Correction:
In last week’s “Back to the Ballot Box: Election 2024” feature, we gave cumulative totals of the cash contributions for each city council candidate, which included the cash candidates had contributed to their own campaigns. We have corrected the numbers in the online version of the story to reflect the total amount of cash contributions for each candidate in the 2024 election. The updated numbers do not include the candidates’ contributions to their own campaigns. We regret the errors.
Character Matters
Polls show white males favoring Trump. As a white male for 65 years, 42 as a white dad, and another 11 as a white grandfather, I feel compelled to address you guys.
Can any of you dudes hold up Donald Trump as a role model for your kids? Do we teach our children to behave like him? Of course not! He lies constantly. He’s cheated on all of his wives. He makes fun of the handicapped. He has been accused by at least 26 women of rape, kissing, and groping without consent. I could go on, and on, and on.
Would you guys want somebody like Trump dating your daughter? Of course not!
We raise our kids to be good people and we hope they make us proud. As a nation, we should carry that same expectation. Our President, at the very least, should be a good person who instills pride in all of us. Sadly, and obviously, Trump falls short.
Imagine Inauguration Day: Kamala Harris sworn in as the next President of the United States of America. Millions of little girls and their parents rejoicing. The inspiration and joy her election would provide to the world is simply immeasurable. We can all take pride in that!
—Mike Covey
Total dipshits
Your embrace of Kamala is disgusting and way off base. She is so pathetic and unable to run anything, including a fry station….which she probably didn’t that it’s completely evident that your leftist ridiculousness has rotted your brains! Please get it together as your living in a dipshit bubble! Choosing dems is wrong, get over it!!!
Get it together losers!!!
—Scott Bilyeu
Measure 118: A Costly Mistake for Oregon’s Economy
As a former city councilor and board member of the Central Oregon Intergovernmental Council, I oppose Measure 118, which I believe will impose a massive tax burden on Oregon’s economy and jeopardize local livelihoods.
This measure proposes a gross receipts tax on businesses with over $25 million in annual sales, taxing them on sales rather than profits. With a staggering $6.8 billion tax looming, businesses will face increased costs on goods and services, regardless of profitability. This could force many to raise prices, cut jobs, or close their doors.
Moreover, Measure 118 introduces a costly 3% tax on sales at every stage of the supply chain, resulting in a “tax on a tax” that makes everyday products significantly more expensive.
Oregon’s businesses are already burdened by a 33% increase in state taxes over the past five years, leaving us with the second-worst corporate tax ranking in the nation. Measure 118 will further weaken our competitive edge, driving jobs and revenue out of state and harming our economy.
With rising living costs—averaging an additional $11,000 annually for households—implementing the largest tax increase in Oregon’s history is especially troubling. This measure will exacerbate financial strains, particularly on vulnerable populations like seniors and those on fixed incomes.
In conclusion, Measure 118 threatens local businesses, drives up consumer prices, and undermines our communities. I urge Oregonians to reject this measure and support policies that promote economic stability.
—Chris Piper
Election Deniers Have No Place in Oregon Government
This November voters will cast their votes for Oregon’s next Secretary of State. Second in line to the Governorship, the Secretary of State is also the chief auditor of executive branch departments and is responsible for the administration of elections throughout all 36 Oregon counties. The republican candidate, Dennis Linthicum, should be familiar to Oregon voters for his protest walkouts denying a quorum in the Oregon legislature stymying legislation proposed by the Democrat majority in Salem to protect access to reproductive care including abortion.
What voters may not know about Dennis are his views on the outcome of the 2020 election and efforts in some states to disqualify the former president from the ballot based on Section 3 of the 14th Amendment to the Constitution. In a recent interview with OPB, Dennis stated “I would not keep Trump off the ballot given the facts as I currently understand them. Some state secretaries identified Trump as the “leader of an insurrection.” Since the claim of “insurrection” is not supported by any formal, adjudicated response from the courts, the respective secretaries crossed the line for unbiased decision making and their decisions represent unacceptable behavior.” In the same interview, Dennis refused to answer the question “Did Joe Biden win the 2020 election.” By refusing to accept the 2020 election outcome, Dennis reveals he is unfit to serve as Oregon’s next Secretary of State. Please cast your vote for Tobias Read.
—Joel Komarek
Who took the gnomes on ELV?
Yes, once again someone has taken all but a couple of the elves/gnomes from the ELV trail. This is the second time this year. After the last theft occurred, many of us helped replace them and we all once again enjoyed the whimsical vibe of this trail. I really hate to think we are sharing the trail with such a person. So, whoever you are, you will not defeat us and we will once again repopulate the gnomes on ELV!
—Chris Evensen
Letter of
the Week:
Chris: O, goody — a letter that is not about the election! Keep on with your bad selves, out there enjoying the trails like imminent doom isn’t a thing. Gnome gnome left behind! Letter of the Week. Come on by for your gift card to Palate.
—Nicole Vulcan
This article appears in Source Weekly October 31, 2024.
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