hate the United States

Before Putin invaded Ukraine, my attitude toward Russia was one of rather detached disinterest. I knew that Russia wasn't our friend, Trump had some sort of fatal attraction toward the country, Putin was an authoritarian who killed dissidents/journalists he didn't like, and it had a lot of oil and gas. But in no way did I hate Russia. Now I do.  Not the Russian people. Just that portion of the Russian populace responsible for carrying out the invasion of Ukraine. Vladimir Putin. The oligarchs who support him. The Russian military. Anyone else in Russia who knows about the horrendous war…
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Posted in2022 election Tom Andersen

Claudia Howells text unfairly smears Tom Andersen in HD 19 race

It's getting close to the Oregon primary election day, May 17. Per usual, the nastiness is ramping up in campaign attack ads.  Here's an example. Today I learned the identity of the person who's been sending text messages wrongly accusing Tom Andersen, the Salem city councilor running in the Democratic primary for House District 19 against Brad Witt, of being weak on abortion rights. It didn't take much sleuthing, since Claudia Howells identified herself in the text message. Howells' husband, Bradd Swank, lost badly to Andersen in a 2014 City Council race, so this raises the question of whether retribution…
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Posted in2022 election

Why Paige Clarkson is unfit to be the Marion County District Attorney

A recent mailer I got from Friends of Paige Clarkson, who is running to be the Marion County District Attorney, shows why voters should cast their ballot for Spencer Todd, her opponent.  It's disgusting. Todd is a public defender. But apparently Clarkson doesn't understand that in the United States everyone is entitled to an attorney who defends them in court, because the front page of her mailer says this: And who is the company Spencer Todd keeps? Why, defense attorneys! OMG! The horror! A public defender has friends who are defense attorneys.  (Note: if you're a spelling geek, another reason not…
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Posted in2022 election National politics

If we make the mistake Zelensky did, we’ll lose our democracy

I'm a huge fan of Volodymyr Zelensky and the Ukrainian people. They've fought against Russia's unprovoked invasion of Ukraine with amazing skill, valor, and determination.  Zelensky Since the war began on February 24, Zelensky has led his country almost perfectly. He inspires both Ukrainians and the entire freedom-loving world with his words and actions. And yet... A special report in the May 9 issue of TIME magazine, "Inside Zelensky's World," describes how close a bad decision by Zelensky came to imperiling Ukraine in the first few days of the war. The error was ignoring the obvious evidence that Russia was…
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Posted in2022 election National politics

Once abortion is illegal, gay marriage and contraception could follow

Unless you're living in a news desert where word of the leaked Supreme Court draft opinion overturning abortion rights hasn't reached yet, likely you're either outraged or ecstatic -- depending on how you view abortion.  Me, I'm in the outraged camp. I strongly favor a woman's right to choose what medical care she gets. That leads me to be upset at what anti-abortion zealots and their enablers in the Republican Party have wrought: the imminent doing-away of a constitutional right to an abortion that has been the law of the land since 1973, almost 50 years. Even worse, there's good…
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