Candidates in the classroom
Eugene mayoral and county commissioner hopefuls speak to LCC students
Taryn Ackelson
Issue date: 10/23/08 Section: News
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Steve Candee's Problems in U.S. Politics class hosted a discussion on the 2008 Elections, followed by student questions. The guest panelists spoke of their visions for Eugene and Lane County.
Candee stressed the importance of remaining respectful throughout the evening. This set the tone for a learning opportunity through discussion, not a debate.
Each candidate addressed their own unique vision for Eugene.
Some, like Handy focused on the long term possibilities for the county. Handy's vision for Eugene consists of many environmental issues such as clean air and water quality and green energy sources. "My vision for Lane County is one of clean and sustainable prosperity where the profits might stay right here in our community," Handy said.
He also outlined the need to "grow smart not just big" referring to self-sustainable production of nutritious food.
Handy is a former LCC student and highlighted the importance of success in our public schools and at LCC.
Ensuring safety in the county is important to Handy. He plans to do this by protecting our most vulnerable citizens, insisting accountability for offenders, and the implementation of treatment and prevention programs.
Economic issues will be addressed by working with other county commissioners on the use of timber payments and restoring public safety funds.
Green, in his 13th year as a member of the Board of County Commissioners, envisions the county as a safe community. He believes that people stay in Eugene because of the "quality of life" and has plans which he believes will encourage that tradition to continue.
Public safety with a clear system and plans for prevention will help ensure that the quality of life stays intact Green said. He also stated that accountability and long-term education for offenders is necessary.
He addressed concerns about the economy and wants to create long-term job stability in Lane County. Green also said that federal funds should be invested in reserve and "we need to save a large portion of this money to a rainy day fund, because we all know it rains a lot here in Oregon," Green joked.
Critical infrastructure such as the creation and maintenance of "good roads" is important to Green. Involved for 10 years in several projects, Green sees opportunity for hundreds of jobs in the construction of roadways like the Delta belt line and the Gateway bridge projects.
"Lane County is one of these treasures around the state that many people are aware of and it's a great place to live," Green said.
Green was instrumental in bringing the Olympic Trials back to Eugene in 2012.
Piercy had a long list of hopes in her vision of Eugene. This included being pro-economy and pro-environment simultaneously. She wants to continue bringing environmentally-friendly companies to Eugene to establish jobs for residents in a business sector she believes will continue outpacing others across the nation.
She praises LCC for being one of the top learning institutions for career development in sustainability practices.
Piercy brought copies of her policy paper on shaping Eugene's economic future for students. She also had copies of "A Program for Jobs and a Healthy Eugene Economy" containing her economic agenda from her first term as mayor.
"I propose that we shelter culture that can be pro-environment and pro-economy at the same time," Piercy said.
Torrey said that "vision is an over used word," going on to explain that no one is able to predict what will happen in the future.
Using the strengths of the city and county as partner communities is his solution for being unprepared for what may come.
He believes that Eugene needs to be prepared to take on road projects and infrastructure programs before federal funds become unavailable.
Instead of laying down a clear plan for the City of Eugene, Torrey mentioned the "could-have-beens," like business development lost to Springfield and the closure of Hynix.
"I'm Jim Torrey, I'm unemployed and I'm looking for work and I'd like your vote to be able to put me to work," Torrey said, closing his speech.
Candee felt the discussion tested both his students and the candidates and hoped that speaking in front of students would give them an appreciation for the time, energy and resources involved in campaigns.
The class was broadcast live on Comcast Cable channel 23, Charter Communications channel 9 and will be repeated throughout the week.
Caryl Tylerkays, a student in Candee's political science class, addressed the panel with her story of living on fixed income and being unable to obtain a free library card. This is due to the fact that the landlord chose to opt out of having library fees incorporated in the taxes for her Eugene home. A library card for Tylerkays and her 10-year-old daughter would cost $80 each year.
Tylerkays asked:
1. How can this be remedied to offer library cards to lower income patrons that live in Lane County?
2. Do you see the library as a privilege for those living in the right house with the right income?
3. If my daughter and I were homeless, we could have gotten a library card. Is there anything in the works to have this, so this is resolved? Can't we have a county library? Isn't education important for us all?
Torrey said that in a past state of the city address, he proposed to make the library free to use regardless of where people live. His solution would be to approach local organizations, using the Rotary as his example, and ask them to underwrite a portion of the cost.
"If the city doesn't have the money, I'm going to go out and find the dollars to underwrite it so that you can get that money," Torrey said.
He believes that making the library available for all children and including people of the greater community can help children stay ahead in school.
Piercy addressed the issue from the standpoint of a former teacher. "I think access to libraries is fundamental," she said.
Piercy mentioned the River Road/Santa Clara Volunteer Library established in 2003 and open to the public in 2005. It now provides low-cost library services to 30,000 people in the River Road/Santa Clara neighborhood.
"I think that every child should have access to their library," Piercy said. "And we should find a way to make that happen."
Handy related to her experience, having lived in the same neighborhood as Tylerkays.
Referring to the Downtown Library, Handy stated that the use of the facility is not restricted, just the ability to check out books.
At the county level he would be able to address the issue of economic development, and look at where money is invested for the people he represents. He suggests that Lane County should invest in Head Start, created in 1965 to provide comprehensive education, health, nutrition, and parent involvement services to low-income children and their families, "as another way to bridge that gap between kids getting so eager to learn but needing to get ahead and how important that is to be a valuable member of society and go on to higher education."
Green said that the challenge is the issue of checking out the material. He said that the privilege of having a card goes toward the operation of running the library.
The cost of running libraries keeps many from continuing to run while being available to all, free of charge. The cost comes in to hold people accountable for returning the material.
"Someone has to pay for it, somewhere. Even if it's free to you, someone is subsidizing it somewhere else," Green said.
Green brought up that by paying county and city taxes there should be access to school libraries. He posed the question how school libraries are used during summer months when school is not in session.
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