Pubdate: Sat, 12 Aug 2000 Source: Oregonian, The (OR) Copyright: 2000 The Oregonian Contact: 1320 SW Broadway, Portland, OR 97201 Fax: 503-294-4193 Website: http://www.oregonlive.com/ Forum: http://forums.oregonlive.com/ Author: Jo Ann Bowman Note: Rep. Jo Ann Bowman of Portland represent's House District 19. SHADOW CONVENTION RAISES ISSUES PARTIES IGNORE A Democratic Delegate Says She's Attending Both Because Vital Concerns Aren't Being Addressed Why am I, a delegate to the Democratic National Convention, also participating in the Shadow Convention, which starts Sunday? Because two issues I care about are on the latter's agenda, campaign finance reform and criminal justice reform. The Shadow Convention, the brainstorm of columnist Arianna Huffington, seeks to address important national issues that are being ignored or barely discussed by Republicans and Democrats alike. Every day, people see the major parties raise and spend mammoth amounts of money to address special-interest groups, but they don't see their own issues being addressed. Some politicians do admit to problems in the system, but campaign finance reform is still avoided. I've been invited to talk about the Oregon Political Accountability Act, which appears on the ballot this November. Low voter turnout and lack of voter confidence are two sides of the same coin. We assume that voter apathy means low turnouts, but insincere efforts to cajole citizens into participating always fail. They don't respect the logic of nonparticipation. If the electoral process doesn't respect and reward your participation with response, then why vote? Campaign finance reform isn't a panacea for the ills of modern democracy. It doesn't improve our criminal justice system or address civil rights. The Shadow Convention understands that, but considers campaign finance the backbone of participation and restoration of trust in government. Measure 6 would help do that, by providing public funding to candidates who limit spending and private contributions to their campaigns. In addition, as chief petitioner for Measure 94, I'm advocating criminal justice reform. The Shadow Convention organizers want to know how we built a statewide coalition of more than 4,000, including child advocates, religious leaders, parents, unions, teachers and judges, to take our message to the voters. The Shadow Convention is watching Measure 94, because when voters pass it, the participants hope this effort will spread throughout the country. Like many states in the past decade, Oregon has experienced a "tough on crime" phenomenon. Led by archconservatives peddling fear and media assertions of growing violence, laws were passed that fundamentally altered the balance between judges and prosecutors/politicians. One was Measure 11, passed in 1994, creating mandatory minimum sentences for 16 crimes. It also automatically sends young people directly to adult court, rather than letting that be the court's decision, based on a number of factors. Oregon is the only state in the country to pair trying juveniles automatically in adult court to mandatory minimum sentences. When Measure 11 passed, Oregon's policy toward youth shifted toward punishment and away from rehabilitation. The Shadow Convention also wants to address the prison building boom. No matter how long the sentence, though, one day prisoners get released. As a society, we're not addressing why that person got convicted in the first place or fixing those problems while they're in prison. We're just hardening them against society even more. It appears that political conventions aren't the place to debate the issues that are on the forefront of the public's mind. The conventions have become a television production that relies on pollsters, consultants and spin-doctors. I'd prefer that campaign finance reform and criminal justice reform be on the Democratic Convention's agenda. But until both parties are willing to discuss and debate the real issues, we'll need the Shadow Convention. Rep. Jo Ann Bowman of Portland represent's House District 19. - --- MAP posted-by: Jo-D