One week before election day

Here I go again! One week left to vote. Please do vote. And remember, in Florida you might be a felon and not even know it until you try to vote.

Here I go again! One week left to vote. Please do vote. And remember, in Florida you might be a felon and not even know it until you try to vote.

Measure 21 and 22 are curious beasts. Sponsored primarily by the supporters of the failed "Measure 7" (require the state government to compensate land owners for losses as a result of regulations). Measure 7 is currently tied up in court. These measures would weaken the judiciary by creating districts for Supreme Court and Appeals Court. The districts would be drawn by the legislature and would undoubtedly be inspire partisan battles (much as the congressional districting does today).

Measure 21 adds the "None of the above" choice to the ballots. Now, that's not a bad idea, especially since often the choices on the ballot leaves much to be desired. Yet, if this was a genuine attempt to improve democracy in our state, the petitioners would be promoting "None of the above" for -all- state offices. They are targeting the judiciary in an attempt to throttle the courts. Bill Sizemore, Bob Smith, Oregonians in Action among others are behind these measures. Vote No on both.

Measure 23 is an interesting idea. Currently the average Oregon family has an income of $44,000 and medical expenses of $4,500 per year. Under Measure 23, the cost of health care would average $2,500. Vote Yes.

Measure 27 is just plain common sense. We know how much water has been added to our bottled juice in the grocery store, we know if something contains Red #2, we know if it has MSG. We should know if it has products with spliced genes too. The cost per person for this measure: $0.71 per year. Vote Yes for access to information about your food.

If you have any questions, please feel free to write back or call. I've got a lot more information about this and other measures and candidates and will be more than happy to share it all with you!

Vote Early and Vote Often!

The tragic death of Senator Paul Wellstone has made our senate race in Oregon even more important than ever. Please, don't forget to vote. And as they say in Florida, "Vote Early and Vote Often!"

The tragic death of Senator Paul Wellstone has made our senate race in Oregon even more important than ever. Please, don't forget to vote. And as they say in Florida, "Vote Early and Vote Often!"
Here's my latest recommendations:

Muncipal Judge - Alan Drescher
It's rare that we have an opportunity to have such experience in a public office. Could anyone know our municipal code better than Judge Drescher?
Senate - Bill Bradbury
Congress - Peter Buckley
Governor - Ted Kulongoski
State Senate - Virginia Lemon
State Rep - Dr Alan Bates
State Rep (Medford District) - Barbara Davidson
County Commissioner #1 - John Hallett
County Commissioner #3 - Dave Gilmour
Sheriff - Mike Winters
City Council #4 - Kate Jackson
City Council #6 - Chris Hearn
Circuit Court Judge - Mejia
Circuit Court Judge - Charter

I'll opinionize on the ballot measures tomorrow.

Measure 18

Perhaps the most obscure measure on the ballot this fall is Measure 18.

Perhaps the most obscure measure on the ballot this fall is Measure 18. A casual read of the measure makes it sound like it would create new property taxes which is certainly an unpopular idea. Yet, after a little research the method behind the madness becomes clear. Some districts were locked out of creating tax zones courtesy of Measure 50. The side effect being that Bend city residents were partly paying for rural police protection. This measure would correct the error.

I found more complete explanations in the Oregonian : Measure 18: Property Tax Zones

and at the Register-Guard : Measure 18 tries to fix previous failures

Will this increase taxes? Only if the tax district voters approve an increase.

Even though it's not terribly exciting, Vote YES on Measure 18.

Peter Buckley

Few candidates are as exciting as Peter Buckley, our local Democratic candidate for Congress. If you are part of the choir, then please spread the word and help get the vote out. Greg Walden can be defeated with a strong Democrat, Green and Independent show of support.

If you are new to Peter Buckley's platform, he is a populist, pro-peace, pro-education candidate. Read it all at http://www.buckleyforcongress.com/.

Please vote and encourage all your friends to vote!

The Bears

Last night I finally got to see the neighborhood bears.

Last night I finally got to see the neighborhood bear. For the last few weeks someone had been the eating the apples off my two red delicious trees. I wasn't worried since I've got far more apples than I could ever eat, and all the bear scat wasn't an issue either. But I did want to capture the bear on film. Last night I went out and noticed a big black shape under the tree - just sitting around. So I went inside, got the old camera and clicked off a few before it got tired of my flash. Living on the edge of town has it's advantages, even though some might consider a friendly neighborhood bear a nuisance or even a menace. Well as long as it sticks with the apples and doesn't take an interest in my kitchen, I don't see what the big deal could be. Sure, bears can wreck your garbage can, and sure, they are omnivorous at times, but I think we can live with them easily enough.