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12/16/1981 Meeting
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12/16/1981 Meeting
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12/16/1981
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<br /> e liThe second reason why the council should refrain from becoming involved in this <br /> dispute is that the Register-Guard has unleashed what amounts to a vindictive <br /> hate campaign. A few days after the inflammatory editorial was published, I <br /> received hate literature such as I had never received in the past. Enclosed is <br /> one piece entitled 'Enemy of the People--Stamp out Unethical Parasite Attorneys.' <br /> While the writer did not understand why the paper wanted me to be attacked, the <br /> picture and the tone used was similar to that in the Register-Guard's message. <br /> liThe trouble with creating a gun of hate, as the paper has done, is that it's <br /> hard to control who the victim will be. It may be an attorney, someone who's <br /> gay, or maybe a Jewish, Mormon, or black person. It doesn't matter if you're <br /> John Lennon, or the Pope, or'President Reagan, or Tom Williams, or Brian Obie, <br /> or Eric Haws--someone out there who doesn't like you will follow up the attack. <br /> "We on the council have been the subjects, in the 1 ast few years, of business <br /> boycotts, surveillances, innuendoes, and criticism from various hate groups, <br /> letters to the editor, and, now, tasteless editorials. Past history of the <br /> council would seem to indicate that it is only my turn now. last month it was <br /> B r i an Ob ie's. Which one of us will be next? <br /> "Even though some have suggested that the ed itori al was written before the <br /> article, the paper could have used its power in a different way. Instead of <br /> acting as the National Enquirer of Eugene, they could have praised all of the <br /> hard-working councilors, naming each and their contributions, and told of the <br /> long hours each puts in, their devotion to duty, the committees on which they <br /> serve--and left my name out. <br /> e "In the alternative, the paper could have offered constructive criticism by <br /> exploring the problems facing the council and suggesting solutions. But the ir <br /> approach was to attack with a sledgehammer and then ask for another warm body. <br /> "Furthermore, the Register-Guard missed the whole point of the problem. It <br /> failed to ask the most fundamental Question of journalism: Why? I would like <br /> to address this question by first outlining some relevant personal information. <br /> "At the end of my last four-year term, I decided to follow the advice of my wife <br /> and not run again so that I might have more time to spend with my family. When <br /> I stated such, members of the council and publiC asked me to run again. I <br /> reluctantly decided to do so, but when I failed to gain a majority of the votes <br /> in the primary due to my outspoken support for civil rights and liberties, I <br /> publicly stated that I was through campaigning. Others then campaigned for me, <br /> raising more money on my behalf than that spent on any other council campaign. <br /> "At this point I even received the reluctant endorsement of the Register-Guard, <br /> although in my ward I am not sure whether this was to help or hinder me. The <br /> paper's policy, however, has always been to support someone they think they can <br /> control, and, if this is not possible, at least to end up on the winning side. <br /> liThe voters then gave me a vote of confidence and a mandate to return to office <br /> on my terms. But a few months later, some real problems began to occur. Most <br /> e <br /> MINUTES--Eugene City Council December 16, 1981 Page 4 <br />
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