Posted in2020 election

Upcoming Oregon election discussed by three expert political observers

Ah, the bliss... for a political junkie like me. At noon today I got to watch Jim Moore, Bill Lunch, and Jeff Mapes speak for an hour about the upcoming November election, focusing on Oregon. They were the kickoff for a series of Salem City Club programs on the election. The Salem Reporter sponsored today's program. Naturally the programs are going to be held via Zoom, not in-person. I like the usual meetings at the Willamette Heritage Center, but it was nice to not have to drive there. Sitting down at my laptop and logging in to Zoom suits me…
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Posted inUncategorized

Vote for Oregon Democrats, because the Republican Party is Trump’s party

Today Trump refused to commit to a peaceful transfer of all power after the election. Instead, Trump said that he wanted to get rid of mail in ballots. If that happens, Trump added, there will be a continuation of his presidency. Well, yeah. If you get rid of mail in ballots, and most Democrats plan to vote that way because of the COVID-19 crisis, then Trump steals the election. Which is exactly what an authoritarian would try to do.  That's just one of many reasons why I say... I want to be clear that it's important for people in the…
Posted in2020 election Larry Tokarski Political donations

Mountain West Investment Corporation gives $125,000 to conservative Salem PAC

Back in March I wrote about how the Chamber of Commerce appeared to be trying to hide a $25,000 contribution from Mountain West Investment Corporation, whose president is Larry Tokarski.  (See Salem Chamber of Commerce apparently trying to hide $25,000 in PAC money.) Now Mountain West Investment Corporation is making campaign contributions in an indirect way by funneling five times as much money through a different political action committee. On August 26th, Mountain West Investment Corporation gave $125,000 to the Jobs PAC. Just two days prior, the Jobs PAC gave $2,500 to Republican Danielle Bethell’s campaign for Marion County Commissioner. On…
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Posted in2020 election Donald Trump National politics

Let’s act in defense of Ginsburg’s Supreme Court seat

Ruth Bader Ginsburg died yesterday. Today, and tomorrow, and for as long as it takes, us progressives need to do what Ginsburg would want -- act to defend the integrity of the Supreme Court seat that she held with great distinction since 1993. Action relieves anxiety.  When I heard about Ginsburg's death I was deeply troubled. I knew that Donald Trump and Mitch McConnell would try to get her replacement confirmed by the Senate as soon as possible.  Maybe before election day, November 3. Surely before Inauguration Day, January 20, 2021. Just because McConnell said in 2016 that Merrick Garland,…
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Posted inCitizen involvement City Council City of Salem

“Our Salem” plan needs a top-priority: reducing greenhouse gases

If you care about how livable Salem is, check out a recently-released draft report from the City of Salem, Our Salem Vision. There's a lot to like in that vision, but also a lot not to like. So let city officials know what you think of the report. Even though the document says that the next step in the Comprehensive Planning process is public comment on the draft, I didn't see any indication in the report about how comments are to be submitted. A City of Salem Facebook post about Our Salem Vision also lacks any mention of how citizen…
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Posted inCity Council Homeless

Mark Wigg draws attention to plight of homeless in Wallace Marine Park

Salem citizen activist Mark Wigg doesn't mince words. Here's his advance prepared remarks that closely reflect part of what he said in public testimony at last night's City Council meeting.  Below I'll share my thoughts about what Wigg says. Mayor Bennett, I ask you, Steve Powers and Peter Fernandez to resign because your criminally negligent policies and actions may have led to the rape and murder of at least a dozen women in Wallace Marine Park. When you forced the homeless to leave downtown Salem, you told them that they could camp at Wallace Marine Park and Cascade Gateway Park.…
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Posted inCity of Salem Micki Varney Peter Fernandez

As forests burn, Salem parks board OK’s cutting trees without a permit

It was quite a juxtaposition last night. While wildfires burn forests across Oregon, I watched the Salem Parks and Recreation Advisory Board (SPRAB) say "no problem" to a developer cutting down two large White Oak trees without a permit, after which Peter Fernandez, the Public Works Director, granted an after-the-fact tree removal permit 105 days after those trees, and three others, were removed. This was a horrible decision for reasons I'll describe below. The only good news is that the vote to deny an appeal by the Southwest Association of Neighbors (SWAN)  of the after-the-fact permit being issued was close,…
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Posted inCity Council City of Salem Peter Fernandez

City Manager is OK with a developer illegally removing trees

I'm no fan of Donald Trump's re-election campaign themes, but I do believe in law and order -- along with almost every other American. Unfortunately, the City Manager for the City of Salem, Steve Powers, has said that he is OK with the Public Works Director (Peter Fernandez) bestowing a tree removal permit on a developer (Thomas Kay) 105 days after the trees were cut down without a permit. Michael Slater, a strong advocate for trees in Salem, sent the following letter to Powers. Slater shared the letter on Facebook. You'll see that he made some strong arguments about why…
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Posted inCity of Salem Coronavirus

City officials allow Covid super-spreader event in Riverfront Park

I have a tough time figuring out who is more irresponsible: (1) The Salem Awakening organizers who held a Christian event in Riverfront Park attended by hundreds of people in violation of Governor Brown's order limiting outdoor gatherings to no more than a hundred individuals.  (2) The attendees, most of whom weren't wearing masks and failed to engage in required physical distancing.  (3) Officials with the City of Salem who have been allowing Salem Awakening to use the park without a permit for most of the summer, and who did nothing to control last Thursday's super-spreader Covid event. I'm going…
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Posted inCity of Salem Salem Police Department

Rubber bullet lawsuit undermines credibility of Salem Police Department

I'm changing my mind about the Salem Police Department. By and large, I've believed that Salem has been fortunate to have a well-run department marked by honesty, integrity, and a willingness to admit mistakes. Sure, the department's actions during this year's Black Lives Matter protests following the murder of George Floyd were questionable at best and outrageous at worst. Using tear gas and playing nice with armed counter-protesters put chinks in the Police Department's "well-run" reputation. To me those chinks widened to a crevasse after I read the front page story in today's Statesman Journal by Whitney Woodworth, "Protester sues city,…
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Posted in2020 election Donald Trump

I’ve got an important question for Trump supporters in Salem

In 2016, Donald Trump got 38% of the presidential vote in Salem, while Hillary Clinton got 49%. So when I go grocery shopping, as I did today, likely around a third of the people I see are Trump supporters. (I'm hoping his support has slipped a bit during the past four years.) Obviously there's a wide gulf between conservatives and progressives these days. Yet being a moderate sort of progressive, in no way do I view those who want another four years of Trump as crazy. Having been raised by a fiercely Republican mother, who never wavered on her conservative…
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Posted in2020 election Donald Trump

Trump’s use of the White House as a political prop — disgusting

After more than three and a half years of enduring Trump's disgraceful presidency, I thought my psyche had become inoculated against further outrages. How much lower could Trump morally go than rock bottom? But when I saw this image on Twitter last night, I realized the answer was, as low as he can get away with until he leaves office. Walter Shaub is a former director of the United States Office of Government Ethics. Being 71, and interested in politics for almost my entire life, I've seen countless photos of the White House. This is the first time it has ever…
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Posted inCity Council City of Salem Peter Fernandez

City official issues tree removal permit 105 days after they were cut down

Peter Fernandez, the City of Salem Public Works Director, is still doing outrageous tree stuff -- seven years after public records that I got proved that Fernandez made an unethical backroom deal with a bank president to have five beautiful, large, healthy downtown trees removed for no good reason. The newest Fernandez outrage is well-documented in an appeal by the Southwest Association of Neighbors (SWAN) of a tree removal permit that was issued on June 25, with an effective date of June 28, even though the five trees were cut down on April 15.Download Salem Heights Tree Removal Permit Appeal…
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Posted in2020 election Donald Trump

“End of suburbs” one of countless Republican Convention lies

The good news is, my brain survived -- watching part of the first night of the Republican National Convention. Yes, it came close to exploding at times (actually, many times), but I was able to press the "stop" button on my remote fast enough to avoid serious damage to my truth-loving neurons. The bad news is, just about everything else.  Given all the GOP talk about the Democratic Convention being too dismal and dark, with the Republican Convention going to be all Reagan'esque sunshine and positivity, I was thinking that maybe that actually would happen. Nope.  Fear and trembling before…
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Posted in2020 election Donald Trump

Mary Trump reveals Trump’s pathologies in her compelling book

Sure, we all know what a pitiful human being Donald Trump is. Weak, a crybaby, narcissistic, egotistical, incapable of empathy -- to name but a few of his pathologies. But it took reading the book by his niece, Mary Trump, a Ph.D. psychologist, to make me fully appreciate how badly our country is being served by a president who is utterly incapable of meeting even the most basic demands of the office he holds. Last week Barack Obama made a right-on comment in his speech at the Democratic National Convention. Donald Trump hasn't grown into the job because he can't.…
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Posted inCity Council City of Salem Peter Fernandez

Salem City Hall, where staff always are right and concerned citizens wrong

We here at the world headquarters of Salem Political Snark, which just happens to be Salem, Oregon, absolutely love well-reasoned factual blog posts with a healthy dose of snark. Especially when those posts haven't been written by us. (Well, me, though there's always me, myself, and I, the unholy trinity.) So here's a big snarky thumbs-up to the always-interesting Salem Breakfast on Bikes blogger for including these lines in a post today, "City Council, August 24 - Nonsense on Broadway at Pine." This is a real problem at the City. They have trouble admitting they are wrong. It sure seems like…
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Posted in2020 election

Four reasons why I’m loving the 2020 Democratic National Convention

Via CNN, so far I've watched every minute of the two hour prime time broadcast of the Democratic National Convention. After two days of pleasurable viewing, I'm planning to do the same tonight and tomorrow. Being a political junkie who has watched every Democratic convention for as long as I can remember, I was prepared to be underwhelmed by this year's virtual/online format. Instead, I'm finding it way more inspiring than all of those previous in-person conventions. Here's four reasons why. Crisper. This online convention moves along with pleasing crispness. There's no dead time. Speeches are short. Last night I…
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Posted inCitizen involvement Third Bridge

Mark Coutis slammed by West Salem Neighborhood Association Ethics Committee

Ouch. The Vice-Chair of the West Salem Neighborhood Association (WSNA), Mark Coutis, has been slammed hard by an ethics committee formed to look into his offensive remarks about Black Lives Matter, along with other subjects -- including how Coutis insulted people in his role as a WSNA Facebook site administrator. What Coutis did was the subject of a public comment at a recent Salem City Council meeting. You can read the juicy details in a report issued by an Ethics Committee formed to look into a complaint filed against Coutis. I've shared screeenshots of the PDF file below.Download WSNA Ethics…
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Posted in2020 election Donald Trump

Trump’s attack on Postal Service needs to backfire on him

With a 91% approval rating, the U.S. Postal Service is American's favorite government agency. So Trump's attacks on the USPS and mail-in voting should lead to a substantial backfire upon his already-depressed approval rating and re-election prospect. But this won't happen all by itself. Defenders of the Postal Service and mail-in voting have to apply maximum pressure, keeping this issue front and center in the minds of voters from now until election day. A few days ago I started following the American Postal Workers Union on Twitter -- @APWUnational. I seem to recall that they had something like 60,000 followers…
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Posted in2020 election

Denyc Boles killed water project funding she’s taking credit for

Republican State Senator Denyc Boles should make "Hypocrisy" her middle name. Locked in a close election fight with Democrat challenger Deb Patterson, Boles is bizarrely trying to take credit for $20 million in funding for water projects in Salem and Turner that she helped block back in February of this year when she and other Senate Republicans walked out of the legislature to stop a climate action bill. Here's the Boles press release, which I've branded Inaccurate, because it is. Oh my, Denyc Boles is so proud of her hard work to get the money for water system upgrades. Actually,…
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