Inbox

What Beef?

Since Speaker Merkley entered the Senate race the

has falsely accused Jeff of being a slumlord, a pimp, and a sellout. But not even your sensationalized style of journalism can defame Jeff's record strengthening our public schools.

The entire premise of Beth Slovic's story ("Charter Fuel," WW, Feb. 27, 2008) is false. Jeff and his wife Mary never considered sending their child to a charter school. Like any good parents, they were willing to check out any option available to their child. Public schoolteachers across the state are inspired when parents explore different options and determine that Oregon public schools are the best for their child.

Since the day he ran for office, Jeff's top priority has been to support public education. His passion for public schools is rooted in his experiences—the son of a millworker, who became the first in his family to go to college and pursued a career in public service.

As speaker of the House of Representatives, he increased funding for our schools by nearly $1 billion, expanded access to Head Start to more than 13,000 children, and doubled financial aid to bring college within reach for more hardworking people just like him. His record earned him a 100-percent rating from our organization.

Every single Oregon teacher gets to play a role in our endorsement process. It is one of the most grassroots organizations in this state. We are confident that Oregon teachers will see Jeff for exactly who he is—a father of two public-school students, a champion for public schools and the best chance to defeat Gordon Smith—and not how the Willamette Week portrays him to be.

Sena Norton, president of the Metro Southeast Uniserv
Chris Scranton, vice president of Madras Education Association
Cindy Towers, vice president of the Roseburg Education Association
Jan Kailey, member of the Bend Education Association
Dan Jones, president of Cascade Uniserv

Keep California out of Oregon

In regards to the "Illegal Eh-lien" Feb. 20, 2008, article, the real problem with Oregon's immigration isn't the Canadians, or the Mexicans, or even the Icelandics.  It is much more sinister and homegrown than we believe. 

California has been sending professionals, teachers, techies, etc. up into Oregon for more than a decade now.  And, it starts with Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. (By the way, I think he's even sent the wine-maker, the baker AND the candle-stick maker.) Those Californians have raised our wages, our home values and our standards of living for way too long now.

Why should the rest of the nation's home values continue to plummet when Portland's stay steady, and even increase? This outrage needs to stop immediately. By creating a tax to build a giant wall of timber between California and Oregon, we may stop the madness.

By instituting this action immediately, we could stem this tide of California immigrants and truly be able to keep Portland weird.  To all you Canadians, Mexicans and Icelandic peoples, Oregon's new motto is: "Come Home to Portland.  We'll Leave the Light On."

Clark Ortiz
North Montana Avenue

WWeek 2015