Guest Opinion: Oh, What a Night!
by Lou Capozzi
Last Tuesday, voters in Central Oregon sent a clear message. To paraphrase Howard Beal, the character in the movie Network, “We’re mad as hell and we can’t take it any more.” We came together as a community, in the wake of a terrible tragedy, and used our votes to celebrate change and express optimism for the future.
But as we celebrate, we can’t forget the lessons of the past.
In the ’60s my generation took up causes begun by those who came before us: lawyers who chipped away at Jim Crow, Quakers and pacifists who taught us nonviolence, women who kept the Equal Rights Amendment alive, and brave men and women who formed the first gay rights groups in the 1950s.
What we added to their efforts was the voices of millions of students, and a video camera. We burned draft cards and bras, and occupied ROTC and dean’s offices. We took those building blocks of the past into the streets and onto the evening news. We thought we had changed our country for the better – permanently.
But in hindsight, we were naive about a lot. We thought it would take just a few more years to transform America. We didn’t foresee how much of what we won would have to be won again today: voting rights, reproductive rights, the right to dissent without being treated as an enemy, freedom from persecution because of the color of your skin or your accent.
After our years of protests, many of us, like me, cut our hair and went on to careers inside the very institutions we had picketed. Personally, I spent 40 years in corporate communications where I learned that persuasion is hard work, and less glamorous than marching. But I never stopped believing the lessons of the ’60s — that ordinary people, organized and persistent, can tackle the thorniest issues.
Which brings me to last Tuesday.
Here in Central Oregon the “blue wave” hit all across our community, as it did across the nation. Pundits have said midterms always punish the party in power or that gas prices or the Iran War fueled the “blue wave.” That’s partly true. But I watched the returns and saw the shape of it today: a federal administration that has pushed past every norm, launched an unpopular war abroad and demonstrated a level of coarseness, meanness and cruelty we’ve never seen from any other president.
I watched and I celebrated as our community, given the chance, said “we’ve had enough.”
It didn’t happen by itself. Here in Central Oregon it happened because people organized — at town halls and on street corners waving posters. In campaigns for the governorship, for County Commission, the state House and for Congress. Doing the hard work with letters to the editor and knocks on doors. Many of the people who were doing that work, like me, have gray hair. Many more are the age we were back then.
To the victors, I say what nobody told us in 1968: this is not the finish line. The work that happened before our 15 minutes of fame made our progress possible, but the work after it, or lack thereof, decided what lasted. We got distracted by adulthood, and the hard work of building a career and raising a family. We forgot the key lesson — win the election, then do the slow, patient work of protecting what you’ve won.
We were right back then. And we were right again last week. Now let’s be sure not to make the mistake of sitting out the next phase of the effort.
Do what you can. Attend city council meetings and have your voice heard. Meet our new county commissioners. Write letters to our national representatives. Great things can happen when you stay engaged and stay curious. Much will change in the coming years built on this wave of optimism. Be a part of that change.
—Lou Capozzi lives in Bend.
Institutional loyalty must never supersede public responsibility
As Redmond city councilor and a former Sheriff’s Office commander, it is deeply troubling when law enforcement agencies appear more committed to protecting one another and their institutional reputations rather than ensuring transparency, accountability and public trust.
When agencies become defensive, avoid difficult questions or fail to independently examine allegations of misconduct, it creates the perception that protecting the organization has become the priority and more important. That, is an unacceptable standard for any public institution and it’s just a flimsy attempt at trying to avoid institutional embarrassment and it supports that culture of corruption.
The citizens of Deschutes County deserve law enforcement leadership that understands its first responsibility is to the public, not to protecting colleagues or preserving reputations.
In closing, it is not my goal for the Sheriff’s Office to fail, but instead the goal and expectation is to ensure independent oversight and equal standards of accountability for all of the hard working deputies that serve our community. That will only occur by implementing an independent ombudsman and an oversight committee.
—Clifford Evelyn
John Heylin deserves our thanks
Now that the election results are in, we can rest assured that the residents of Deschutes County will benefit from having the representation we have too long deserved!
John Heylin deserves our thanks for his tireless work to expand the Deschutes County Commission from three members to five. What began as an effort to make county government more representative became a successful ballot measure, supported by thousands of petition signatures and approved by nearly two-thirds of county voters.
It was no small undertaking. John spent countless hours organizing, gathering support, navigating the political process and making the case for a county government better equipped to serve a growing population. His persistence paid off, and Deschutes County will be better for it.
This is hardly John’s first contribution to our community. He co-founded the Central Oregon Tool Library, making tools and equipment more accessible and affordable for local residents. He has advocated for affordable housing, served on Bend advisory committees, supported improvements to public accessibility and pushed for more responsive local government.
John is one of those people who sees something that needs to be fixed and gets to work. He brings energy, practical thinking and a remarkable willingness to take on projects that require far more time and patience than most of us can imagine. We are fortunate to have people like John who care enough about their community to put in the work, particularly when that work is neither easy nor glamorous.
John has earned a well-deserved round of applause and the sincere gratitude of the Deschutes County community, including the three new commissioners elected in May and November. (Thank you, John!!!!)
—Sherryn Adair
Letter of the Week: Thanks for highlighting someone out there doing the quiet work of being a government of and by the people, Sherryn! Come on by for your gift card to Palate.
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