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 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 in2020 election Coronavirus Donald Trump

Trump wants people to die so he can be re-elected

I can't believe how many times I've said, "Trump can't do anything worse than what he did today." But he does. And today was the latest example of appalling worstness. During the daily White House coronavirus briefing, where Trump hogs the microphone while other officials cower in the background, doing their best to keep a poker face as Trump rambles on semi-coherently, our Idiot-in-Chief announced that he wants to make saving lives a distant second priority to resuming business as usual by the end of March. Why? Well, because he doesn't want the country to be in a recession, or…
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Posted in2020 election Donald Trump

Progressive policies will win the war against COVID-19

Have you tried to buy toilet paper? Good luck with that. There isn't any available. Here in Salem, Oregon, a friend reported there's none at Costco today. The shelves were bare at several grocery stores I went to this week. Amazon has none, aside from a bunch of ripoffs trying to get people to buy masqueraded paper towels with a cautionary notice: "Don't worry if this product doesn't fit on your usual toilet paper dispenser." Of course it won't! It's a freaking paper towel! That's the free market at work. Or rather, not working.  Sure, because of the COVID-19 pandemic, these…
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Posted in2020 election Chamber of Commerce City Council

Salem Chamber of Commerce apparently trying to hide $25,000 in PAC money

In tonight's blog post I planned to focus on the curious case of Brad Nanke suddenly deciding that he wanted to run again to be the Ward 3 city councilor, even though back in September of last year he told the Statesman Journal that he wouldn't seek reelection in 2020.  Salem City Councilor Brad Nanke will not seek reelection in 2020, planning to cap a nearly two-decade run representing southeast Salem after his term concludes. Nanke, in his fifth term on the council, has more than a year left to influence policy: His current term ends Dec. 31, 2020. "Five is enough," he told…
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Posted in2020 election Oregon politics

Make Oregon Republicans pay for their anti-democracy walkout

Four days ago I titled a blog post, "It's a make-or-break week for democracy in Oregon." Well, today we learned that Democrats in the state legislature stood firm in defense of democracy, while the Republicans who walked out basically said screw you, democracy.  Oregonians need to remember this in the upcoming November election. Democrats care about democracy. Republicans don't. It's that simple. Vote accordingly on the local, state, and national level.  The only bright spot in the legislature being forced to close up shop because of the Republican walkout, which was a taxpayer-funded vacation for them, was how Democratic leaders…
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Posted in2020 election National politics

Joe Biden’s comeback makes my progressive heart happy

All through the already seemingly endless Democratic presidential primary process I've been thinking, "Geez. Joe Biden is a boring old white guy who doesn't excite me. I much prefer... [fill in Kamala Harris, Amy Klobuchar, Elizabeth Warren, or Pete Buttigieg]. But what a difference South Carolina and Super Tuesday made. I'm now totally on board with Biden being the Democrat who takes on Trump. I watched his surprisingly large victory in South Carolina and over-performance in yesterday's Super Tuesday contests with joy. Because Bernie Sanders makes my heart worried, while Biden's comeback makes it happy. All that counts, really, is…
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Posted in2020 election National politics

Please, Democrats, no purity tests for the presidential candidates

Let's make this the overarching mantra for Democrats until Donald Trump is defeated in the November 2020 presidential election: No Dem candidate is perfect, but all of them are hugely better than Trump. Which means, ditch any thought of a purity test for the candidates still in the hunt for the Democratic nomination. I was reminded of this oh-so-important adage when I came across a piece in The Atlantic, "Bloomberg Flunks the Wokeness Test."  Right on subtitle: Stop-and-frisk was awful. But to disqualify the former New York mayor from the presidency on that basis is to risk something more destructive:…
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Posted in2020 election National politics

Here’s what worries me about Bernie Sanders

Until the November election is over, I'm going to be in a perpetual state of political anxiety. Dumping Trump is super-important for lots of reasons, preserving our democracy from authoritarian rule being high on the list. So obviously it's vital that the Democrats nominate someone who is well suited to defeat Trump. And that means winning the Electoral College, not just running up the score in the popular vote, because we saw how that worked for Hillary Clinton in the 2016 presidential election.  In short, not well. Which is why I worry most about Bernie Sanders being the Democratic candidate.…
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Posted in2020 election Donald Trump

Here’s what really scares me about Donald Trump

As I said a few days ago, progressives like me are going through an anxious period. There's no obvious Democratic presidential candidate who seems fully up to the job of beating Trump in the November 2020 election.  Meanwhile, polls show that Trump has managed to hold on to his base of support, and maybe even has expanded it a bit. This befuddles people, again, like me, who wonder what 44% or so of the country sees in a guy who is so obviously immoral, a habitual liar, and mean. A book I just finished re-reading gave me a new perspective on…
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Posted in2020 election City Council National politics

Anxiety among progressives is real. Here’s how I’m coping.

Don't get me wrong. It's always a good time to be a progressive leftie. But at the moment I'm not feeling much pleasurable buzz from being on the right, or better put, wisest, way of looking at the political world. Let's count some of the reasons. (1) Trump is emboldened following his impeachment acquittal. He's shown no sign of repentance for trying to get Ukraine to interfere in the 2020 election. Aside from Senator Romney, congressional Republicans are kissing Trump's ass with disgusting relish. (2) The Iowa caucuses were a disaster. The messed-up tally of results makes Democrats look incompetent.…
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Posted in2020 election City Council Homeless

Great idea to deal with Salem’s homeless problem

A few days ago Susannn Kaltwasser asked an excellent question on a Facebook page where Salem City Council issues are discussed.  Kaltwasser is correct. An October 2019 survey of Salem residents found that after being asked an open-ended question, 41% said that homelessness and poverty were their top concerns. Crime and drugs were mentioned by only 4%. Here's a screenshot from the survey report, So it's perplexing that City officials want all of a proposed employee-paid payroll tax that will be on the May 2020 ballot to go to public safety. Here's a information sheet about the payroll tax and operations fee…
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Posted in2020 election City Council Homeless

Homelessness is a lot like climate change. Local action isn’t nearly enough.

Watching how city staff and the City Council are trying to deal with Salem's homeless problem reminds me of a 60 Minutes story I saw recently about Venice's flooding problem. The periodic floods of Venice have become more threatening and more frequent. This past November, a sudden storm surge overwhelmed nearly 90% of the city. Climate scientists say what happened that night exactly two months ago in Venice is a warning to the world of what's to come – and not just in Venice. Climate change is raising sea levels. Venice is being inundated with water to a greater extent…
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Posted in2020 election National politics

Warren was wrong about the Buttigieg wine cave event

Watching last Thursday's Democratic presidential debate, I was irritated by Elizabeth Warren's attack on Pete Buttigieg for having a fundraiser in a wine cave that featured a $900 bottle of wine. It drives me crazy when Democrats expect absolute purity from their candidates, since Republicans, by contrast, tend to be pragmatists who do whatever it takes to win an election. Buttigieg made this point after Warren attacked him, correctly pointing out that if Warren -- who is a millionaire herself -- donated $2,800 to his campaign, he certainly wouldn't be expected to do her bidding from that point on. He'd…
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Posted in2020 election Cara Kaser City Council

Cara Kaser won’t seek reelection to her Ward 1 City Council seat

Big breaking local political news today from the Salem Reporter's Troy Brynelson: "Kaser won't seek second term on Salem City Council." Citing major changes with both her family and her career, Councilor Cara Kaser told Salem Reporter on Saturday morning she won’t seek a second term as one of the city’s nine policymakers. Her term expires Dec. 31, 2020. “Serving my community these past three years as a city councilor has been both one of the most important duties I have ever taken on and one of the most important honors I have ever been afforded,” she said. “Additionally, it…
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Posted in2020 election Donald Trump National politics

Indivisible scorecard ranks Elizabeth Warren #1

Great idea, Indivisible folks. You've fashioned a clear, easy to understand, transparent scorecard for the Democratic presidential contenders that rates them on three criteria: Policy Platform: Indivisibles want a candidate who is committed to enacting bold, popular, progressive policies across a range of areas, including immigration, climate, economic justice, health care, and other critical policy areas. Day-One Democracy Agenda: None of the policy reforms we want to see in 2021 are possible without a democracy that responds to the people. Indivisibles want a candidate who is committed first and foremost to ambitious reforms to save our democracy. Building Grassroots Power: Indivisibles know that…
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Posted in2020 election City Council

Sleaze warning: Reid Sund hires Chuck Adams in Ward 7 race

Watch out, residents of south Salem's Ward 7. A tsunami of sleaze could be coming your way as the City Council race between Vanessa Nordyke and Reid Sund heats up between now and the May 2020 primary election. Chuck Adams I say this because Sund's campaign finance reporting indicates that Chuck Adams' firm, New Media Northwest, is working for the Friends of Reid Sund committee. As you can see in this screenshot, there's a cozy (and rather incestuous) relationship between New Media Northwest and Friends of Reid Sund. In the sample of transactions below, New Media Northwest made $1,135 worth…
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Posted in2020 election Donald Trump National politics

In 300 words, Katyal makes a great argument for Trump’s impeachment

Today I started reading Neal Katyal's compelling little book, Impeach: The Case Against Donald Trump. Katyal has personally argued thirty-nine Supreme Court cases. He's a law professor at Georgetown University. He's taught an impeachment course there twenty times. And he's an excellent writer. Below is how his book starts out. In a bit less than 300 words, Katyal nails the case for impeaching Trump. The rest of the book is icing on the impeachment cake. So if you're in favor of impeachment and someone questions why this makes sense, say you'd like to read them a brief argument by a…
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Posted in2020 election Donald Trump National politics

Supporters of Trump need to be treated as co-creators of his unethical world

Having watched a good share of the two weeks of televised open hearings in the House impeachment inquiry, I'm well-qualified to draw some reasoned conclusions about our national politics. (1) Trump is the worst president in our nation's history. Not just recent history. Our entire history. (2) Trump doesn't care about what's best for our country. He only cares about what's best for himself.(3) Congressional Republicans have sold out their ethical values in exchange for Trump not tweeting bad stuff about them.(4) Anyone who still supports Trump is guilty of aiding and abetting his unethical behavior. To me, that fourth point…
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Posted in2020 election City of Salem Homeless

Homelessness is a problem that’s too big for Salem to solve

Yesterday I attended a Progressive Salem meeting that featured remarks by two highly qualified City Council candidates, Vanessa Nordyke and Trevor Phillips. (Nordyke has been appointed to the council to fill a vacancy, and is seeking a full term in the May 2020 election.)  Homelessness came up in both audience Q&A's and the initial remarks. What struck me loud and clear is a simple fact that shouldn't be overlooked even though it is obvious: Homelessness is a complex problem that will require action at all levels of government, plus the private sector and nonprofit organizations, to find viable solutions. Sure, the…
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