NO ON 90! Enron Alum Puts $1.5 Million Into M 90

I spent a beautiful Indian-summer Saturday in Eugene last week, trapped in an airless room in the law school with some really scary people, the folks pushing Measure 90, the measure to privatize and close elections to all but the top-two corporate approved primary finishers. 

I remarked to a friend that these M90 campaigners gave me the exact same creepy buzz as Scientologists, all absolute certainty about their solution but remarkable vagueness about what the heck that so-called solution has to do with any real world problems.

It is absolutely fitting that the lavishly overfunded yes campaign has filled the Voter's Pamphlet with arguments in the OPPOSED section but that are actually just more filibustering yes arguments.  For this reason alone your vote on M90 should be a resounding no.  The yes campaign conduct is despicable -- although, it does fit perfectly with their approach to elections as a whole:  "We've got all the money, who gives a flying fig about democracy and your right to be heard.  If you had anything worth saying, you'd have money."

This sleeper measure is the most undemocratic idea since the reign of terror in the South under Jim Crow.

"Let's live on the planet as if we intend to stay."

Former Top Enron Energy Trader Funds 69% of Measure 90 Campaign (top two primary) FOR RELEASE:  10/8/2014   Manipulating energy markets was not enough.  Now the agenda is manipulating Oregon's elections. The campaign to impose "top two primaries" on Oregon has revealed its true logo -- Enron.  Haven't Enron energy traders done Oregon enough harm?   Former top-level Enron energy trader John Arnold has now contributed $1,500,000 to a new political committee, the "Open Primaries Committee."  The Committee's only mission is to support Measure 90, the "top two" primary plan backed by corporations and the wealthy. PRESS RELEASE BY: John Arnold made his mark on society as one of the top managers of the Enron energy trading operation.  That was the bunch who caused the phony "West Coast Energy Crisis" of 2000-2002 with fraudulent trades, resulting in rolling blackouts and huge electricity rate increases.  Later studies showed that it cost the California economy alone over $42 billion.  See http://www.ppic.org/content/pubs/report/r_103cwr.pdf.  For its impact on Oregon, see http://www.trojandown.org/enron.pdf John Arnold is Measure 90's biggest financial backer, by far.  Of the total raised to support Measure 90 between its two committees ($2,189,719 so far), John Arnold personally has contributed 69% of it. For information on the new committee, see https://secure.sos.state.or.us/orestar/sooDetail.do?sooRsn=76334.  Information on the other pro-Measure 90 committee is here: https://secure.sos.state.or.us/orestar/sooDetail.do?sooRsn=76016 "Burn, baby, burn.  That's a beautiful thing."  That is what Enron traders were recorded as saying as a fire approached a major transmission line, because it caused the line to be "derated" or shut off, thus drastically increasing electricity prices.  See this New York Times article" Word for Word?Energy Hogs: Enron Traders on Grandama Millie and Making Out Like Bandits for more information.  Or remember this from the Enron energy traders: "They're f------g taking all the money back from you guys?" complains an Enron employee on the tapes. "All the money you guys stole from those poor grandmothers in California?" "Yeah, grandma Millie, man" "Yeah, now she wants her f------g money back for all the power you've charged right up, jammed right up her ass for f------g $250 a megawatt hour." See the CBS News article Enron Traders Caught on Tape. John Arnold received a $8 million bonus in 2001, one day before Enron declared bankruptcy.  In his 2005 deposition, he took the 5th Amendment and refused to answer any questions, except basically his name.  He formed a hedge fund, Centaurus Advisors LLC, and hired, among others, John Forney, who had pled guilty to manipulating electricity prices from Enron's now-defunct trading office in Portland, Oregon.  See the CBS News piece Enron Energy Trader Pleads Guilty. For more information on why Measure 90 is bad for Oregon (but somehow apparently good for former Enron energy traders) see : Save Oregon's Democracy Protect Our Vote Contacts: Dan Meek for Oregon Progressive Party press@meek.net 503-293-9021 Blair Bobier for Pacific Green Party blairbobier@hotmail.com 503-559-6176 Seth Woolley for Pacific Green Party seth@swoolley.org 503-953-3943 David Delk for Alliance for Democracy davidafd@ymail.com 503-232-5495

Oregon Progressive Party | 320 S.W. Stark | Suite 202 | Portland | Oregon 97204 | USA | info@progparty.org | www.progparty.org

Undue influence over Salem Planning Comm'n to remain covert

Hat tip to City Watch and kudos to the 17 who turned out and all those who wrote or called to oppose further stacking the Commission with special interests.

"Let's live on the planet as if we intend to stay."

Subject: Planning Commission votes down the proposed amendment

After some discussion the Planning Commission voted down the proposed amendment adding another real estate industry rep to the Planning Commission. Two Commissioners were unable to attend. The five who attended voted 3-2.

The consensus is to allow another look and deeper consideration of the matter.

The Commission received testimony from 18 citizens and 17 of those were against the proposed amendment. Three CityWatch members attended and offered verbal testimony (Dave Engen, Evan White and myself).

The discussion coalesced around

1) is it right and appropriate to have Planning Commissioners who are "principally engaged in buying, selling, or developing real estate"?;

2) what does "principally engaged" mean?; 

3) how does the selection process work?;

4) what are the selection criteria used to screen applications to the commission?

Additional discussion was around the meaning of, "No more than two members shall be engaged in the same kind of occupation, business, trade or profession."

Obviously there was more to the discussion and the minutes will reflect that. (I haven't been able to get PC minutes to load on my computer.)

The important result is that the Commission seemed to accept the idea that the ordinance is significantly flawed and that the selection process used to screen potential Commissioners may be failing.

It is very unlikely that these results would have occurred without thoughtful persistent citizen involvement.

THANK YOU to all who testified. We expect the matter to return to the Planning Commission in the near future.