Posted inCity Council

Here’s a great message from Trevor Phillips, departing Ward 3 city councilor

Trevor Phillips, the Ward 3 Salem City Councilor, didn't run for re-election this year. Instead, he endorsed Nathan Soltz, a fellow progressive, who narrowly lost to Shane Matthews in the May election. On June 20 Phillips posted a message on Facebook about Matthews' win and a look back at what Phillips was proud of accomplishing during his time on the City Council, and what he regretted: the decision to impose a employee payroll tax on Salem workers to meet a budget shortfall.  I liked the message a lot. Honest. Nicely written. Substantive. You'll be missed on the City Council, Trevor.…
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Posted in2024 election Donald Trump Joe Biden

Why liberals have more to fear from the 2024 election than conservatives

Last Saturday my wife and I hosted the monthly meeting of a Salon discussion group that we've been part of for many years. Everybody in the group leans liberal, some more than others, naturally, because us liberals, like cats, are notoriously resistant to being herded. One thing that we all agreed on is that it's going to be tough to maintain a semblance of calm between now and the 2024 election this November. President Biden is roughly tied nationally with Donald Trump, but Trump has the edge in some of the all-important swing states. I tried to be as understanding…
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Posted inLand use Trees

Giant Sequoia in NE Salem at risk from developer’s tree variance request

The City of Salem is unduly proud about being awarded a Tree City USA designation, given that more than 3,400 cities have that title, which doesn't require very much: Become a Tree City USA Community Maintaining a tree board or department. Having a community tree ordinance. Spending at least $2 per capita on urban forestry. Celebrating Arbor Day. Where Salem has fallen short historically is the folks at City Hall not doing enough to protect street trees from being cut down for no good reason and allowing developers to remove trees that should be preserved. The most egregious example of…
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Posted inCity Council City of Salem Land use

Bush Park baseball stadium expansion moves forward with Parks Board vote

The Salem Reporter is doing a great job keeping our community informed about plans for improving the Willamette University baseball field at Bush Park, which would host summer games for a new Salem for-profit team that would join the West Coast League. Yesterday a story was published about a Thursday meeting of the Parks Advisory Board where the baseball project moved forward. Here's an excerpt from "City parks board advances plans for Spec Keene Stadium." Members of Salem’s Parks and Recreation Advisory Board on Thursday voted in support of an updated agreement with Willamette University advancing plans to use a…
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Posted inCity Council Land use

Expanded baseball field in Bush Park draws opposition and support

"If you build it they will come." Most people think this was a famous line in the movie Field of Dreams, as regards a baseball field, but actually the line was "If you build it he will come." One person, not lots.  Here in Salem, there's both a lot of anxiety and a lot of excitement over a proposed expansion of the Willamette University baseball field into Bush Park (yeah, its official name is Bush's Pasture Park, but few use it). Opponents worry that if the stadium is built, they will indeed come, causing noise, parking, and other problems for…
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Posted inDonald Trump

Trump would never write the message Eisenhower did in case D-Day failed

Today I heard MSNBC's Lawrence O'Donnell read the message that General Dwight Eisenhower, commander of the D-Day allied forces that invaded the beaches of Normandy in France on June 6, 1944, wrote the day before the invasion -- to be shared if D-Day failed. (Eisenhower wrote the date as July 5, rather than June 5. Hey, the guy had a lot on his mind. His writing isn't highly legible, so I've shared the text below the image.) "Our landings in the Cherbourg-Havre area have failed to gain a satisfactory foothold and I have withdrawn the troops. My decision to attack…
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Posted in2024 election Donald Trump

Donald Trump is a convicted felon. I’m so happy.

Yesterday I was putting my socks and shoes on after an acupuncture treatment when the acupuncturist, who either knew my political leaning or made a good guess, stuck her head in the door and said, "Trump has been convicted on all 34 counts!"  I said, "Thanks so much for telling me. You've made my day." Also, my week, my month, and if that well-deserved felony conviction ends up helping Biden to beat Trump this November, my entire year. Lifetime, even, because if Trump is elected, I fear that our beloved democracy is in mortal danger. A day later, I'm still…
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Posted inInternational issues

Salem City Council approves even-handed resolution on crisis in Gaza

Way to go, Salem City Council. You did the right thing in your meeting last night, passing a resolution on a 5-4 vote that calls for an immediate and permanent ceasefire in Gaza, along with calls for no more U.S. offensive aid to Israel until a ceasefire occurs, unrestricted humanitarian aid for the people of Gaza, the release of all hostages and detainees, a two-state solution where Palestinians and Israelis live in peace, and condemnation of antisemitism, anti-Palestinian anti-Arab bigotry, and Islamophobia. The full resolution can be read here. I've also copied it in below. I wish the resolution had…
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Posted inCity Council International issues

Salem City Council to consider Gaza ceasefire resolution. Hope it passes.

Next Tuesday, May 28, the Salem City Council will consider adoption of a resolution drafted by the city's Human Rights Commission regarding the Israel-Hamas war. It calls for: An immediate and permanent ceasefire, an end to the hostilities, the free flow of humanitarian aid and the release of all civilian hostages. Hard to see how any member of the City Council could object to that, though I bet some will (Mayor-elect Julie Hoy, for one). The only viable argument against the resolution that I can come up with is that Israel should be able to continue going after Hamas fighters…
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Posted in2024 election Donald Trump

Here’s 241 scary words about what another Trump presidency would be like

I've read lots of TIME magazine cover stories. None has scared me as much as the May 27, 2024 issue, which featured "If He Wins" by Eric Cortellessa. The "he" is Donald Trump. Though the cover story is lengthy, at the beginning of it Cortellessa summed up the main things he learned Trump plans to do if he was elected to a second term as president this November. Here's those scary 241 words. How any patriotic American could vote for Trump after reading them baffles me. Everything that Trump wants to do is either illegal, morally wrong, or ethically dubious. …
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Posted in2024 election Chris Hoy City Council

Looks like Chris Hoy has lost to Julie Hoy in Salem Mayor race

The initial results are in for today's primary election in Oregon. Final results will take a while, since mail-in ballots are counted so long as they're postmarked on or before election day. "Primary" doesn't apply to Salem mayor and city council races if a candidate gets 50% of the vote plus one, because then they win outright and are unopposed in the November general election. So it sure looks like Julie Hoy will be the next Mayor of Salem. This is the combined initial result for Marion and Polk counties. Not a huge surprise. Julie Hoy outspent Chris Hoy by…
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Posted inInternational issues

Two well-researched stories show how badly Israel is treating Palestinians

I've said it before, I'm saying it again, and I'll keep on saying it because it is absolutely true: Israel has been treating Palestinians in its occupied territory extremely badly, allowing Jewish right-wing zealots and the military to murder Palestinians, take their property, and deny them equal treatment under the law. So while some of the pro-Palestinian protesters on college campuses have gone too far in criticizing Israel, on the whole they've been doing a great service by drawing attention to the infuriating policies of the Netanyahu government, which have gotten more extreme in recent years, yet are a continuation…
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Posted inOregon politics

Corporatization of Oregon health care is a big problem

It's obvious that the health care system here in the United States has major problems. As is heard so often, we spend much more per capita than other comparable countries, but have poorer health. Since I worked in this state as a health planner and policy analyst way back when (1970s and 1980s), I like to joke that I must have done a great job, since now our health care system is problem-free. Of course, the unfunny reality is that the same cost, access, and quality of care problems then are with us now. Plus some. Such as the corporatization…
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Posted inCity of Salem

Salem residents appear to favor a progressive income tax to pay for city services

Thanks to a May 7 story in the Salem Reporter, I learned about the results of a survey that asked 400 Salem residents how they felt about various issues associated with the push to find a way to raise money to pay for City of Salem budget shortfalls.  Here's a PDF file of the survey results.Download City of Salem Funding Survey I scrolled through the results, looking for the issue that seemed most important if city officials are going to succeed in convincing citizens that this (whatever it is) is the best approach to bridge the gap between the services…
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Posted in2024 election

Here’s the local candidates to vote for in the May 2024 election

Salem residents, I urge you to do two things: (1) Cast your ballot in the May 21 Primary Election. Be sure it's postmarked on or before election day, or placed in an official collection box. Postage is paid for.(2) Vote for these local candidates for Mayor and City Council.  Check out their web sites if you want more information about the candidates. Just click on a name. Chris HoyPaul TiganNathan SoltzIrvin BrownVanessa Nordyke
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Posted inInternational issues

Willamette University students protesting Gaza war deserve much praise

Here's my message to the Willamette University students who are occupying a campus building in protest of the horrific death and destruction being inflicted on the people of Gaza by Israel: Like so many student protests of the past, including those I took part in during my own college days (1966-71) in opposition to the Vietnam War, at first many will criticize you as misguided rabble-rousers. Then, with time, history will show that you were right and your critics were wrong. What are you right about? Many things. How Israel is killing tens of thousands of innocent Gaza civilians needlessly.…
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Posted in2024 election Chris Hoy City of Salem

All I know is that a Hoy won the Mayoral Debate

Last Tuesday the Salem Reporter and Salem City Club held a debate between the two candidates for Mayor. One thing is clear: Hoy won. I can say that with complete confidence because the candidates were incumbent Mayor Chris Hoy and his unrelated opponent, Councilor Julie Hoy.  Given Chris' much longer political experience, and his incumbency, I figured that he would dominate the debate. But though I think Chris was sharper and more on point with his answers to questions posed by people from the sponsoring organizations, which earned him a win in my utterly personal opinion, Julie performed better than…
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Posted in2024 election Chris Hoy

Realtors and homebuilders love Julie Hoy for Mayor, not Chris Hoy

There's an almost foolproof way to tell which candidate for Mayor or City Council here in Salem is the most conservative. Check out ORESTAR, Oregon's campaign finance reporting system that's part of the Secretary of State office, and see who is getting contributions from realtor and homebuilder organizations. Whoever they're supporting, that's the conservative candidate. On Facebook this image is being shared by people who favor incumbent Mayor Chris Hoy, a progressive, over his opponent in the May election, Julie Hoy (no relation). Now, being a progressive myself, my sympathies are with the Chris Hoy backers. There's nothing wrong with…
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Posted inInternational issues

Criticizing Israel isn’t anti-semitic. Supporting Palestinians isn’t pro-Hamas.

I can't stand how so many politicians and political observers are calling the demonstrations in support of Palestinians on college campuses "pro-Hamas." That's utterly wrong. It's equally wrong to call criticism of how Israel has been conducting its war in Gaza "anti-semitic."  Back in my college days, I took part in protests against the Vietnam War. The response from conservatives back then was Love it or leave it. Meaning, either love the United States Vietnam War policy, or leave this country. It turned out that we protesters have been vindicated by history. The Vietnam War was pursued under false pretenses…
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Posted in2024 election Chris Hoy

Chris Hoy deserves to be re-elected as Salem Mayor

Ballots for the May 21, 2024 primary election will be mailed on May 1. So it's time to start thinking about who to vote for. Keep in mind that when it comes to local races -- such as Salem mayor and city councilors -- usually the "primary" ends up being the actual election, since a candidate who gets 50% plus at least one additional vote in the primary won't face an opponent in the November general election. There are only two candidates for mayor: Incumbent Chris Hoy, shown above, and Julie Hoy, a city councilor who is unrelated to Chris.…
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