“Sorenson has a good, long track record on the issues his south Eugene constituents care about — clean water, clean energy, local business, local (and union) jobs, human rights, saving schools, to name a few. His efforts to curb out-of-control logging, mining and other destructive practices have made him some enemies, but that doesn’t stop Sorenson from voting on the side of the little guy.”
“Newspaper characterizations of Andy Stahl don’t match his actions or affiliations. The R-Gcharacterizes Stahl as a “progressive” (3/9), a “liberal” (3/25), and says it “might be difficult to distinguish Stahl from Sorenson.” The R-G mentions Stahl’s reputation as an environmentalist (1/11). Well, that was history. Andy is a very different person these days.
He once did yeoman work with the Sierra Club Legal Defense Fund during the struggle to stop old-growth habitat destruction, and fought excessive logging in the Coast Range that caused an unusually high frequency of landslides. That was more than 20 years ago.
Today, to facilitate the industrial logging of 1.5 million acres of federal forest, Andy supports delivering 1.5 million acres of federal public forest to the timber industry disguised as county funding, eliminating all environmental laws on that 1.5 million acres.”
Read the rest at the Eugene Weekly
From the Register-Guard
“Rob Handy and Pete Sorenson are two of the best commissioners to serve Lane County. Both have outstanding records of consistently good, thoughtful decisions on behalf of the people they represent. Both are hard-working and willing to take a stand for what is right. They are devoted to serving the best interests of the county as a whole and do not cater to special interests.
Don’t be fooled by a timber industry-sponsored, politically motivated lawsuit that tried to smear our progressive commissioners. The shameful legal harassment of elected officials with a baseless lawsuit was aided by The Register-Guard’s enthusiastic and tireless coverage of the plaintiffs’ claims, including months of coverage when there wasn’t a single fact in the record supporting the claims.
The fact that a large timber company can use its financial clout and the state’s Open Meetings Law to harass our best local elected officials was shocking and undermines local democracy. The Legislature needs to fix that abuse to exonerate our local officials, protect our elected state officials from similar attacks and save local governments millions of dollars in legal defense fees.
Unfortunately, state Sen. Floyd Prozanski dropped the ball, and none of the other local legislators has picked it up. Now, Prozanski has abandoned Sorenson and endorsed a far-less-experienced candidate who believes the county should log its way out of debt.
Handy and Sorenson each have earned another term as Lane County commissioner.
Sincerely,
EBEN FODOR”
The Graduate Teaching Fellows Federation (GTFF) has endorsed Pete Sorenson for Lane County Commissioner. The GTFF is a labor union representing over 1300 Graduate Teaching Fellows and Research Assistants at the University of Oregon.
Please join me in attending the Emerald City Roller Girls “bout” this coming Saturday. The ECRG have come up with an innovative way to raise funds for Lane County Animal Services. Join me in supporting their efforts!
http://www.myeugene.org/2012/04/13/emerald-city-roller-girls-to-donate-april-21-event-profits-to-lane-county-animal-services/
The Oregon Political Tax Credit is one of those progressive ideas that makes Oregon a great place to live, work, and play.
Through our tax system, the State of Oregon gives each tax-paying Oregonian a $50 gift. But you can’t keep it. Instead, you must either pay it back in state taxes — or donate it to a qualified political campaign or cause.
To put it another way: By donating $50 to a political campaign of your choice, you can reduce your taxes or increase your refund by that same $50 (assuming you pay at least $50 in taxes). That’s right: it’s a full 100% credit, not a deduction.
The bottom line? By contributing $50 to a progressive political campaign, you can make Oregon a better place – and it won’t cost you a dime. Married, filing jointly? It’s $50 per person – so you and your spouse can donate $100 and get it all back!
In 2009, it was on line 37 of the Form 40, the long form.
If you filled out the short form, Form 40S, it was on line 16, “Other credits”. The credit was identified by entering 723 in 16A and the amount in 16B.
There are some limitations. Here’s what the state tax instructions said for 2004 taxes:
Political contribution credit. Fill in your total political contributions, but not more than $100 on a joint return or $50 on all others. You must have contributed money during 2004 to any of the following:
- A political party.
- A qualified candidate (or the candidate’s principal campaign committee) for federal, state, or local office to be voted for in Oregon.
- A political action committee certified in Oregon.
So, basically any candidate or measure on the ballot in Oregon, any political party, or any political committee registered in Oregon. (But not a 501c3 nonprofit; those are deductible elsewhere.) More info from the state of Oregon.
One more thing: The Oregon Political Tax Credit is not a refundable credit. So, if your taxes are already zero, then you won’t get your $50 back.
Service Employees International Union Local 503 has endorsed Pete Sorenson for Lane County Commissioner. SEIU Local 503 represents more than 45,000 workers in Oregon including home care workers, health care workers and employees of the Oregon University System.
Sorenson has the backing of every labor organization that has made an endorsement in the May 15 commissioner’s race.
http://www.seiu503.org/
http://lindholmcompanyblog.com/?p=7197
In a December 2011 poll, Lindholm shows that Pete’s favorability ratio at more than 2-1. This ratio has climbed since its lowest point from the settlement of the 2011 Gillespie decision. With the election looming, this adds more momentum to Pete’s campaign.
“I am glad that my constituents have my back. Time and time again I have stood up for South Eugene’s values. I will continue to enjoy working for them.” Pete said Wednesday night regarding the poll results.
The Independent Party of Oregon has selected their candidates to endorse in Oregon’s 2012 primary. We are pleased to announce that the Independent Party of Oregon stands firmly behind Commissioner Sorenson in his re-election campaign. This common sense endorsement from the Independent Party joins many groups that support Pete. The election is in 43 days.
Two more labor unions have endorsed Pete Sorenson’s re-election bid. AFSCME Council 75 and Teamsters Council 37 are backing Sorenson because of his record as a champion for working families.
Sorenson has a 100 percent voting record from both AFSCME and the Teamsters. Eugene’s firefighters, Amalgamated Transit Union Local 757, and United Food and Commercial Workers Local 555 have also endorsed Sorenson.
Basic Rights Oregon, the state’s largest advocacy organization for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender Oregonians, has once again given a ‘green light’ to Pete Sorenson as a candidate who supports equality for all. Pete is a longtime supporter of marriage equality and worked with Republicans to extend domestic partner benefits to Lane County Housing Agency employees.
“I am proud to receive a ‘green light’ from BRO,” Sorenson said. “And I am proud to stand for marriage equality an important step toward justice for all.”
Sorenson has received the Eugene Human Rights Commission’s Hometown Civil Rights Hero Award and voted to maintain the county’s Human Rights Commission when the county commissioners abolished the board last summer.
Dear Editor,
I support Pete Sorenson’s re-election for County Commissioner. As a County Commissioner, legislator, and Lane Community College Board member, he has been a consistent advocate and leader for public education and the environment. While Board Chair at Lane Community College, Pete helped craft the voter approved ballot measure that doubled the size and modernized the LCC campus.
A former LCC Board member myself, I had legal instruction on Oregon Public Meetings’ Law. Common understanding has been a quorum of board members may not meet outside official meetings. While it is reasonable for two board members to discuss positions on issues to develop a fuller understanding of the issues, two members may not take legal action on behalf the board. As far as I can ascertain there never was a quorum of the Lane County Board meeting privately, and I support Sorenson’s position on the Public Meetings’ Law, as does Oregon’s Legislative Counsel. The judge concluded there never was meetings where more than two board members participated, but created a new law called “sequential deliberations” in which he argued several one on one meetings constitute a quorum. Such an interpretation of the Public
Meetings’ Law has far reaching implications.
The suit against Sorenson and Handy on the Public Meetings’ Law was
initiated by individuals holding opposing political views and paid for by a
leader in the timber industry. For fair and effective governance in county
affairs, we need a political balance on the board. Commissioner Pete
Sorenson has articulated reasonable environmental and educational positions
and served the community well. He has my confidence and vote.
Sincerely,
Michael R. Rose