This election in Oregon, which includes two proposals that would change our election systems, reminds us to think seriously about what election reforms we truly need.

There is no real value to Measure 64 save its naked purpose: weakening organized labor–which has the primary funding opponent to Sizemore’s initiatives in the past–along with the consequence — unintended or otherwise, or limiting some nonprofits’ ability to be heard. Whatever one thinks about the role of organized labor (I, for one, am a fan of the weekend…even if I rarely take full advantage of it), Measure 64 is not “Campaign Finance Reform” by any justifiable definition of any real campaign finance reformer. OLCV offered an interesting take. And of course the no campaign has a website: with more data than I have: www.NoOnMeasure64.com. Sizemore is using a political line to fool those in favor of real campaign finance reform into voting for his measure, and we shouldn’t let the brand of an important movement get sullied by clever word play.

Measure 65 is a closer question. Frankly, I don’t think any of the proponents or opponents can be sure it’ll play out. On the good side, I can imagine a shaken up political conversation which might shake loose some cross-cutting innovative policy. On the bad side, I can imagine more expensive campaigns, informal smoke-filled pre-primaries, leading to even greater influence from the folks who typically pay the freight.

I haven’t taken a position on Measure 65, and the Bus has had different board members weighing in on different sides. We’ve fostered debate about the issue, and hopefully the current debate will be a beginning of a redesign of voting systems, rather than the end. (For my part, I don’t think we’ll fix much until we engage more people in the process and address the money stuff a bit; the influence of interest groups doesn’t come primarily from the order of the primaries, but from the resources they martial.)

There is real election reform needed. The massive participation of small and mid-size donations to Barack Obama reminds us that the best election reform is an active, engaged democracy – which includes lots of people donating and lots of people volunteering. At the same time, the vast bulk of candidates at various levels haven’t written bestsellers, been on Oprah, or spoken at a National Convention.

We should recognize that a critical progressive priority is opening up access to the levers of political power and democracy, and there are real ways to do that. They include:

Voter Access: Democracy works better if more people do it.

* Same Day Registration: The data shows that it’s the best way to increase voter participation, and both Blue and Red states have seen participation growth from it. This should be promising to Oregon, which in 2004 tied Kansas for the nation’s biggest gap in voter turnout between older and younger voters. The Oregonian recently editorialized in favor of it, and it’d be the single biggest thing we could do for voter access.
* Online registration: it might put some on-the-street registration programs (like the Bus’s) largely out of business, but it’d almost certainly be good for participation. Washington State has enacted it; this election will offer us some results.
* Dumping double majority rules: The current ballot has a good proposal – Measure 56 – that moves us to a simple majority rule for passing local levies. We should pass that and get back to good ol’ democracy.
* Automatic registration: Minnesota has instituted automatic “opt out” registration, where people get registered automatically upon getting a drivers license or state I.D. Double majority rules are a disincentive for automatic registration; we should dump double majority rules and institute automatic registration.

Real Campaign Finance Reform:

* A mechanism for public finance – “Patriot Dollars.” Coupla Yale Law guys with the most innovative idea on campaign finance around.
* Limits? Oregon is one of the only states in the union that has no caps on political contributions. And while the wrong sort of cap creates challenging rules that only political elites can navigate, surely some limits could be sensible.

This is not a call to “get the money out of politics” — indeed, the system needs money to communicate message. Think about how much Coke spends to sell a sweet drink, which you can buy at any time of day, during any time of year, in millions of locations, and it gives you a sweet taste on your lips. Voting, on the other hand, must be done at a specific time, generally in a select number of places, and for most it offers no sweet taste. How much should we spend to market that? Rather, we need to be careful about the sources of that money, and what it’s buying.

If we want our public conversation to yield the public interest, there are real reforms to push. Let’s have this election cycle remind rather than distract us from that goal.

The mayor’s race in Eugene is so close that a recent poll showed that there were only a couple hundred votes separating the two candidates. With your help, we’ll knock on more doors than that in 30 minutes.

If there is one time during the entire year to take action — now is it! It is vital for the city’s progressive movement that Kitty Piercy remain our mayor. Kitty has been a champion of sustainability, green jobs, and equality and fair treatment of all. And if this race is about where the money has come from, the large development, mining, and timber companies have spoken loud and clear on the half million they have given to Kitty’s opponent. Don’t think that they don’t expect to see a return on that investment.

The Solution…

a) The Canvasses!
Sat Nov 1st: 5:15-8:30pm at Amazon Community Center, 2700 Hilyard St.
Sun Nov 2nd: 4:30-8:30pm at The Whitaker Station, 570 Blair Blvd

The big bus will come down from Portland on Saturday with a walk for Kitty. It’ll then head to Bend and be back to Eugene on Sunday for another walk for Kitty.

b) Phone-a-Friend - Tues/Wed/Thurs 5:30-8:30 pm at the Eugene Bus Office,

c) And if you are really adventurous, come with us on the Magical Mystery Bus Tour for a weekend full of activism and non-stop action Nov 1st and 2nd.

d) ALL OF THE ABOVE

I’ve been trying for weeks to put into words why it is critical that Eugene re-elect Kitty Piercy for Mayor over Jim Torrey. All it took was for me to open the first page of the current Eugene Weekly. I know that the Weekly isn’t exactly the place to find balanced journalism, but these two letters I read summed it all up.

The Viewpoint article by Amy Pincus Merwin catches you from the beginning: The soul of Eugene is at stake.

That is a simply put as can be! I know Jim Torrey and politics aside, he is a good guy. I’ve worked with him for Kidsports and his efforts for kids are genuine and welcome. I just don’t think that he is capable of sympathizing with or understanding what most of the people in this town who are not like him want out of a mayor or city government. What people don’t seem to understand is that we can’t just treat Eugene as ANY city. Sure, Jim would make a very good and productive mayor for most cities out there. Eugene is different. We are a unique place that needs to be handled in a special way and for all to acknowledge, even if you don’t agree with it, that taking away the things most Eugeneans stand for, makes it just any other city out there.

I was also shocked to see the RG change their endorsement from Kitty to Torrey in just 5 short months. Either it proves that an endorsement can be bought, or that the RG has lost their ability to give a reasoned opinion. I was very glad to see Don Bishoff call them out on that one!

The economy will cause some to have knee jerk reactions thinking that we are in a crisis that only Torrey can fix. Well, I argue that through continuing the models of sustainability and green economy that Kitty has already built, we can stay stronger for longer and be a example of how NOT to do it the Torrey way, by selling out to expansion from outside growth.

What Eugene does not need is a Mayor who will divide the city. With his positions on law enforcement will do just that economic growth. Growing up and out will not solve Eugene’s issues or build any foundation for our future. Taking a look at what makes Eugene special and growing from within will.

Is your Eugene better than it was 4 years ago? Mine is.

Kitty needs to get her message out and we need to help her.  The lurker guy in this photo needs to stay out of our city politics. 

Please come join Kitty for a canvas to convince the community that she is the best one to lead us as “One EUGENE!”

Jefferson Smith will be there! (but please come anyway!)…I kid, I kid.

What:
Bus, BRO and Kitty Piercy Canvass

When:
Sat Oct 18 1pm –  4:30pm

Where:
University Park (24th and University)

Let’s do this Kitty Crusaders!

This is not your Father’s Halloween event! In their day, they threw eggs at houses and filled up on snickers bars.

These days, we throw ballots around and fill up on Democracy!

Trick or Vote is a nationwide, nonpartisan canvass (in costume!) taking place near Halloween right here in Eugene. A spooky crew of monsters will be out in full force to remind young folks to vote, and you can be spooky too.

Studies show that the most effective way to get young people to vote before an election is to knock on their doors and encourage them to turn in their ballots. And what’s the one time of year when we’re all culturally ready for a knock on the door? Halloween! Just before the general election on November 4.

So while you might be too old to trick or treat, you’re never too old to Trick or Vote!

We need canvass volunteers! Sign up to volunteer via the link below or email EugeneTrickorVote@gmail.com.

Enjoy Ben Westlund’s words of inspiration, but be sure to save some energy for the season’s best after party featuring the musical stylings of Fortune Cookie Samba Ja and many more! Expect your favorite Halloween activities and full food buffet!

Be sure to meet here at WOW at 2:00 PM for the day ‘o’ fun! Music starts at 6:00 PM!

SHOWTIME: 2:00 PM - 10:00 PM, PRICE: Free for volunteers; $8 students, $10 adults.

So what does a lack of regulation and oversight lead to? Securities rated safe packaged with safe and subprime mortgages. These mortgage-backed securities allow subprime loans too be bundled together and then further insured with Credit Default Swaps (CDS). If I’m a lender at a traditional bank and instead of selling a loan that my bank will have on the books for 30 years, I’m selling a loan that we will resell “risk-free” in a few weeks — I don’t have to worry about doing my homework. And that lack of regulation for all of this allowed interest-only and ARMs to be given to subprime borrowers with the justification that the ever-increasing housing market (read Irrational Exuberance, 2nd edition which correctly predicts the housing bubble) will allow these borrowers to “grow” into their mortgages. A system was built that allowed people that couldn’t afford loans to get them, and made it in banks’ interests to sell them no matter what. The fact that people took out these loans and banks loaned this money means that each were acting in their own self-interest, a fundamental assumption of how unregulated free markets are supposed to work. But it is up to the government to set the stage for these interactions and make sure that when everyone acts in their own self-interest we all don’t end up with a prisoner’s dilemma in which we are all worse off.
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