Basic HTML Version
The Portland Tribune
Thursday, April 11, 2013
NEWS
A3
T
hose in favor of fluori-
dating Portland’s wa-
ter are winning the
fundraising race, but
they lost the Voters Pamphlet
fight.
People supporting fluorida-
tion submitted 24 pages back-
ing Measure 26-151, which will
appear on the May 21 special
election ballot. They include
health care profession-
als and organiza-
tions, area school
board members
and even Gov.
John Kitzhaber,
an emergency
room physician.
But those opposing
fluoridation submitted
42 pages of arguments
against the measure. They in-
clude both traditional and al-
ternative health care
providers, veterinari-
ans, environmental-
ists and even Ralph
Nader, who de-
scribes himself as a
consumer advocate.
In the meantime,
the campaign in sup-
port of the measure
has reported raising
more than $126,000 so far this
year. The opponents are re-
porting more than $71,000.
Anyone opposed to this?
Anyone? Anyone?
Meanwhile, no one filed any
Voters Pamphlet pages
against the other measures on
Portland ballots. Those sup-
porting the renewal of the
Children’s Levy submitted 10
pages of arguments in support
of Measure 26-150. Those in fa-
vor of Metro’s Natural Areas
Levy (Measure 26-152), turned
in nine pages in support. No
arguments were filed in oppo-
sition to either measure.
That’s the pattern with most
tax measures on Portland bal-
lots, including the Arts Tax
that passed last year. They
draw little organized opposi-
tion, and even fewer commit-
tees that raise money to de-
feat them.
After they pass and the bill
becomes due, the few remain-
ing conservatives in town take
to the blogs and howl in pro-
test.
Nolan was right, but she
still got trounced
A recent city audit confirms
much of what state Rep. Mary
Nolan said in her unsuccessful
campaign to unseat city Com-
missioner Amanda
Fritz last year. Ac-
cording to an audit
of Portland’s
emergency
communica-
tion systems,
there were nu-
merous problems
with the switchover to
the new 9-1-1 dispatch sys-
tem.
Fritz was in charge of the
final stages of the re-
placement process
and repeatedly de-
fended it against
complaints from re-
gional police and
fire agencies. An
audit released last
week confirms that
there were communi-
cations, training, man-
agement and other problems
with the process, as Nolan
charged. But Fritz trounced
Nolan in the runoff election
anyway.
“According to best practices,
project success includes
effectively managing user
expectations, also known as
‘change management.’ A proj-
ect may be completed on time,
within budget, and with all re-
quired functionality, but user
resistance may render the
new system a failure,” accord-
ing to the audit of the Public
Safety Systems Revitalization
Program.
But the audit did say the
dispatch project came in on
time and on budget, as Fritz
repeatedly noted. That’s in
marked contrast to other proj-
ects being handled by the PSS-
RP, according to the audit.
Those projects are all running
late and over budget, in large
part because of shifting and
inconsistent management by
the city.
Citizen Nader:
No to fluoride
NADER
Adult Cleaning, Exam & X-Rays
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(New patients only · non-insurance · Adult Prophylactic Prophy)
$2998.
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around it. In California, labor
laws brought together a large
part of the immigrant Latino
population.
But inOregon, Calero says, the
political agenda for most Latinos
is very similar to the agendas of
all Oregonians, and that makes it
harder to develop a single politi-
cal voice, much less a pushy one.
“Without that unifying issue
to rally around, we assimilate
into the general population the
same way anyone else does,” he
says.
Gerardo Ochoa cites age as a
reason Oregon Latinos haven’t
gained political power. Ochoa,
33, works as an independent
consultant helping high school
students around Oregon win
college scholarships, in addition
to serving as assistant director
of financial aid for Linfield Col-
lege.
The Latino population in Ore-
gon averages about 24 years of
age, compared to 38 for Orego-
nians overall. In Multnomah
County, 48 percent of Latinos are
younger than 25, compared to 25
percent of whites. Ochoa is con-
vinced Portland’s Latino popula-
tion is also significantly younger
than the Latino populations in
other cities.
“I just think of all the entrepre-
neurs and small businessmen
my age or younger, give us 10 or
15 years, I think our level of orga-
nizing and philanthropy will in-
crease,” Ochoa says.
Another obstacle, according to
Ochoa, is the large percentage of
undocumented Latinos in Ore-
gon. When working with high
school students, he often hands
out pieces of paper on which stu-
dents are asked to anonymously
write whether they are legal
residents or undocumented.
“It’s usually about 50-50,” he
says.
Eighty-four percent of Oregon
Latinos can trace their families
to Mexico, compared to a nation-
al average of 66 percent. Those
Mexican immigrants, Ochoa
says, learned back home not to
trust the government or the po-
litical process. He thinks Puerto
Rican immigrants in New York
City might feel very differently
about getting politically involved
than immigrants from Mexico,
where a more corrupt govern-
ment remains in power.
Ochoa has dual citizenship
and thinks someday he might
return to Mexico. He says he’s
caught between two identities,
and finds it hard to maintain his
Latino identity in Portland,
where there are so few distinc-
tively Latino places to go.
“Do I invest my time and ener-
gies and resources in my home
in Mexico or in my home here?”
Ochoa asks. “There are many
who don’t know where they
want to be in 10 years. There are
a lot of people who live in that
conflict.”
That conflict might also be
keeping many Latinos from be-
coming fully invested in politics
here in Oregon, Ochoa says.
But there are plenty who will,
says Gerardo Sandoval, an assis-
tant professor of planning, pub-
lic policy andmanagement at the
University of Oregon and author
of “Immigrants and the Revital-
ization of Los Angeles.”
A 2011 Pew Research Center
report shows Oregon tied for
10th with New Mexico among
states having the largest per-
centage of illegal immigrants.
Sandoval says Oregon’s high
number of illegal immigrants
damps down political enthusi-
asm, as does its history of rac-
ism. Latino immigrants in Ore-
gon tend to try to get ahead eco-
nomically but keep their heads
down.
Still, Sandoval has no doubt
that Latinos will become impos-
sible to ignore as a political force
once all those kindergarteners
grow up.
“Five to 10 years from now, I
think this state is going to blow
up politically for Latinos, and I
think that’s why you’re seeing all
these organizations focus on
youth development and leader-
ship,” he says.
Sandoval says it could happen
very soon if immigration reform
to allow undocumented resi-
dents to become citizens, being
debated inWashington, D.C., be-
comes a reality.
“If immigration reform hap-
pens and all these unauthor-
ized immigrants gain legitima-
cy, it could take five years for
them to start voting, and that
would be a sea change in Ore-
gon,” he says.
Clout:
Trust in
government
an issue
■
From page 2
Grassroots
organizing by
Latinos here
has been more
successful than
most people
know, says
Marissa
Madrigal, chief
of staff to
Multnomah
County Chair
Jeff Cogen.
TRIBUNE PHOTO:
CHRISTOPHER
ONSTOTT