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<br />e <br /> <br />e <br /> <br />e <br /> <br />has heard this speech and many others too many times. She served this commu- <br />nity as a hostess, traveling ambassador, staunch defender, and loyal critic. <br />She was neither elected nor appointed, but she accepted the responsibility <br />and delivered for me and 109,000 Eugeneans. Please join me in thanking her. <br /> <br />Before I leave this stage, if you will allow, I would like to share with you <br />some thoughts about the future. I urge this community to keep its collective <br />hand firmly on the economic throttle. Already I hear the drums beating, and <br />perhaps you do also. They are saying that our economy has improved and we <br />can now relax or set aside some of the things we have been doing in favor of <br />others. They are suggesting that we have experienced economic recovery and <br />survived, and now we can reduce support for the Eugene/Springfield Metropoli- <br />tan Partnership. They are suggesting we can cut back on the business assis- <br />tance programs and eliminate our lobbying efforts in Salem and Washington. <br />My response is, "Wrong, wrong, wrong. II <br /> <br />What a cruel hoax it would be on the people of this community, to once again <br />return to the days when our future was an accident. I plead with this new <br />Mayor and council, do not ignore the recent trend of higher interest rates <br />and reduced raw material/natural resource availability. Storm clouds are <br />indeed gathering. We have seen it many times in this community and our <br />future is fragile. Let us not forget that just four years ago this community <br />was more economically depressed, more emotionally dispirited, and hopelessly <br />demoralized than anytime since Oregonians stood in soup lines. <br /> <br />If we are to maintain the security that we know today, create and maintain <br />jobs for our children, and maintain our hope for the future, we must strike a <br />balance between our commitment to the Eugene life style which runs very deep, <br />and our commitment to economic progress which does not. You and I must stand <br />guard, ready to resist the inevitable pressure to apply the brakes to the <br />City's economic engine. As sure as the sun rises tomorrow, those pressures <br />are on the way. <br /> <br />We must never sacrifice our quality of life for the benefit of economic <br />growth, but neither can we regress to happenstance for the future. I suggest <br />to you that with one hand on that economic throttle, the other should work on <br />a new and alternate lIpeople agenda" for Eugene. Certainly, we must look to <br />other needs in our community. We cannot stand by as partners in this human <br />race and abandon the homeless, the drug sand alcohol addicted, or the chil- <br />dren who are being thrown away. We cannot allow that to happen. <br /> <br />A few weeks ago, Karen and I had the experience of accompanying ten under- <br />privileged children from Eugene to Disneyland to celebrate the 60th birthday <br />of Mickey Mouse. As I watched these young people, and those ten represented <br />perhaps 1,500 in this community (and it was not easy to choose the list), I <br />was both reassured and frightened about his community's future. I was reas- <br />sured because these young citizens were tough, strong, and determined. What <br />was frightening was that these same qualities will serve them extremely well <br />in a life of crime, lawlessness, and violence. That is a life much more <br />available to them than the one you and I know. <br /> <br />When I jog from downtown, and I challenge you to try it, you will only have <br />to run a few blocks before you will find a family living in a car. You <br /> <br />State of the City Address <br />Brian B. Obie <br /> <br />January 9, 1989 <br /> <br />Page 3 <br />