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Mr. Pryor concurred with the remarks of Mr. Zelenka. <br />Mr. Brown supported the amendment. He attributed many benefits enjoyed by all people, such as the <br />weekend and sick leave, to the efforts of unions. <br />Mayor Piercy shared a communication from "We the People of Eugene," which opposed the inclusion of <br />unions in the resolution but recommended that if unions were addressed they be mentioned in Section 2 <br />rather than Section H. <br />The amendment to the motion failed, 5:2; Ms. Taylor and Mr. Brown voting yes <br />Mr. Zelenka offered a friendly amendment, accepted by Mr. Brown, to correct an error in Section 1 of the <br />resolution, which should also read "corporations, unions, and special interest groups." <br />Ms. Taylor said it was difficult to vote for the resolution because she did not think it made sense. <br />Mr. Farr said his vote against the resolution was not an indictment of the resolution but rather reflected <br />his belief that the council diluted its attention and resources away from its mission to address issues it had <br />no control over, nor was it chartered to have control over. The resources and time spent could be spent on <br />issues the council had a direct impact upon. He invited residents with concerns about federal issues to <br />take them to their federal representatives because they had the power to address such matters. <br />Speaking to Ms. Taylor's comments about unions, Ms. Ortiz indicated support for unions but thought the <br />resolution was about campaign finance reform. She pointed out that unions had considerable power in <br />places such as California, where the California Correctional Peace Officers Association played a key role <br />in getting Arnold Schwarzenegger elected as governor. Ms. Ortiz believed such resolutions were within <br />the purview of the council. <br />Ms. Taylor agreed with Ms. Ortiz that such resolutions were within the purview of the council. She also <br />believed that such local actions had an impact nationally. <br />Mr. Brown agreed with Ms. Ortiz and Ms. Taylor that it was appropriate for the council to consider the <br />resolution. He emphasized the importance of symbolic statements. <br />Mr. Zelenka pointed out to Mr. Farr that the council took a position on State legislation that might not be <br />pertinent to the City's agenda but were reflective of the government as a whole, and he thought <br />government "all the way up the line" had the responsibility to deal with such issues. <br />Mr. Poling did not find the argument that no other community had included unions in their resolutions to <br />be persuasive. He expressed concern that the resolution did not speak specifically to limits on <br />contributions and questioned who would make those rules. Mr. Poling advocated for campaign finance <br />limits at the local level. Mr. Brown concurred. <br />Mr. Zelenka noted that some had advocated for referring the resolution to the voters but he opposed that <br />due to the cost; in addition, the deadline for the May ballot was passed and there was time to discuss <br />putting it on the November ballot. <br />The motion passed, 6:1; Mr. Farr voting no. <br />MINUTES— Eugene City Council February 15, 2012 Page 2 <br />Work Session <br />