Improving the accountability & transparency of city government
In the March 22, 2018, issue of the Register-Guard, Eugene resident Richard Young writes in a letter:
Ballot Measure 20-283 (independent city auditor) is the tail wagging the dog to the delight of those who have fought for years to assert their bias over what they consider the bias of Eugene’s city manager, the mayor and city councilors. But let’s be clear: There’s no such thing as “unbiased” when it is an elected position doing the work. …
In the March 8, 2018, issue of the Register-Guard, Eugene resident Ruth Duemler writes in a letter:
I don’t understand. How could we believe that our Eugene City Council should select its own auditor? …
In the March 6, 2018, issue of the Register-Guard, Eugene resident and League of Women Voters of Lane County president Linda Lynch writes in a letter:
Since 1902, Oregon voters have been able to directly influence laws and government actions by petitioning to put measures on the ballot. As deadlines loom for the 2018 elections, signature gatherers are everywhere there is a crowd, clipboard in hand, asking, “Are you registered to vote?”
Before you sign, ask yourself: “What do I really know about the measure I am being asked to endorse?” …
In the March 1, 2018, issue of the Register-Guard, Eugene resident Bob Cassidy writes in a letter:
On Feb. 12, the Eugene City Council majority put its own rules for its own “appointed” auditor on the ballot to conflict with Ballot Measure 20-283, which is for an independent, elected city auditor. Chris Pryor and another councilor rationalized this maneuver. They said they wanted to give the voters a “choice,” but if they really cared about giving voters a choice, they would put their over-budget, over-reaching, mega-million-dollar new City Hall project on the ballot. …
In the March 1, 2018, issue of the Eugene Weekly, Eugene resident David Ivan Piccioni writes in a letter:
Would you willingly submit to an assessor or auditor regarding all of your proceedings if you were in any kind of public office? You’d have to be quite confident in your character to reply in the affirmative. …
In the February 27, 2018, issue of the Register-Guard, Eugene resident Bob Cassidy writes in a letter:
George Brown, former Eugene city councilor, said it right (“Need full-time council and auditor,” Feb. 21). He has also said that the elected performance auditor can be an asset to the city manager and council. It can help them do their job better —which is the main purpose of the auditor. …
In the February 26, 2018, issue of the Register-Guard, Eugene resident Carol L. Scherer writes in a letter:
I attended two January work sessions of the Eugene City Council that focused on formulating a measure for an appointed auditor as an alternative to the independent elected auditor, Measure 20-283, even though in December the council decided not to pursue a conflicting measure. …
In the February 24, 2018, issue of the Register-Guard, Eugene residents Amy Isler & Frank Gibson write in a letter:
We support Measure 20-283, which would create an elected, independent auditor for the city of Eugene. We were not happy to hear that the City Council muddied the waters by asking to appoint its own auditor. …
In the February 21, 2018, issue of the Register-Guard, Eugene resident and former Eugene Ward 1 City Councilor George Brown writes in a letter:
I agree with Brian Wanty’s Feb. 8 guest viewpoint, which says Eugene needs a full-time City Council. But when he claims that we don’t need an independent, elected financial and performance auditor, he betrays a misunderstanding of how an auditor’s office really functions. …
In the February 8, 2018, issue of the Eugene Weekly, Eugene resident Susan Brenner writes in a letter:
It is my understanding that the Eugene City Council is considering adding an alternative auditor measure for the May ballot, to join the original measure which garnered 10,000 signatures (and to be transparent, including mine) and met all city requirements for the process. This was not an easy or quick process.
Now another group of citizens has bypassed the whole initiative process and convinced the City Council to put their own measure (dubbed auditor-lite) on the same ballot. Would it not be more open and democratic to allow the people to vote on the original, up or down, without adding competition? …