Oregon Public Power Coalition Urges Votes for Erik Sten

[0rganism]

FWIW, I like Sten a lot, and would vote for him myself if I hadn't moved to Hillsboro. He's a visionary city planner, and he has my endorsement too. Unfortunately, this re-election bid may be a difficult one for him. I'm not sure how well the whole VOE thing has gone over, but it is heartening that the opponents failed to get enough petition signatures to revoke it.

(endorsement e-mail on Pud-announce)
Oregon Public Power Coalition endorses: YES on Sten

In previous e-mails we have mentioned our support for Erik Sten in his re-election bid for the City Commissioner spot. Now that ballots are out, we want to remind you of why we support him.

Sten is the first elected official in Oregon to support public ownership of PGE. Not just the first one on City Council to support it, but in all of Oregon.

He spearheaded negotiations with Enron to buy PGE outright. Along with Randy Leonard, Erik Sten has continued to investigate ways to buy PGE or to lower our electric rates.

Remember - PGE ratepayers are STILL paying the highest rates in Oregon. Sten has been working to reduce these rates for ALL PGE ratepayers, not just Portland residents.

We are still paying the bogus taxes too.

According to the anti-Sten campaigns, these negotiations "failed." In fact, ENRON walked out of the talks, giving Portland the one-fingered salute.

At that point the City Council SHOULD have started condemnation proceedings, but there are still only 2 votes on City Council to do this. The Mayor and Commissioner Adams are not willing to do this, and Saltzman is a likely No vote.

Sten also championed Voter-Owned Elections (VOE), which he's currently using for his re-election bid. Ginny Burdick has slammed him for using VOE, but likely she would have slammed him if he hadn't, making the point that he proposed it but isn't willing to utilize it or stick to its limits.

The point of VOE is to eliminate the influence of corporate money in candidate campaigns so we can get elected officials who champion the interests of real people & neighborhoods, not corporations.

Erik Sten is just such a candidate.


NO on Burdick

In addition to endorsing Erik Sten, OPPC is specifically opposing Ginny Burdick.

We want you to understand the REAL reason she is in this race, just in case you're thinking she's a good, liberal substitute for Sten.

Her presence in this race has nothing to do with the water bureau or the tram.

It has everything to do with Portland General Electric & ENRON, a situation that has cost PGE ratepayers more than $1 BILLION - far, far, far more than the water bureau and the tram problems combined.

(But speaking of the water bureau, did you know that Sten got $ 7 million back for us? )

Ginny Burdick is PGE's candidate for City Council.

If she wins, it will be a triple-jackpot win for PGE.

1) They replace one of their two opponents on CC.
2) They get their own commissioner on CC.
3) They strike a blow against VOE, which is designed to limit their influence (along with other corporations) in local races.

BINGO!

How can we say she's PGE's candidate?

1) She is a Vice-President in Gard & Gerber, the public relations firm that creates the public face of PGE.

However, G&G doesn't just create those talking staplers, notepads & workboots we've all heard in the radio commercials. They also ran all 4 of PGE's recent $5 million + campaigns against the People's Utility Districts, lying to the voters, scaring off most elected officials and creating general confusion.

Who she works for in her personal life does matter. She's a VP with G&G, not an entry-level file clerk.

2) She opposes Voter-Owned Elections, while collecting campaign donations from several utility companies, not just PGE. In fact, according to a recent Willamette Week article, NW Natural is her largest donor so far. She's a corporate-candidate.

Don't forget that PGE, Gard & Gerber and the Portland Business Alliance spent at least $350,000 in a failed attmept to put a petition on the ballot to rescind VOE. These 3 organizations were named specifically in Oregonian stories on the effort.

Ginny Burdick is PGE's candidate, not yours.

Burdick is a great choice by PGE. Her liberal credentials disguise the true nature of her candidacy. If PGE had picked a conservative candidate, the standard Portland liberals wouldn't have fallen for their trick.

Don't be tricked. Be smart.

Vote for someone who's been fighting to save you money.

Vote for someone who has stood with us against the big power brokers in this city, instead of taking money from them.

Vote for someone who already understands WHY public ownership of PGE is vital.

Vote for Erik.

[stevedeshazer]

1. Great post, and I completely agree

I've been pissed at and fighting against PGE since high school, and that was a hell of a long time ago.

It enrages me that PGE ratepayers are STILL paying for the FAILED Trojan Nuclear plant.

Public power has a long and successful history in the Northwest. Voters in Columbia County tossed PGE out years ago, and the Columbia River PUD took over. My mom lives there, and her rates are substantially lower, and their customer service is great.

Ginny Burdick wants to represent PGE on the Portland City Council.

Screw that.