A Little Different

In the spirit of the "old days" Steve Novick now has his own theme song. No, he hasn't borrowed someone else's music like some politicians who have been in hot water for using music without the composer's consent, but someone who supports Steve has written a song just for him. Folk singer and composer Darryl Icard has written the song "A Little Different" for Steve. Click here and have a listen for yourself:

http://www.novickforsenate.org/little_different

As a music teacher I've always found political songs interesting. Past politicians had all sorts of music for their campaigns, most of it "borrowed" and reworded for the occasion (an example is "Lincoln and Liberty" which uses the same tune as "Acres of Clams"). It is refreshing to have someone so inspired by a candidate that he wrote a song for him.

Some Key Endorsements

This is a campaign blog so from time to time I will list some of the people who are supporting my candidacy for OEA Region III Vice President. Here are a few.

One of the ways I have been able to serve our members in Eastern Oregon is by being an OEA PIE Board Director. I served for 8 years. Barb Gornick (former OEA Board director, NEA director and Jack of all trades within OEA- former NEA trainer of the NEA Women's Leadership Program and currently on the cadre for Bullying Prevention Training) retired one year into a three-year term and I was selected to fulfill the remainder of her term and was consequently elected to two consecutive three-year terms of my own. Through this process I learned a great deal about politics in Oregon and met wonderfully talented and hard-working people across the state.

During my term as OEA PIE Board Director from Eastern Oregon I had the privilege of working with three different PIE Board chairs: June Buck, Medford EA; Gary Sackley, Salem-Keizer EA and current chair Steve Anderson, Hermiston EA. All three former PIE chairs are active supporters of my campaign for Region III Vice President. They recognize and appreciate my ability to energize members and help to bring them together for the cause of OEA and have seen me doggedly lobby legislators on OEA's behalf.

It is also worth noting that Barb Gornick is a staunch supporter of my campaign as well as my treasurer. She has seen many changes in OEA through the years and knows that I am a person who can maintain our forward momentum and help our members grow into the 21st Century.

Jeff Merkley

In case anyone missed the signals it is campaign season in Oregon. The political ads are everywhere! Newspapers, television, radio and even the internet are full of them. I've been impressed with Steve Novick's ads and Jeff Merkley has put out some amusing ones as well. Check out Jeff Merkley's latest internet ad:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NWeHHdFp4Vo


Jeff has been campaigning even though the legislature is in session.
Tonight as I was preparing dinner for my husband and myself (we had
enough sunshine to fire up the gas grill on the deck for grilled
pork chops- yum!) the phone rang and it was Jeff Merkley himself.
He stressed the need for a Democrat to unseat Gordon Smith and
explained that now is the time for that possibility even though
Smith has a large bank account and the advantage of being an
incumbent. He spoke of his accomplishments in Oregon and his
ability to inspire others to follow him in the Democratic House
Caucus and his desire to make a difference. There is no doubt in
my mind that Jeff Merkley would do a wonderful job for us in 
Washington, D.C. 

I still haven’t made up my mind and told him that I was waiting until the PIE Convention to decide who to support. I promised to come to his hospitality room in Salem and listen to what he has to say.

The OEA PIE Convention is a beautiful thing! This is one of the only opportunities members have to get the full and undivided attention of hungry candidates and ask them whatever questions are relevant. Candidates campaign intensely for those few hours and it is a great experience to hear them reveal their true selves.

The US Senate race is far from over and will be VERY interesting to watch between now and May 20.

Happy Birthday, Oregon!

History lovers will remember that Oregon became a state on Valentine's Day, February 14, 1859. Happy 149th birthday, Oregon!

One of the most enjoyable things I've discovered about being an educator is learning fun facts about topics the students are learning. Here are 10 facts you might not know about Oregon:

• The Columbia River Gorge is considered by many to be the best place in the world for windsurfing.
• Crater Lake is the deepest lake in the United States and is formed in the remains of an ancient volcano.
• Eugene was the first city to have one-way streets.
• At 8,000 feet deep Hells Canyon is the deepest river gorge in North America.
• The hazelnut is Oregon's official state nut. Oregon is the only state that has an official state nut (Bill Sizemore doesn't count!). The hazelnut is also known as the filbert.
• Oregon has more ghost towns than any other state.
• In 1880 a sea cave was discovered near what is now known as Florence. Sea Lion Caves is known to be the largest sea cave in the world.
• Silver Falls State Park is the Oregon's largest state park. It features 10 waterfalls and contains a wide variety of forested hiking trails.
• A treaty between the United States and Spain established the current southern border between Oregon and California. The treaty was signed in 1819.
• Haystack Rock off Cannon Beach is 235 feet high and is the third largest coastal monolith in the world.
  

I hope you are as proud to be an Oregonian as I am. Happy statehood day!

One Ringy-Dingy . . .

Our last Legislative Advisory Council (LAC) meeting was held last weekend on Saturday, February 2. It was to be held at OEA headquarters in Portland but because of the awful weather it was changed to a conference call.

What a great idea! First of all, the weather was universally hazardous across the state. Eugene had experienced 5 inches of snow earlier in the week and the coastal range had snow at 200 feet. As hard as it is for an Eastern Oregonian to relate to just a few inches of wet snow creating a huge obstacle for anyone driving in this area, the West-side snow fits this description. Here in Eastern Oregon Union County schools were closed on Thursday due to blowing snow (a condition that delayed school this week as well) and some schools in Klamath County were closed too. Second of all with 47,000 members in the Association many of them are far away from the I-5 corridor and spend several hours of travel time to attend a meeting (I count on 5 hours one way in good weather to reach Portland, in bad weather it is longer). Several members of the LAC would have been unable to attend the meeting because of these bad conditions and long distances to boot.

Conference calls are an excellent alternative to a face-to-face meeting. They are faster (our business was concluded in less than an hour), less expensive because of travel costs (the current IRS mileage rate is 50.5 cents per mile not to mention lodging and food expense), there is no travel time (minimum 10 hours round trip for me) and allow participants to do the business of the Association in the casual comfort of home. Certainly there are drawbacks. Conference calls are confusing because it is sometimes hard to track who is talking at any given time. Phone connections aren't always reliable and sometimes background noise can be a problem (I was harassed by my youngest cat and hoped that her talking wasn't a distraction to the other participants!). Face-to-face meetings allow participants to express themselves freely through raised eyebrows and other body language besides having side conversations during break times. Still, all things considered conference calls are efficient and allow members to meet with a minimum impact on their day.

With all of the technology available to us OEA should utilize some of these meeting methods when possible to get the most "bang for our buck" and still accomplish our goals.

Oh, Where Have You Been, Billy Boy?

Cue the music! "Oh, where have you been, Billy Boy, Billy Boy? Oh, where have you been, charming Billy?" The answer is: hanging out with the press and whining about the new, tougher laws about collecting signatures for ballot measures.

Today's Baker City Herald had an article about Mr. Sizemore. Apparently because of the new rules regarding payroll records for paid signature gatherers several of Racketeer Bill Sizemore's proposed ballot measures have been suspended. He says, "Bill Bradbury has shut down the initiative process." Oh, poor Billy S.! Despite the fact that he knew the rules were being put into place in 2008 he failed to maintain accurate records and follow protocol by turning them in at the Secretary of State's office. Considering the charges OEA brought against him a few years ago and his conviction for racketeering this isn't surprising. Of course if he had a dedicated group of volunteers instead of paid signature gatherers this wouldn't be an issue. Because signature gatherers are being paid there are strict rules and the Secretary of State is watching for compliance.

Oregon's initiative process was in dire need of reform. Before this new law took effect signature gatherers were paid by the signature, a system that encouraged fraud and forgery. Some signature gatherers were caught signing voter's names to initiatives the original signer had no idea existed. According to an article from "Our Oregon Newsletter "4.24.07 "House Bill 2082 will require campaigns that hire paid signature gatherers to keep accurate and up-to-date payroll records and gives the Secretary of State audit authority to spot check campaigns . . . Additionally, HB 2082 increase the number of signatures required to file a ballot title from 25 to a reasonable 1,000, which would stop the current practice of campaigns marketing their ideas on the taxpayer's dime. If the campaign goes forward with the measure, the 1,000 signatures would count for the final total."

Until Sizemore complies with state election law he cannot continue to gather signatures for the following ballot measures:

• A proposal to make federal income taxes fully deductible on state returns.
• A requirement that non-English speaking students take English-only classes within two years.
• Teacher Merit Pay

These aren't the only ballot measures being suspended. Several measures by another anti-tax, anti-public employee group, "Freedom Works" are affected. This is good news for our members. OEA and other like-minded groups have fought these kinds of measures for years. We were instrumental in getting ballot measure reform in place because of Sizemore's racketeering and general abuse of the system.

Naturally there is a backlash. According to the article Kevin Mannix, another ballot measure backer, "is rounding up signatures for a proposed initiative measure to overturn many of the new restrictions recently put into place." Mannix says "It undoes the bureaucratic garbage that has been enacted by the powerful elites."

Hmmm. Without a doubt OEA is powerful. Our members make us strong. But elite? Hardly. This sounds suspiciously like sour grapes and a general distaste for an educated public. Why is it unreasonable for firms employing paid signature gatherers to prove that they aren't paying by the signature when this practice encourages fraud? Because it eliminates the industry of making money from ballot measures, something that has been going on in Oregon for years.

Thankfully the new rules are in place now. Unfortunately we know that these prolific sponsors aren't going away anytime soon. With luck we will have slowed them down and may keep some ugly ballot measures off of the November 2008 ballot.