| Three groups favoring
Mayor Kitty Piercy’s re-election
explain why electing Jim Torrey would be a step backward for
the city. The participating groups and their issues are: Oregon League of Conservation Voters
Jan Wilson, Lane County Steering Committee “There's a clear difference between Jim Torrey, who
voted against the environment at every opportunity, and Kitty
Piercy, who voted for environmental protection and the health
of our families nearly every time. Many new young voters in the area think that, since Torrey
has purloined Barack Obama's campaign slogan, Torrey is progressive
and represents "change." What they don't realize
is that we already saw what kind of "change" Torrey
represents, and it's not good. We don't want to go back to
a city without a sustainability commission, to a city that
would rather waste money and destroy habitat with the WEP boondoggle
than add natural habitats to our parks inventory, to a city
that allowed polluters to dump toxics into our neighborhoods,
into the air we breathe, and into the water we drink. Kitty Piercy is endorsed by OLCV because she understands the "triple
bottom-line" and rejects the false choice between the
environment and the economy - she enhances our local economy
by valuing and stewarding our local environment and our local
workforce.” SEIU
Cricket McCloud, Second Vice President, SEIU Local 49 “Hi, my name is Cricket McCloud and I am an SEIU member.
I am here today to say: It is not right for Mr. Torrey to blame
unions for his inability to find money to fund what he suggests. Mr. Torrey is right when he says he doesn’t often get
endorsed by unions because he doesn’t support labor.
Working people like me are the ones doing the hard work. We
are the teachers, bus drivers, firefighters, plumbers, your
children’s service workers and your healthcare workers.
Most of all we are the behind-the-scenes ordinary working people
who live in this community, creating a place we all feel safe
in and are proud to call home. Kitty Piercy doesn’t have to make any deals with unions
to get our support. We support her because she supports all
working people. Mayor Piercy is a forward thinker, a true mayor
for all of Eugene.” Basic Rights Oregon
Becky Flynn, Regional Director “This is the first year that Basic Rights Oregon’s
local volunteers have voted to get involved in electoral races
in Eugene. I am proud to announce that Mayor Kitty Piercy has
earned Basic Rights Oregon’s first endorsement
ever in a Eugene race. Why? Because the choice could not be
more clear. Mayor Kitty Piercy has been a vocal champion for lesbian,
gay, bisexual and transgender equality for years. In addition,
Mayor Piercy has promised to continue her leadership by public
opposing efforts by out-of-state right-wing groups to repeal
Oregon’s anti-discrimination and domestic partner laws.
Why? Mayor Piercy knows that Oregonians think discrimination
is wrong and that turning back the clock on these laws would
harm members of
this community. In contrast, Mayor Piercy’s opponent, Jim Torrey, won’t
go on record and tell the public where he stands on the issues.
For years Jim Torrey has refused to fill out the most basic
questionnaires stating where he stands on the question of discrimination
and on legal recognition for same-sex relationships. This is
the type of questionnaire that candidates for local and state
office fill out as a matter of course because it lets the voters
know where the candidates stands on the issues. I’ve
got a thick folder with questionnaires that other local candidates
filled out. But Jim Torrey won’t fill it out. Why not?
Because it would reveal that he is out of step with the values
of the people of Eugene. Jim Torrey knows that the only way he can win this race is
if Eugene voters don’t know who he is. One year he is
a registered Republican; the next year he is an Independent.
THE ONLY SURE thing we do know about Jim Torrey is
that he is a major contributor to George W. Bush. We know that, although Jim Torrey switched his party affiliation
from Republican to Independent, campaign finance reports show
that the same rich and powerful Republicans who have given
him money in the past are filling
his campaign war chest right now. We also know that specifically because of Jim Torrey’s
backward-thinking notions about members of the gay community,
Eugene now has a human rights ordinance that offers less protection
than those of even Bend and Hillsboro. During this critical time when members of our community are
threatened by out-of-state right-wing groups that want to roll
back the clock on basic protections, we need someone we can
count on – someone who will move us forward and will
continue to be the mayor for all Eugene. That person is Mayor
Kitty Piercy.”
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