PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) -- The 2012 election could bring several changes to Oregon as voters decided whether to regulate pot, allow non-tribal casinos and even give one party control on the state House of Representatives.
Measure 80 would legalize marijuana and would allow the state control over its sales. However, Polling has shown the state unwilling to regulate pot like alcohol.
Two measures, 82 and 83, would allow developers to build a non-tribal casino outside of Portland. Backers of the measure stopped campaigning for it after polls showed it was unlikely to pass.
Also on the ballot is a measure that would ban use of gillnets by nontribal commercial fishermen on the Columbia River. The main backers of the measure have reversed their position, lessening the likelihood it will pass.
Voters will have the chance to break up the tied Oregon House of Representatives and change control of the state Senate.
About a dozen competitive districts primarily in the Portland suburbs will determine which party is victorious. But another tie is possible in the House or the Senate.
The party that controls a legislative chamber has the power to set the agenda in Salem for the next two years and to block or advance the priorities of the Democratic governor.
The winners of 60 House races and 15 Senate contests will have to contend with a still-sluggish economy and costs that are growing faster than revenue.
By Nigel Duara/Associated Press
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) -- Oregon has long been written off as irrelevant to this year's presidential election: too young, too labor-friendly, too blue.
But that's a short-sighted take on a complicated place.
A quick scan of results from the last four presidential contests produces a predictable lineup of Democratic victories: Clinton, Gore, Kerry, Obama. But look closer, and those results aren't as clear-cut as they first appear.
Democrat Bill Clinton won in 1996 by 8 percentage points, in a year when third-party candidate Ross Perot took 9 percent of the vote and Ralph Nader earned 4 percent.
Al Gore slid by on about 1 percent of the 2000 presidential vote — 7,000 voters, or the population of Umatilla. His opponent, George W. Bush, lost to John Kerry in 2004 by just 4 percentage points.
In 2008, Barack Obama became the first presidential candidate in state history to take 1 million votes. So while Obama's 2008 win may make Oregon seem an unfriendly place to Republicans, recent history shows the state trends more conservative — and, at times, libertarian — than it is given credit for nationally.
And the tide that swept Obama into office has weakened since 2008, said Pacific University political science professor Jim Moore.
"This is a state that began to look bluer during the 2000s, but with the 2010 legislative election, it looked more purple," Moore said.
Moore notes that nationally, 2008 drew more than 40 million more voters than did 2010, and Oregon turnout mirrored that trend, though not as drastically: 1.8 million people voted in 2008, and 1.4 million in 2010.
So, Moore asks, is the nation getting more conservative, or are Republicans just better at getting out the vote? This year will be an important yardstick.
That Obama will win Oregon's seven electoral college votes is a near-certainty, though likely by a smaller margin than his victory here in 2008.
But a number of lower-level races are expected to be close, and Democrats looking to latch onto Obama's coattails include incumbents for secretary of state and labor commissioner, who face tough challenges from well-funded Republicans. In the Legislature, Republicans hope to break a state House tie and end Democrats' control of the Senate.
By Whitney Clark/KTVL.com
MEDFORD, Ore. -- This Election Day Jackson County residents get the chance to elect a judge.
Benjamin Bloom and David Orr are both running for the position of circuit court judge.
Taking a look at their backgrounds, Bloom attended law school at Lewis and Clark in Portland. He was then a civil attorney in Medford, representing local hospitals and doctors.
Bloom was appointed judge by the governor in 2010. He has ruled on major cases in Jackson County like the William Simmons and Salas Juarez murder trials.
Orr got his degree from Washburn University in Kansas. He started as a public defender, and now works for the district attorney's office where he has been for the last 12 years.
Orr typically handles child abuse cases, and is the lead prosecutor on the Jeffery Wheeler murder case.
Why do you think you should be elected?
Orr says he's running to keep politics out of the courtroom. He claims he's not accepting any campaign money, saying voters should always be the ones to elect a judge.
“I think we're getting to a point where we want our judges to be elected, not merely confirmed by the voters after Salem appoints them,” Orr said.
While this race is non-partisan, Bloom is endorsed by more than a hundred people including politicans and law enforcement agencies. The list includes Rep. Peter Buckley, Sen. Alan Bates and Sheriff Mike Winters.
However, Bloom says he has support from every side.
“I am absolutely delighted and proud to have support from people on all sides of the aisle,” Bloom said. “Defense attorneys, prosecuting attorneys.”
Both candidates say politics have no place in the courtroom.
“Our courts are where we go for ultimate fairness,” Orr said. “And not the political whims of the day.”
“I have never asked a question of a mother or father, whether they are a Democrat or Republican,” said Bloom, when deciding custody cases. “It has absolutely no bearing on what I do and the child’s best interests, and that's the only factor I consider when making a decision.”
By Connie Cass/Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) -- There's always grousing about the many people who don't bother to vote. But look at it the other way: An estimated 133 million Americans will cast ballots in Tuesday's election. Some will persevere despite long lines, pressing personal burdens or the devastation left by Superstorm Sandy. Why do they do it?
It's not because any one voter will decide the contest between President Barack Obama and challenger Mitt Romney.
A one-vote win is rare even in local or state races, which attract smaller turnout. The largest numbers of voters - about 6 in 10 eligible adults - come out for presidential years. Yet the presidency's never turned on just one vote, not even in the 2000 recount that flummoxed Florida.
It's so improbable that scholars debate whether voting is a rational act.
"There is no question that from a simplistic rational view it doesn't make sense to vote," said Kevin Lanning, a political psychologist at Florida Atlantic University. "Even in Florida I'm more likely to be killed in an auto accident going to the polls than I am to cast the deciding vote in the presidential election."
Still, Lanning is a voter.
Andrew Gelman, a professor of statistics and political science at Columbia University, was co-author of a study before the 2008 presidential election that found that, on average, a voter had a 1 in 60 million chance of deciding that race.
The Electoral College means the odds vary by state. This year's chances range from roughly 1 in a million (for a voter in the battleground state of Ohio) to essentially zero (in states such as vastly Republican Wyoming or deeply Democratic Vermont).
That might seem to validate the inertia of the 4 in 10 eligible adults who don't bother to vote even in presidential years.
Yet Gelman's a voter, despite living in the entrenched blue state of New York.
He says voting can be a rational investment of time. That's partly because the outcome affects so many people. It's like entering a lottery that you almost certainly won't win, but if you do win, all 315 million Americans share your jackpot - the president you believe will do more for the country.
Plus, a democracy relies on its voters. If the numbers drop too low, the legitimacy of the system is at risk. Consider mid-terms, when turnout runs only about 40 percent, or local elections that sometimes dip shockingly low. Voters contribute to the greater good.
How seriously Americans take their presidential votes was illustrated this year by the effort and time that many devoted to obtaining the photo identification required under new laws in some states.
"Every four years we are divided, Republicans and Democrats, by real differences - in what we feel government should be doing and so forth - but we are united in this responsibility to keep America going and the privilege to participate in it," said Lanning, the psychologist.
For many, it's a family tradition.
Kelvin Lovely's grandmother always encouraged him to vote, and he took it to heart. The 42-year-old Pensacola, Fla., resident cast his first ballot at 18 and became a regular. "I always want to vote, and I think my vote will have an impact," Lovely said.
Veronica Padilla of Las Vegas is already stressing the importance to her 13-year-old son, five years before he can vote.
"I tell him not to just vote for the most popular," she said. "You have to stand for what you believe."
Tim Farmer, a Denver University law student, attended a Romney rally one day and an Obama event the next because he feels a responsibility to make the right choice.
"Enough wrong votes," Farmer said, "and you get the wrong guy elected."
Adam Brandstetter knows he won't affect the election's outcome. His vote is going to long-shot Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson.
"It won't ever matter," Brandstetter said.
But he enjoys the sense of community on voting days in Crystal Lake, Ill., a far suburb of Chicago. Brandstetter will leave the home office where he works as an investment manager and head for the polling place at the Lutheran church, staffed by some of his older neighbors.
"I'll take a walk over," he said, "have lunch, see all my senior friends: 'Haven't seen you in a while. What have you been up to?'"
It feels good to vote, Brandstetter said, and to make time to appreciate that "we're in America. We have the freedom to express our views."
Associated Press writers Melissa Nelson-Gabriel in Pensacola, Philip Elliott in Denver and Ken Ritter in Las Vegas contributed to this report.
By Whitney Clark/KTVL.com
WEED, Calif. -- Voters in California have the chance to fund schools, roads and prisons for the next six years.
If passed, proposition 30 would change the state's constitution and temporarily increase income and sales taxes. Those increases would create an estimated $6 billion.
How would proposition 30 impact taxpayers?
According to the proposal, income taxes would not increase for everyone but only for specific incomes.
If you are single tax filer, and make between $250,000 to $500,000 a year, or if you have a family and make between $340 - $408,000, you're rates will increase 1 percent.
If you make over $500,000 a year, you can expect to see an increase of 3-percent. That increase is the same for families making over $680,000.
All of the income tax increases would last for seven years.
Sales taxes would increase for everyone in the state by a quarter of a cent until 2016. All of that money would go into the state's budget. It could be used to pay for a number of different programs including state colleges and health services.
Why should taxpayers support the measure?
Supporters include teachers, law enforcement agencies and Governor Jerry Brown, who put the measure on the ballot.
In Northern California, the College of the Siskiyous also supports the measure.
Sonia Wright, who works for the school, says after years of budget cuts Proposition 30 would generate much needed funds for their 3,000 students.
“Over the last three or four years we've lost personnel,” Wright said. “Last year we lost about 10 percent of our personnel through attrition, early retirements and layoffs. Because of that we have fewer student services.”
Those services include tutors for the mentally disabled, and other help students depend on like the campus resource center.
“If you're writing a long paper, they have a writing lab,” student Daniel Buzzard said. “You can go check it before you turn it in, so if you make many mistakes you can go there check it, and fix it.”
But opponents aren't convinced the money will actually go to schools.
“Prop 30 does not guarantee any money for the classroom, and it can be spent on whatever the politicians want,” said Aaron McLear, a spokesperson for the oppositions campaign.
The Vote No on Prop 30 campaign says while it supports students, the measure is misleading.
According to the proposition, school boards would get to decide how the money is spent and public safety would be guaranteed funding.
But opponents say the measure would allow legislators to spend the money anywhere in the state's budget.
McLear says it is not the solution for the state's budget crisis.
“The biggest problem is it is perpetuating what we all agree is a broken system in California,” McLear said. “It doesn't try to fix the system at all. It doesn't have any reforms, it just asks the tax payers to bail them out.”
What will happen if the measure doesn't pass?
Wright says it would mean about $600,000 in cuts for the community college. It would have to consider cutting classes and entire majors, which would mean students would have to stay in school longer and pay more for tuition, books and everything that comes with it.
“We’re here to serve the students,” Wright said. “If we don't have the money to provide the services, than we can't serve the students.”
Meanwhile, opponents argue the state needs to come up with long-term solutions for the budget.
McLear argues ultimately voters can't trust state government because they mismanage money.
“When you see what they spend the money on -- bullet trains, pay raises, bloated pensions,” McLear said. “You can't trust they're going to spend the money in the right way.”
Californians will weigh in on the measure on Election Day, Tues., Nov. 6.
By Whitney Clark/KTVL.com
ASHLAND, Ore. -- Local voters have the chance to keep the Ashland Library open all week, with kids around the story circle.
If passed, measure 15–113 would renew a tax levy in Ashland. That levy would keep the library open, give people jobs, and provide the community services like story time.
Why should taxpayers support the levy?
Chuck Keil is voting yes, even leading the effort to pass the levy. He says the library is about more than just books.
Keil says it is a place for everyone in the community to learn.
“For some of those in the community who are less privileged than others, it provides a way to access the Internet,” Keil said. “It's particularly important for high school kids who don't have access at home or a computer at home.”
The tax, Keil said, is nothing new.
“This levy has been in effect for several years, and what we're proposing is merely to keep on providing the level of service that is currently being provided,” Keil said.
If passed, taxpayers will keep paying about 21 cents for every $1,000 of property. That means the average homeowner will pay around $50 a year.
Because it has been in effect for years, it is hard to find anyone against the levy.
Most people, think like Kristin Beers.
“I am absolutely in support of it,” Beers said. “And will vote for it gladly.”
Beers brings her sons, who on this particular morning were dressed like Pluto and Mickey Mouse, to find books and more.
“We come to the library every week on the dot, and I take my kids to the children's story time,” Beers said. “I use their audio books online and we use their resources all the time.”
What would happen if the levy doesn't pass?
Library manager Amy Blossom says it would have a huge impact on the community.
For now, the library is open seven days a week, for 40 hours. Blossom says they see up to 900 people a day, but it would have to cut those hours down to 24 a week.
The library has 14 full-time employees and 60 volunteers. Without the levy it would have to lay off staff members and end special programs.
Those programs include delivering books to those who can't leave their home, Blossom said, and story time for children. Blossom says that reading is crucial for growing minds.
“There is a lot of studies that show kids that read early, or are read to early, have a much higher success rate,” Blossom said. “They have higher literacy rates, and the idea of reading really helps them through their life.”
Voters can weigh in on the levy on Tues., Nov. 6.
By Whitney Clark/KTVL.com
MEDFORD, Ore. – Smoking and growing marijuana in Oregon is illegal, unless you have a medical card.
But voters have a chance to change that. If passed, measure 80 would legalize pot in the state.
Taking a look at the measure, adults over the age of 21 would be able to grow it and smoke it.
The bill would create the Oregon Cannabis Commission. Seven commissioners would grant licenses to sell cannabis. Those retailers would then give most of their profits from pot to the state's general fund.
How will the law be enforced?
With massive budget cuts in timber counties all over the state, officers worry there won't be any one to enforce the law.
Umatilla County Sheriff John Tromboe opposes the measure saying it will lead to even more crime.
“I think you're going to see, and it's been proven in the past, in these large marijuana grows there's crimes associated with that,” Tromboe said. “And you get into robbery, you get into burglary, criminal trespassing.”
Paul Stanford began drafting the measure back in 1988. He says studies show the bill will create around $140 million in revenue and tens of thousands of jobs.
The money, Stanford says, will go right back to law enforcement.
“The money for local police will be funded out of the proceeds of marijuana sales,” Stanford said. “So we'll give law enforcement new revenue to enforce marijuana regulation.”
Stanford adds the measure isn’t just about marijuana, but legalizing hemp farming.
“Hemp is the most productive fuel crop,” Stanford said. “And this will put Oregon on the cutting edge of new, ecological sustainable developments in hemp fuel.”
Tromboe still isn't buying it. He believes even if sellers do get licensed, they will sell weed but won't give their profits to the state.
“There is no way to hold people accountable for the marijuana they are selling,” Tromboe said. “There is just no oversight on that.”
In the last year in southern Oregon, there have been a handful of federal raids. Thousands of plants have been taken away in dump trucks, leaving some with federal charges and others without medicine.
If passed, how will the measure prevent those federal raids?
Opponents say at the end of the day, no matter what the law is in Oregon, the feds can raid as many marijuana grows as they want.
“Federal law supersedes Oregon law,” Tromboe said. “If it’s legal or not, it's not going to be legal as far as the federal government is concerned.”
Stanford says they know the law will be challenged, and they are prepared to take it all the way to the Supreme Court. The court bills, paid for by the money made from marijuana sales.
However, Stanford believes the bill is just one small step toward legalizing the drugs everywhere.
Voters in Washington and Colorado are also weighing in on the issue.
“I think that there's a good chance we'll see all three states legalize marijuana,” Stanford said. “And I think that will lead to a rapid legalization of marijuana on a federal level.”
By Whitney Clark/KTVL.com
MEDFORD, Ore. -- There is one spot open on the Jackson County Commission, and two candidates think they're the one for the job.
“I’ve worked for the fire department for the past 20 years,” candidate Doug Briendthal said. “I'd like to take that customer service that we have -- that compassionate, the caring that we have when we go to people's homes, and I'd like to bring that to the commissioners.”
“I think that most people can agree the commission should be non-partisan,” candidate Jeff Scroggin said. “And one of the first things I would do is try to bring a ballot measure to the people to make the position not Democratic or Republican, but non-partisan in nature.”
Briendthal and Scroggin are both running for Jackson County Commission position No. 2
Taking a look at their backgrounds, Briendthal is the assistant chief of operations for the Kingsley Fire Department in Klamath Falls. He was also the chairman of the Jackson County Republican Party.
Scroggin is the chief of staff for the Oregon State Senate in our area. He’s helped pass the state's Foreclosure Reform bill and Oregon's Balanced Budget bill.
With the unemployment rate in Jackson County at nearly 11 percent, how would you create jobs and bring in businesses?
Briendthal says he would lower the county's system development charges, and make long-term leases more affordable for corporations. He says the Rogue Valley is unique, and unlike other areas people love living here.
“For the last year I have spent a lot of time talking to business owners, going in to the major corporations and saying why are you still here, what’s keeping you here?” Briendthal said. “Every single time it's livability, they love the area.”
Scroggin says helping the local economy is one of his top priorities. He says the taxes here are too high.
Scroggin’s solution is an online system where people can fill out building and planning permits, making it easier for businesses to start up. Also he believes in investing in local industries, like the wine industry.
“So I think it's really important to grow what we have here, and invest in our community,” Scroggin said. “I think that infrastructure plays a key role in the future of our community, and that in fact business stays and locates in the community that invests in themselves in things like railroads, irrigation, Internet for those rural areas, and reliable and affordable airline service.”
Crime rates are on voters' minds. In Medford they've increased this year by the double digits. As commissioner, what would you do to keep people in the county safe?
The Jackson County Sheriff's office is building 60 additional jail beds.
Both candidates agree expanding the jail will help. But Briendthal thinks it needs to be even bigger. The jail, he says, a revolving door for criminals.
“We need to look at opportunities in the future by making a new jail,” Briendthal said. “But that's going to be a long term program, maybe a five to 20 year program that we have to look at and plan for.”
Scroggin says the key to preventing crime is making sure the county gives people the help they need through county services. He says the county needs to take another look at the criminal justice system.
“I also think we need to look at the staffing in the district attorney’s office to see if there is anything that can be added,” Scroggin said.
When it comes to planning for the future, how would you balance the county's budget?
Both candidates say consolidating the county's services downtown will save millions in the long run.
But Briendthal says another answer is instead of re-hiring county workers when one retires, the county should leave those positions vacant so no one gets laid off. He also believes every department can afford to trim down on the extras.
“Does that mean you're going to take the company car and go on a road trip to a seminar or something? No,” Briendthal said. “That means we'll be cutting back on things like that. The primary focus would be to maintain the jobs so people don't lose their positions, but look at the extra stuff that people are doing and say, do we really need to do that?”
Scroggin is offering different solutions. He says renting out jail beds to the federal government is an easy way for the county to make money.
Also, Scroggin says, for county employees to be self-insured.
“Studies have shown that we would save $1 million, or even $2 million for the county,” Scroggin said. “It's a budget solution that doesn't result in cuts.”
By Caitlin Conrad/KTVL.com
GRANTS PASS, Ore -- One voter in Josephine County became concerned when everyone else in her household received their ballot and she didn't.
Kim Davis says when she called the county elections office to find out what was going on, she was told the signature on her 2011 ballot didn't match the one on her voter registration card.
In order for your vote to count the signature on your ballot has to match the one you registered with.
The result, her vote was rejected and her registration was listed as inactive.
County Clerk Art Harvey says this happens anywhere from 30 times a year to a couple hundred times. He says it all depends on election turnout.
When it does voters are sent a letter and given up to 10 days after the election to make a correction and make their vote count. Voters are also sent a new registration card.
Davis says she never got a letter.
The county says it is possible the letter was lost in the mail.
Each ballot is hand checked to make sure the signatures match. It's all part of an effort to prevent voter fraud.
Three of the four staff members checking the signatures are trained by Oregon State Police forensic instructors. Two staff members have to agree there is a problem with the signature and then it must be approved by Harvey.
The county clerk says it is common for people's signatures to change over time.
Election officials also sees other mistakes, like husbands and wives signing each other's ballots and people just plain forgetting to sign at all, Harvey said.
By Whitney Clark/KTVL.com
WHITE CITY, Ore. -- It turns out White City isn't even a city at all. But local voters could change that.
If passed, measure 15-114 would incorporate White City. Now, it is considered county land and the largest unincorporated city in Oregon. All of the rules and laws are set by Jackson County commissioners.
Taking a look at the proposal, the new city would include more than 8,000 residents and would cover nearly 3,000 acres.
Why should White City become its own city?
Stan Alexander, the chief petitioner of the measure, has been working to incorporate for decades.
After raising his children and now grandchildren in White City he feels it lacks a sense of community. He wants residents to be more involved.
“All the time that I volunteered for things when my daughters were in school, community things out here, I just never felt like we had never had enough input from the public,” Alexander said. “And I'm going to everything I can to encourage that.”
In today's tough economy, opponents of the measure worry about paying more taxes. Some residents calling the proposal unnecessary, saying they already have all the services they need.
"Why would we want to pay more for something we don't need?” said resident Melody Tuivanu.
How would the measure impact taxpayers?
Homeowners in the new city would pay a $1.45 for every $1,000 of property. That means if your home is worth $100,000 you would pay $145 a year.
The money would be put into a general fund that could be spent however the city council and residents choose, Alexander said.
According to a study, Alexander says by 2015 the taxes would create more than $2 million for the city budget.
But it’s not just tax money. Alexander says White City would be eligible for even more.
“We can apply for grants for schools, for the Boys and Girls Club that used to be out here, for a lot of things like that,” Alexander said. “Grants for the library, grants for the parks -- things you can't do when you're not an incorporated city.”
What about public safety?
The city could create its own police department, fix roads and build sidewalks.
Residents could even set restrictions on things like noise pollution and animal ordinances. Roaming dogs are a common problem in the area that could be fixed, Alexander said.
“You know we could hire our own person to do animal control patrols, and that would be up to the public to decide,” Alexander said.
However, opponents say they have all the protection they need and they do not want more rules in their neighborhood.
For now, the Jackson County Sheriff's Office patrols White City, and Jackson County Fire Dist. No. 3 responds to emergency calls.
“Those are the two biggest concerns -- protection and health, and we already have access,” Tuivanu said.
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) -- A new poll by the Public Policy Institute of California finds support is slipping for Gov. Jerry Brown's November tax initiative.
With less than two weeks before the election, the poll finds that 48 percent of likely voters back the Democratic governor's plan to raise the state sales tax and increase income taxes on the wealthy. Forty-four percent say they would vote no, and 8 percent say they're undecided.
Support is even lower for a competing initiative to raise income taxes on nearly all taxpayers to directly fund California schools. The Public Policy Institute says 39 percent of likely voters support Proposition 38, with 53 percent opposed and 9 percent undecided.
The survey has a sampling error margin of plus or minus 4 percentage points. It's based on the opinions of 993 likely voters who were interviewed from Oct. 14-21.
About three-quarters of those surveyed say they oppose the $6 billion in cuts to K-12 schools and colleges that Brown says will take effect if his initiative fails.
By Whitney Clark/KTVL.com
GRANTS PASS, Ore. -- A Grants Pass man says the people of Josephine County need help. He believes he's just the man for the job.
Bob Just is running for Josephine County Commission position No. 3
Taking a look at his background, Just studied film and television at New York University. He now hosts a local radio show.
Just has lived in Grants Pass for more than 20 years, and is active in the community. He has started two public safety groups, including Concerned Fathers Against Crime.
Why do you want to be a commissioner?
Just says a local pastor asked him to run for office. While he never considered it before, Just feels his work keeping the community safe sets him apart from other candidates.”
“I thought about it for a couple of months,” Just said. “And I thought you know what, I can bring something different to the political arena because I'm not just a politician or a bureaucrat. I have actually worked with people, worked with grassroots and so I have a different mode of leadership.”
As a commissioner, how would you solve those budget issues?
Just says he would never propose any kind of tax levy because the county is literally sitting on that answer.
“We have a county that is impoverished,” Just said. “We have a county that is really troubled more so than the rest of the country, and the rest of the country is in big trouble. We have a 20 percent, almost, poverty rate. We have almost 30 percent of our people on food stamps and here we sit on spectacular natural wealth.”
That wealth is in the form of timber payments, Just says. He predicts the county has about $30 million worth of timber on about 25,000 acres.
Half of that money, Just says, should be used to fix the criminal justice system for a few years. He wants the other half to be spent hiring attorneys to fight for federal timber payments and control of more land.
Just thinks the people of Josephine County should be able to make money off of not only timber, but other natural resources in their own backyards.
“Whether you’re a liberal or conservative, Democrat or Republican or whatever, there is something unfair about that,” Just said. “And in these times we need to push back on that.”
What are other long term solutions for the county's budget?
Just goes back to fighting for the rights of the taxpayers, including getting more money from video lottery games.
Also, Just wants to rebuild the trust of the community and the people who run it. He says the county will never move forward unless the taxpayers trust the local government.
“I think the people would love to see us fight for their rights,” Just said. “And walk into court with well-paid attorneys that can stand up to the environmental left.”
Online
By Whitney Clark/KTVL.com
MURPHY, Ore. – A woman in Murphy wants to promote her county and all it has to offer.
Cherryl Walker is running for Josephine County Commission position No. 3.
Taking a look at her background, Walker studied agriculture at Arizona State University. She then went on to study law and became an administrative officer for the USDA.
Walker has served on a handful of local committees, including the county budget committee and Rotary Club.
Why do you want to be a commissioner?
After regularly attending commissioner meetings, Walker says she wants to do things differently.
If elected, Walker wants to hold meetings in the rural areas of the county to make it easier for people to participate. More importantly, she says she wants to be an advocate for the county and to promote what the community has to offer.
“I think for far too long we have not done that,” Walker said. “I think our county commissioners have allowed themselves to get caught up in the day to day activities, and not allow the county to move forward in other areas. When you continue to say we're going to harvest more trees and not look at other options, we stagnate.”
As county commissioner, how would you solve the county's budget issues?
Unlike other candidates, Walker says she thinks voters may support a tax levy.
After the levy failed in May, Walker says she began asking taxpayers why they voted no. The problem, she says, is the levy wasn't specific enough and voters were confused about where their money was going.
“Certainly there are people who oppose any taxes, and I respect their opinion,” Walker said. “But I do have an overwhelming number of people who say I can support a jail levy, or a district attorney’s or sheriff's levy.”
What are other long term solutions for the county budget?
Walker thinks the county needs to pursue timber payments on federal land.
“We won’t be getting short term payments on the O & C,” Walker said. “But I think we need to continue to pursue that because it is on the books, and now we need to be receiving payments for the trees they do harvest.”
However timber payments aren't the only answer. Walker knows there are small businesses in the county that can thrive if given the right tools.
“They manufacture or make something in their garage, or their home,” Walker said. “I’d like to see our county encourage that business, because it reduces the overhead and it reduces the amount of investment money they have to have.”
More businesses, will bring visitors to the area, Walker said. The county is a beautiful area, she says, and tourists would love to visit and support our local economy.
“Tourism has become a huge industry throughout the United States because people have discretionary income, and people want to stay local,” Walker said. “They're not traveling around the world, so I think it's important we take advantage of that approach.”
Online
By Jesse Washington/AP National Writer
The issue
What, exactly, is discrimination, and what should be done to fight it? This election offers choices on the answers.
In areas such as mortgages, voter identification and immigration enforcement, the presidential candidates differ over how to use laws that guarantee equality and how far the Justice Department's civil rights division, which exerts strong influence on issues of race and ethnicity, should go to ensure all Americans are treated fairly. The election also will shape the Justice Department's actions in continuing court cases that challenge voter ID laws in some Republican-led states. Opponents contend such laws unfairly discourage minority voting.
Where they stand
Under President Barack Obama and his attorney general, Eric Holder, the civil rights division has aggressively prosecuted cases where statistics show that blacks and Hispanics are hit harder than whites. These cases include accusations that banks used discriminatory lending practices and that states passed voter identification laws that would keep a disproportionate percentage of minorities from voting.
Republican Mitt Romney agrees with very little that Holder has done. He supports voter ID laws, saying they prevent fraud and don't discriminate. Under recent Republican presidents, the Justice Department has limited its enforcement to cases with evidence of intentional discrimination — not where statistics show that minorities were broadly disadvantaged by a particular practice.
Why it matters
The philosophy of the current civil rights division is that race and ethnicity still have a major impact on American opportunity and that statistics can prove discrimination. Romney has not made his beliefs clear, but conservatives generally believe that race matters far less than individual responsibility and that discrimination is proved by actions — not numbers.
Under Holder, the Justice Department has used lawsuits based on statistics to hold banks' feet to the fire on how they lend money to Hispanics and black people. For example, it obtained a $335 million settlement in a lawsuit that accused Countrywide Financial Corp. of charging more than 200,000 qualified Hispanic and black borrowers higher rates than white borrowers with similar credit profiles. And a settlement with Wells Fargo Bank provides $125 million for borrowers who were allegedly steered into subprime mortgages or who allegedly paid higher fees and rates than white borrowers.
On the flip side, Holder's Justice Department has been accused by two former civil rights division lawyers of going too far in the other direction by refusing to prosecute minorities when they discriminate against others. They point to the decision by the Justice Department shortly after Obama's election to seek a narrower civil injunction than the Bush administration had against the tiny New Black Panther Party, which was accused of intimidating white voters at one Philadelphia precinct in 2008.
In any event, a more conservative Justice Department could set a higher bar for action against discrimination -- it would be unlikely to sue without evidence of intentional bias, instead of statistical disparities.
A Romney administration also would be likely to view measures such as Arizona's tough immigration law more sympathetically. The Supreme Court struck down major parts of the law but upheld the provision requiring police, while enforcing other laws, to question the immigration status of those suspected of being in the country illegally.
Critics say that will lead to racial profiling of Hispanics, a point that resonates with Obama. "No American should ever live under a cloud of suspicion just because of what they look like," he said. Romney saw the ruling differently: "Given the failure of the immigration policy of this country, I would have preferred to see the Supreme Court give more latitude to the states."
By Whitney Clark/KTVL.com
GRANTS PASS, Ore. – A Grants Pass native says she wants to change the direction her county is heading.
So Toni Webb is running for Josephine County Commission postion no. 2.
Taking a look at her background, Webb is the president of Web Marketing International. She has also worked for a number of consulting firms in California.
Webb got her master’s degree from the University of Phoenix. She also serves on a handful of local committees including the Josephine County Spay and Neuter Fund.
Why do you want to be a commissioner?
Webb was born and raised in Grants Pass, and when she moved back three years ago she didn’t like how the county was being run.
It is her business background, Webb says, that the community needs.
“One of my goals is to bring five or six high-tech or marketing companies to Josephine County to lower the unemployment,” Webb said. “I think that will help people make a decision on how were going to solve the public safety problem.”
The county’s public safety problem is due to massive budget cuts in the criminal justice system.
As a commissioner, how you would you solve those budget issues?
Webb says any kind of tax would never work.
“As an Oregonian, I just don't see Oregonians passing a sales tax, and I know that a lot of small businesses are against it,” Webb said. “Even though there may be some money going back to them from the sales tax, I think there are many other options.”
Webb is a member of Securing Our Safety. The group meets weekly and looks at ways the county can make more money.
While Webb believes increasing timber production is one of those options, she says the county will never survive without thriving businesses.
“We live in a very beautiful area,” Webb said. “I think there are businesses north of us and south of us that would like to either get out of the rain, or out of the rat race in California and come up this beautiful scenic area of southern Oregon.”
What are other long term solutions for the county's budget?
Webb goes back to the importance of supporting businesses. But she says good business begins in the classroom.
As commissioner, Webb wants to meet with the county school boards so they can work together to decrease dropout rates.
To reduce those rates, which Webb says are around 30 percent, she believes students need extra tutoring from community members. Especially for third and eighth graders, which Webb says are crucial years for students and key in keeping them in class through high school.
“Even though the commissioners wouldn't normally get involved with the education system, to attract companies we’re going to have to have work ready employees,” Webb said.
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By Calvin Woodward/Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) -- In the rough-and-tumble of a town hall-style debate, not all of the presidential candidates' claims stood up to scrutiny Tuesday night.
Yet again, President Barack Obama claimed that ending the Afghanistan and Iraq wars makes money available to "rebuild America," even though it doesn't. And he pointed to a string of job creation while ignoring the job losses that came before it, on his watch.
Republican Mitt Romney actually corrected some of the errant claims he's made before, while stretching the facts on the auto bailout he opposed.
A look at some of their claims:
OBAMA: "Let's take the money that we've been spending on war over the last decade to rebuild America, roads, bridges, schools. We do those things, not only is your future going to be bright, but America's future is going to be bright as well."
THE FACTS: What Obama didn't mention is that much of the money that has been paying for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan was borrowed. In fact, the government borrows nearly 40 cents for every dollar it spends. Thus using money that had been earmarked for wars to build schools and infrastructure would involve even more borrowing, adding to the federal deficit.
ROMNEY: "I know he keeps saying, 'You want to take Detroit bankrupt.' Well, the president took Detroit bankrupt. You took General Motors bankrupt. You took Chrysler bankrupt. So when you say that I wanted to take the auto industry bankrupt, you actually did. And I think it's important to know that that was a process that was necessary to get those companies back on their feet, so they could start hiring more people. That was precisely what I recommended and ultimately what happened."
THE FACTS: That's not precisely what he recommended. The restructuring unfolded with a huge government bailout, a critical difference from Romney's recommended path. He wanted private financing to rescue the automakers in bankruptcy. Few think the private sector, raked then by the financial crisis, would have nursed Detroit back to health without a massive infusion of federal aid. In late 2008, banks weren't making many loans, much less to companies that were out of cash.
OBAMA: "And what I want to do is build on the 5 million jobs that we've created over the last 30 months in the private sector alone."
THE FACTS: As he has done before, Obama is cherry-picking his numbers to make them sound better than they really are. He ignores the fact that public-sector job losses have dragged down overall job creation. Also, he chooses just to mention the past 30 months. That ignores job losses during his presidency up until that point. According to the Labor Department, about 4.5 million total jobs have been created over the past 30 months. But some 4.3 million jobs were lost during the earlier months of his administration. At this point, Obama is a net job creator, but only marginally.
ROMNEY: "The proof of whether a strategy is working or not is what the price is that you're paying at the pump. If you're paying less than you paid a year or two ago, why, then, the strategy is working. But you're paying more. When the president took office, the price of gasoline here in Nassau County was about $1.86 a gallon. Now, it's $4.00 a gallon. The price of electricity is up. If the president's energy policies are working, you're going to see the cost of energy come down."
THE FACTS: Presidents have almost no effect on energy prices; most are set on financial exchanges around the world. When Obama took office, the world was in the grip of a financial crisis and crude prices — and gasoline prices along with them — had plummeted because world demand had collapsed. Crude oil prices have since risen even as U.S. oil production has soared in recent years because global demand is reaching new heights as the developing economies of Asia use more oil.
Other energy prices have fallen during Obama's term. Electricity prices, when adjusted for inflation, are down, and homeowners are finding it much cheaper to heat their homes with natural gas. That's because natural gas production has surged, reducing prices both for homeowners and for utilities that burn gas to generate electricity.
ROMNEY: America has "23 million people struggling to find a job."
THE FACTS: With that remark, Romney properly stated the number of people who are out of work, who want to work but gave up looking, or who are working part time when they want to have full-time jobs. At times, he's erred in saying there are 23 million unemployed.
Associated Press writers Tom Raum and Jonathan Fahey contributed to this report.
By Matthew Daly/Associated Press
The issue
Americans depend on energy for everything from driving their cars to powering factories, homes and offices — and of course our smartphones, laptops and tablets. How that energy is produced and where it comes from affect jobs, the economy and the environment.
Where they stand
President Barack Obama proposes an "all of the above" strategy that embraces traditional energy sources such as oil and coal, along with natural gas, nuclear power and renewable sources such as wind, solar and hydropower. Obama has spent billions to promote "green energy" and backs a tax credit for the wind industry that his Republican rival Mitt Romney opposes. While production of renewable energy has soared, critics point to several high-profile failures, including Solyndra, a California solar company that went bankrupt, costing taxpayers more than $500 million.
Romney pledges to make the U.S. independent of energy sources outside of North America by 2020, through more aggressive exploitation of domestic oil, gas, coal and other resources and quick approval of the Keystone XL pipeline from Canada to Texas. Obama blocked the pipeline because of environmental concerns but supports approval of a segment of it.
Why it matters
Every president since Richard Nixon has promised energy independence — a goal that remains elusive. In 2011, the U.S. relied on net imports for about 45 percent of the petroleum it used, much from Canada, Mexico and Saudi Arabia. Still, U.S. dependence on imported oil has declined in recent years, in part because of the economic downturn, improved efficiency and changes in consumer behavior. At the same time, domestic production of all types of energy has increased, spurred by improved drilling techniques and discoveries of vast oil supplies in North Dakota and natural gas in states such as Pennsylvania, Ohio, New York and West Virginia. Production also is booming in traditional energy states such as Texas, Oklahoma and Louisiana.
The natural gas boom has led to increased production, jobs and profits — and a drop in natural gas prices for consumers. Natural gas, a cleaner alternative to coal, has generally been embraced by politicians from both parties.
Still, there are concerns. Critics worry that popular drilling techniques, such as hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling, which allow drillers to reach previously inaccessible wells, could harm air, water and health. Hydraulic fracturing, also called fracking, involves blasting mixtures of water, sand and chemicals deep underground to stimulate the release of gas. Environmental groups and some public health advocates say the chemicals have polluted drinking water supplies, but the industry says there is no proof.
Similarly, the Keystone XL pipeline could help make the nation more energy secure — or pollute the environment in the event of a spill. Developer TransCanada says the 1,700-mile pipeline from western Canada to refineries along the Texas Gulf Coast would pipe more than 1 million barrels of oil per day, more than 5 percent of the nation's current oil consumption.
Opponents say the pipeline would bring "dirty oil" that would be hard to clean up after a spill.
Wind and solar power have grown, thanks in part to support from Obama, but their success is tenuous. Besides Solyndra, several solar companies have declared bankruptcy in part because of Chinese competition. Wind companies are laying off workers while Congress dithers on a tax credit crucial to the industry.
The changes aren't likely to have an immediate effect on the cost of the energy source Americans are most familiar with: gasoline. Gas prices are dependent on crude oil prices, which are set on the global market.
By Whitney Clark/KTVL.com
GRANTS PASS, Ore. – One Grants Pass man hopes voters will say “Heck Yes” on Nov. 6.
That man is Keith Heck and he is running for Josephine County Commission.
Heck has lived in Josephine County for 16 years. He served as the executive director of the Gospel Rescue Mission in Grants Pass for 13 years. He also served as a pastor at the mission.
He studied pastoral studies at Western Bible College in Colorado.
Heck has served on a number of community committees, including the citizen review board and the Chamber of Commerce.
News10 is asking candidates three questions as the election nears.
Why do you want to be a county commissioner?
Heck says it is because Grants Pass is home and he wants to change the morale of his community.
“The sense of hopelessness that is here is probably one of my biggest frustrations,” Heck said. “And everybody is bah humbug. And what good can come out of anything. And that kind of attitude will be our death. And we have to see that turned around.”
How would you solve the county’s budget issues?
For Heck, there is no single answer. However, he says a sales tax is out of the question.
“I would be stunned if the voters of Josephine County wanted a sales tax,” Heck said. “My cardiac would set in at that point. I don’t think that is a realistic option.”
Heck is one of 400 members of SOS – Securing Our Safety. The 400-member group is looking at other options that will address the county’s budget woes.
SOS meets weekly to discuss how the county could make more money.
Heck believes that timber payments may be just one of the answers.
“Nobody is going to bail us out. We have to do the task,” Heck said. “This is a resource that I think is one of the viable means – short-term means – of working with our timber resources. There’s other resources we have on property as well as mining.”
What are other long-term solutions for the county’s budget?
Heck believes those solutions will only come if the community works together.
He says the county won’t grow and prosper if businesses are held back.
“We make it a punitive effort rather than a supportive effort,” Heck said. “All too often with some of the levies – not the levies but the taxation, the filing fees and all these other things and we need to be able to come to grips with that may have been great when things were flush and fancy. But this is a time we have to look at these things and refocus our attention.”
Online
California Proposition 37 would require food makers and grocery stores to label all foods that have genetically modified ingredients.
By Eileen Sullivan/Associated Press
The issue
Osama bin Laden is dead and there hasn't been a successful attack by al-Qaida-inspired extremists on U.S. soil since the deadly shooting rampage in Fort Hood, Texas, in 2009. But the danger of terrorism remains a reality for Americans, as seen in the attack in Libya in September that killed U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans. The terrorist assault on the 11th anniversary of 9/11 injected the issue of diplomatic security into the presidential campaign and renewed questions about the quality of U.S. intelligence.
Also a reality: the huge expense of homeland security more than a decade after 9/11, the cost to privacy and civil liberties from aggressive surveillance in the U.S. and the toll in innocent lives from U.S. drone attacks that have killed a succession of known and suspected terrorists.
Where they stand
President Barack Obama, who approved the raid that killed bin Laden, set a policy to end the use of harsh interrogation tactics. But he's greatly expanded drone attacks and is calling for the renewal of surveillance powers put in place after the 2001 attacks. He failed to close the Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, detention camp as promised.
Republican Mitt Romney has said little about terrorism in the campaign. But in the past he's said he doesn't think waterboarding is torture. Republicans also are pressing for answers on why Washington rejected requests for heavier security at the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, Libya, before the deadly assault.
Why it matters
Terrorism is not as great a concern for voters this election as in the past, according to polls. But that will change in a heartbeat if terrorists manage to pull off anything on a large scale or if overseas attacks like the one in Libya keep happening.
A trip through an airport may be the most tangible reminder of the impact of terrorism on Americans. Anyone who flies commercial airlines knows what it's like to have to take off their shoes and walk through body-imaging machines. The government says these security measures are necessary because terrorists continue to target airplanes and develop new methods and weapons to evade U.S. security.
There are less visible aspects of anti-terrorism, too, such as secret surveillance at home and military operations abroad.
The al-Qaida of Sept. 11, 2001, has been greatly degraded. But new, like-minded groups are becoming growing threats. And people who live in the U.S. are not immune to their messages. Dozens of Americans, inspired by al-Qaida's ideology, are known to have plotted to kill innocent people inside the U.S. and abroad. There is a fine line between expressing one's opinion, however hateful, and being motivated to commit violence. The government is constantly trying to identify the latter.
To catch terrorists before they strike, the Obama administration wants to renew a program to monitor terrorism suspects' international communications. That means at times snooping on the communications of law-abiding Americans. It's not known how often.
The government has also expanded the use of unmanned drone strikes in Pakistan and Yemen. These not only hit the intended targets, but have killed innocent civilians nearby.
And the government has no shortage of secret lists, many including Americans.
One list includes suspected American terrorists whom the U.S. has authorized itself to kill or capture. The justifications for that authorization are as secret as the names on the list. The government also has suspected terrorists on a no-fly list. This list ballooned under Obama and continues to grow. Though the list includes about 500 Americans, there is no official process to determine whether you are on it and whether it's for legitimate reasons.
By Whitney Clark/KTVL.com
TALENT, Ore. -- Local voters have the chance to get rid of the old and bring in new fire trucks at Jackson County Fire District No. 5.
If passed, measure 15-112 would help fire crews replace three of its engines and add new equipment.
Other improvements in the proposal include a new water tender, breathing machines, air packs for firefighters, vehicle extrication tools and other tools. All of it, paid for by taxpayers in $1.8 million in bonds.
Fire Chief Dan Marshall says the average homeowner will pay around $25 a year.
News Ten is taking a closer look at how the measure, asking both supporters and opponents how the measure would affect your community.
Why does the fire department need new equipment?
Marshall says it's because some of the engines are so old, they don't meet state safety standards. Two are 33 years old, he said, and another is more than 20 years old.
The older ones are stick shifts, Marshall said, while most engines nowadays are automatic. They can only fit two firefighters because of the open cab, which violates safety rules.
Marshall said the decades old engines put both the safety of the community, and firefighters at risk.
“What happens with these older rigs -- they have pump problems, providing water supply,” Marshall said. “They have transmission problems. They have problems with the clutch, driver training issues.”
While the district may need new rigs, opponents argue now is not the time to raise taxes.
“This is a bad time to go to people to raise taxes,” opponent Bill Robertson said. “Especially after the extravagant and wasteful things that we have seen in the recent past.”
Why did the district decide to go to voters for help?
Robertson, who was on the fire district board for 17 years, believes it should not be up to the taxpayers to foot the bill. He is one of two other past board members that claim the district mismanages it's money.
In the Jackson County voter's pamphlet, Robertson wrote the department plans on spending $10,000 to paint a red engine, white. He also claims the district spent more than $2,000 on workout clothes, costing about $100 for each firefighter.
“In this economy, and the way things are,” Robertson said. “I think that is wasteful and extravagant.”
Marshall says the information in the pamphlet is misleading and completely false and has the receipts to prove it.
Receipts from a company called Spearco Graphics in Medford show while the district did buy new gear in March, it was for much less than Robertson claims.
Marshall said instead of spending $100 per firefighter, it was roughly $35 a person. He believes Robertson might have gotten the numbers mixed up in an invoice he requested.
As for painting the truck, Marshall said that won't be happening anytime soon.
“The fact of the matter is, we did get a bid,” Marshall said. “It did cost about, under $10,000 to paint it. But if you go outside and take a look at it, that fire truck is still red. And it's still red because of budget constraints, and it's not been a priority.”
As to why the district is asking taxpayers for help, Marshall said it has a $4.5 million annual budget and cannot afford big purchases like new engines.
Firefighters believe the levy is affordable for the community because it is spread out over ten and a half years.
Marshall says their goal of the measure is to make sure their firefighters can do the best job they can, with the best equipment, to keep the community safe.
“Ultimately the people that you provide the service to, where the benefit is going -- to the people,” Marshall said. “They have a say in it, and not only have a say in it -- they decide it.”
When it comes to fire engines, how old is too old?
Fire crews say that all depends on how often you drive them.
While Fire District No. 5 is one of the smaller departments, it's engines are some of the oldest in our area.
Jackson County Fire District No. 3 has one that's 22 years old. However, it's a reserve engine. That means unlike district five, it's a back-up and only used when the new ones are in the shop.
At Ashland Fire & Rescue, crews drive one that's more than 20 years old, with plans to purchase a new one soon.
“We put them on a schedule of replacement every 20 years,” Fire Chief John Karns said. “When they get 20 years we look at them, find out what their mileage is, what their use is, whether it's front line or back up status -- and make a decision.”
Marshall said the last time the district put a tax levy on the ballot was in 1980. He said it was able to buy the engines they are trying to replace this election.
By Whitney Clark/KTVL.com
MEDFORD, Ore. -- Local voters have a chance to change the way they enjoy Medford's pools.
If passed, Measure 15-115 would replace both Jackson and Hawthorne Park pools with the help of $14.5 million in bonds.
According to the proposal, the pool at Hawthorne Park would be covered and open all year round. It would be four times bigger than the old one, with enough space for swimming lessons, competitions and a warm water therapy pool.
The new Jackson Pool would be open in the summer. There would be more parking, a slide and covered areas to sit for shade.
All of the improvements would be paid for by Medford residents.
News10 is taking a closer look at the measure, asking both supporters and opponents how the pools could change your community.
Why should taxpayers vote to build pools now?
"That's a good question," said Rich Hansen with Swim Medford. "It's a tough time to increase taxes. That's why we came with a modest plan."
Hansen says the average Medford homeowner will see an increase in property taxes of about $31 a year. He has helped organize the Swim Medford effort, and says the community needs the pools.
Hawthorne pool is more than 60 years old, he said. While it is shut down for now, Hansen believes it was and could be a very positive thing for
the community.
"Drowning is the second leading cause of death in youngsters," Hansen said. "With all the creeks, rivers and lakes in southern Oregon, the ability for more swimming lessons is a healthy thing that will save lives."
Other supporters agree, including Special Olympics Oregon, Senator Alan Bates and Representative Sal Esquivel.
However, opponents aren't so sure, saying the whole thing is too expensive.
"Medford needs two pools, but we can build two pools for less than $2 million, not $15 (million)," said Curt Ankerberg. "So it's a waste of money in the sense that we're paying for two pools."
Ankerberg is running for Medford City Council because he opposes the pool measure. He says while we may need new pools, the money could be spent somewhere else.
"Medford also needs a new police station, and two new fire stations," Ankerberg said."I think those take priority over a pool."
If Medford residents are paying for the pools, will people from other cities be allowed to swim?
Hansen says yes -- they will be. But the out-of-towners will have to pay more to get in. While prices haven't been determined yet, Hansen said it will probably cost Medford residents about $3 to get in. People from other cities will have to pay more.
"You can also buy a season pass to swim because it would be a better deal if you want to use the pool frequently," Hansen said.
Ankerberg says that policy just isn't fair for Medford taxpayers.
"It's really unfair that just the Medford taxpayers have to pay for something that is going to be used by the whole region," Ankerberg said.
If the pools are built, how do I know my kids will be safe?
Mendy Thomas grew up in the Rogue Valley, and often takes her nephew to Hawthorne Park. She worries about the people that go there.
"If the park doesn't get cleaned up, I don't know that I would want to bring children here," Thomas said. "The cops are doing a lot better job, but I don't know. There's a lot of sleeping and hanging out."
Although Hawthorne Park often gets a bad reputation, Medford Police say typically the more popular the park, the fewer problems.
"Improved facilities, more people often will make the park actually safer," Lt. Mike Budreau said.
Budreau points to Bear Creek Park as an example.
"Very little problems we have had related to criminal acts in that park," Budreau said. "And I think a lot of it has to do with all the improvements we've made over time."
Voters can weigh in on the pools issue on Election Day, Nov. 6.
By The Associated Press
The issue
From bridges to broadband, America's infrastructure is supposed to be speeding along commerce, delivering us to work and piping energy and water into our homes and businesses. But just repairing all the breakdowns and potholes would cost tens of billions more than we're currently spending each year. Experts warn the resulting infrastructure and innovation deficit is jeopardizing our global economic competitiveness. Traditionally nonpartisan territory, spending for transportation and other megaprojects is now routinely caught up in politics, with Democrats and Republicans divided over how to pay for public works and which ones.
Where they stand
President Barack Obama has favored stimulus-style infrastructure spending plans, talking up highway, bridge and rail repairs as job creators, and pushed for innovations like high-speed rail and a national infrastructure bank to finance projects with the help of private capital. But Republican opposition to increased spending and taxes has blunted many such plans.
Mitt Romney favors less involvement by the federal government in infrastructure, preferring to let states lead the way. Romney shuns the idea that public-works spending is a good way to jumpstart the economy, saying decisions on worthy projects should be based on need and potential returns. Romney also wants to privatize Amtrak by ending federal subsidies for the money-losing passenger rail system. He's OK with borrowing to pay for megaprojects if there's a revenue stream to pay the money back, like tolls or port fees.
Why it matters
Much of America's infrastructure, including its interstate highway system, is more than half a century old and in need of serious work to keep pace with a rising population. Highway, rail and airport bottlenecks slow the movement of goods and commuters, costing billions in wasted time and fuel and even measurably slowing the economy.
The World Economic Forum put the U.S. 24th last year in the quality of its infrastructure, down from fifth in 2002. The rest of the developed world sets aside on average about 53 percent more of its gross domestic product on transportation infrastructure than the U.S. does, according to the Council on Foreign Relations.
The dilemma facing any president is how to maintain critical public works at a time of fiscal austerity and to exert enough leadership to get plans through a divided Congress.
That challenge was apparent in the partisan wrangling earlier this year over a long-term bill to reauthorize federal transportation spending, which finally passed after nine temporary extensions.
Both parties highlight the need for infrastructure investment, but neither side has been willing to take the politically painful step of proposing an increase in the gasoline tax or some other way to pay for it. The main source of federal transportation aid to the states, the Highway Trust Fund, is going broke. The gas tax that feeds it hasn't been raised since 1993 and does not keep pace with inflation.
Trying to work around those logjams, cash-strapped states and cities are experimenting with creative alternatives, including public-private partnerships with financial institutions that are being invited to put up the initial cash in exchange for a slice of revenue from tolls, other user fees and the like. The idea has support from both Democrats and Republicans but is most heavily promoted by conservatives.
Proponents say such deals get projects off the drawing table faster than traditional routes. Skeptics warn the model could end up turning control of critical public works projects to entities more concerned with profit than serving the public. A focus on projects that generate the most revenue could also neglect rural areas and poor inner-city neighborhoods.
By Jim Kuhnhenn/Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Time running short, Vice President Joe Biden faces the greater burden in his debate with Republican Paul Ryan as he seeks to use the election's only encounter between presidential running mates to slow Mitt Romney's momentum and reset the campaign storyline in time for the next Obama-Romney debate.
Biden's job, after President Barack Obama's startlingly lackluster showing against Romney in last week's debate, is to forcefully confront Ryan, and by extension Romney, while making a case for Obama's policies that strikes an emotional chord with voters.
Thursday's debate comes at a volatile moment in the election, putting the contrasting political skills of Biden and Ryan on display for millions of viewers less than four weeks before Election Day.
Ryan, whose upbeat campaign style has been a Romney asset, must fend off attacks on the conservative fiscal policies the Wisconsin congressman has promoted as chairman of the House Budget Committee. He also has to embrace or answer for the more moderate tone Romney is employing as he seeks to attract independent and undecided voters.
The vice presidential debate occurs as national and battleground state polls show a tightening race, new momentum for Romney and pressure on the Obama camp to halt any erosion of support.
While it's tempting to cast the vice presidential debate as a pivotal event, the encounter is more likely to set a tone and a foundation for Tuesday's town hall-style debate between Obama and Romney in Hempstead, N.Y. Still, if Biden or Ryan emerges as a clear winner, it could either help correct the bad story line Obama provoked by his debate performance last week in Denver or strengthen Romney's image as a surging challenger.
There's plenty of material to explore over the 90-minute encounter.
Favoring Obama and Biden, new unemployment numbers last week showed a drop in joblessness. On the other hand, the administration has been placed on the defensive by conflicting accounts about the deadly attack on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, Libya, last month.
The debate also comes just two days after Romney said he would not pursue any abortion-related legislation if elected president. Romney later reasserted he opposed abortion and his campaign said he would support legislation aimed at providing greater protections for life.
The encounter pits Biden, a 69-year-old veteran politician, against a rising 42-year-old up-and-comer.
Biden has experience in face-to-face encounters with political opponents, including the much-watched debate with vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin four years ago. Despite a garrulous, sometimes gaffe-prone campaign style, Biden has proved to be a disciplined debater and likely has been preparing for succinct answers Thursday.
Ryan, while new to the debate format he will face at Centre College in Danville, Ky., is no stranger to vigorous argument as a 14-year House veteran. He has had to defend his budget policies in committee and on the House floor, and he famously debated Obama on health care during a bipartisan meeting two years ago at Blair House.
The challenge for Biden:
Where Obama was viewed as passive, Biden will have to be aggressive. Where Obama was viewed as disconnected from the television audience, Biden has a folksier demeanor that he likely will employ from the debate stage.
Obama aides see the encounter as a "head vs. heart" debate, casting Ryan as an effective yet wonky critic of Obama economic policies. They see Biden as the candidate who will strike a better bond with the audience.
While vice presidential candidates typically debate the policies of the candidates at the top of the ticket, Biden will have a two-pronged task of attacking the specific fiscal proposals that Ryan advanced in Republican budgets in 2010 and 2011 while also presenting a critique of Romney's less specific plans.
"It's not his job to do the cleanup for Obama; Obama has two more debates to do that himself," said Matt Bennett, a Democratic strategist who was a top aide to Vice President Al Gore. "Biden's challenge is do basically two things: one, to make a very clear, sharp critique of the Ryan plan, and two, to be brief. He did that very, very well in `08."
Biden's risk is that in staking out an aggressive posture, he could alienate voters. A new poll by the Pew Research Center found that 51 percent of voters have an unfavorable impression of Biden, whereas 40 percent hold an unfavorable view of Ryan.
The challenge for Ryan:
Ryan must find a way to fend off efforts to link his own past budget proposals with Romney's economic vision. Count on him to make a detailed case against Obama on fiscal and economic policy that points to a rising national debt as a looming threat.
Ryan will have to employ the same skills that make him a popular politician even in a Democratic-leaning congressional district that Obama won in 2008.
Though not a foreign policy expert, Ryan will have to stand his ground on territory that is far more familiar to Biden and that moderator Martha Raddatz, a foreign policy specialist at ABC, likely will pursue in an effort to find distinctions between Romney and Obama on international affairs.
Biden also is likely to single out Ryan's vote against a bipartisan commission's plan for tackling the nation's debt. Romney has said Obama should have embraced the plan from former Republican Sen. Alan Simpson and Democrat Erskine Bowles, a veteran of President Bill Clinton's White House.
In that sense, Ryan will have to focus more on being an advocate for Romney than a defender of his own actions.
"To some extent, he will have to go against his natural inclinations," Republican operative Matt Mackowiak said. "But he is a fairly cool customer. He has a cheery disposition. He's the guy you want your daughter to marry when she grows up."
EDITOR'S NOTE - Jim Kuhnhenn covers politics and the White House for The Associated Press.
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MEDFORD, Ore. (AP) -- Ten candidates running for city council in one southern Oregon community may be running for nothing.
The candidates are vying for five spots on the White City council, but the election will be meaningless unless voters also decide to incorporate.
If voters decide to make White City an actual city, the council members elected Nov. 6 would set up a city charter, zoning ordinances and decide on an interim mayor.
By Sam Hananel/Associated Press
The issue
A unionized job once meant a secure path to a middle-class life. Labor unions are still big political players, but they have seen a steady decline in membership and clout since their heyday in the 1950s.
Where they stand
President Barack Obama has signed a series of executive orders that encourage the use of union labor in federal construction projects, ease union financial reporting requirements and more. He has also appointed labor-friendly members to the National Labor Relations Board, which has approved new rules to help union organizers and has more strictly enforced laws against anti-union misconduct.
Republican Mitt Romney says he will reverse all of Obama's executive orders that help unions, seek to prohibit unions from using automatic dues deductions for politics and strive for national right-to-work legislation that prohibits unions from collecting dues from nonmembers.
Why it matters
Unions long have been viewed as a way for workers to gain job protections, boost wages and achieve benefits. Many business leaders see unions as limiting employer flexibility and sapping profits.
About 14.8 million Americans are members of labor unions. The number has been declining for decades as domestic manufacturing jobs go overseas and businesses take a tougher approach in opposing union organizers.
Organized labor now makes up just 11.8 percent of the work force — down from about a third of all workers in the 1950s. Union leaders have looked to the White House and Congress for help in organizing new members and increasing their influence in the workplace.
But favorable union organizing rules approved by Obama's appointees at the National Labor Relations Board have been tied up in the courts. And an effort to get Congress to pass card-check legislation, which would let unions organize new members simply by signing cards instead of holding elections, went nowhere during Obama's first term.
Obama didn't do much to push the card-check law, which faced vigorous business opposition, but he did please unions with his federal bailout of the auto industry and passage of a huge stimulus package — both credited with saving thousands of union jobs. Romney opposed both moves.
Last year, the labor board's general counsel outraged business groups when he filed a lawsuit against Boeing Co., saying the company was punishing union members in Washington state by opening a new plant in right-to-work South Carolina. While both sides ultimately settled the dispute, Romney says he wants to amend labor laws to prevent the board from interfering with business investment decisions.
In the public sector, where unions had seen some of their steadiest growth in recent years, Republican governors in states such as Wisconsin and Ohio have pushed laws seeking to curb collective bargaining rights for state workers. They argue that such limits are necessary to roll back generous pension and benefit packages that cash-strapped governments no longer can afford.
Romney has praised efforts to limit collective bargaining rights for public workers, while Obama has denounced them. In fact, the Obama administration for the first time granted limited union rights to more than 40,000 federal workers who screen passengers at the nation's airports.
Despite massive public protests against measures limiting union rights and some court successes by organized labor, polls find unions less popular than in past decades. They were viewed favorably by 52 percent of Gallup respondents in August.
Even Democratic leaders in New York, California and other states have sought to limit pensions for state employees and make union members contribute a greater share of health benefits.
MEDFORD, Ore. -- Voters get ready!
The Jackson County Election Board says ballots and voter pamphlets will be arriving soon.
Officials say the voter pamphlets will be delivered the week of Oct. 8.
Voters will receive a state voter's pamphlet that will provide information on state issues and races. A local voter pamphlet will be inserted inside the state one.
Officials warn residents that receiving a voter pamphlet does not mean the resident is registered to vote.
Ballots will be sent to voters on Oct. 20. If a voter doesn't receive a ballot by Oct. 25, they should call the elections office.
Ballots are due by 8 p.m. Nov. 6. Election officials say postmarks don't count.
Votes can drop their ballots in drop boxes throughout Jackson County:
Central Point Library, 116 S. Third Street, Central Point.
Eagle Point Library, 239 W. Main St., Eagle Point
Ashland Library, 410 Siskiyou Blvd., Ashland
City of Rogue River, 133 Broadway St., Rogue River
Jackson County Election Office (curbside ballot box) 1101 W. Main St., Medford.
By Stephen Ohlemacher/Associated Press
The issue
Unless Congress acts, the trust funds that support Social Security will run out of money in 2033, according to the trustees who oversee the retirement and disability program. At that point, Social Security would collect only enough tax revenue each year to pay about 75 percent of benefits. That benefit cut wouldn't sit well with the millions of older Americans who rely on Social Security for most of their income.
Where they stand
President Barack Obama hasn't laid out a detailed plan for addressing Social Security. He's called for bipartisan talks on strengthening the program but he didn't embrace the plan produced by a bipartisan deficit reduction panel he created in 2010.
Republican challenger Mitt Romney proposes a gradual increase in the retirement age to account for growing life expectancy. For future generations, Romney would slow the growth of benefits "for those with higher incomes."
Why it matters
For millions of retired and disabled workers, Social Security is pretty much all they have to live on, even though monthly benefits are barely enough to keep them out of poverty. Monthly payments average $1,237 for retired workers and $1,111 for disabled workers. Most older Americans rely on Social Security for a majority of their income; many rely on it for 90 percent or more, according to the Social Security Administration.
Social Security is already the largest federal program and it's getting bigger as millions of baby boomers reach retirement. More than 56 million retirees, disabled workers, spouses and children get Social Security benefits. That number that will grow to 91 million by 2035, according to congressional estimates.
Social Security could handle the growing number of beneficiaries if there were more workers paying payroll taxes. But most baby boomers didn't have as many children as their parents did, leaving relatively fewer workers to pay into the system.
In 1960, there were 4.9 workers for each person getting benefits. Today, there are about 2.8 workers for each beneficiary, and that ratio will drop to 1.9 workers by 2035.
Nevertheless, Social Security is ripe for congressional action in the next year or two, if lawmakers get serious about addressing the nation's long-term financial problems. Why? Because Social Security is fixable.
Despite the program's long-term problems, Social Security could be preserved for generations to come with modest but politically difficult changes to benefits or taxes, or a combination of both.
Some options could affect people quickly, such as increasing payroll taxes or reducing annual cost-of-living adjustments for those who already get benefits. Others options, such as gradually raising the retirement age, wouldn't be felt for years but would affect millions of younger workers.
Fixing Social Security won't be easy. All the options carry political risks because they have the potential to affect nearly every U.S. family while angering powerful interest groups. Liberal advocates and some Democrats oppose all benefit cuts; conservative activists and some Republicans say tax increases are out of the question.
But Social Security is easier to fix than Medicare or Medicaid, the other two big government benefit programs. Unlike Medicare and Medicaid, policymakers don't have to figure out how to tame the rising costs of health care to fix Social Security.
Social Security's problems seem far off. After all, the program has enough money to pay full benefits for 20 more years. But the program's financial problems get harder to fix with each passing year. The sooner Congress acts, the more subtle the changes can be because they can be phased in slowly.
By Christopher S. Rugaber/AP Economics Writer
The issue
The income gap between the rich and everyone else is large and getting larger, while middle-class incomes stagnate. That's raised concerns that the nation's middle class isn't sharing in economic growth as it has in the past. And it sparked the Wall Street protests that spread to other cities in the country.
Where they stand
President Barack Obama would raise taxes on households earning more than $250,000 a year, plus set a minimum tax rate of 30 percent for those who earn $1 million or more. He also wants to spend more on education, "a gateway to the middle class."
Republican Mitt Romney blames Obama's economic policies for failing to create enough jobs so that middle- and lower-income Americans can earn more. He wants to cut taxes more broadly and says that will generate enough growth to raise incomes for all Americans.
Why it matters
Income inequality has risen for three decades and worsened since the recession ended. A report in mid-September from the Census Bureau found that the highest-earning 20 percent of households earned 51.1 percent of all income last year. That was the biggest share on records dating to 1967. The share earned by households in the middle 20 percent fell to 14.3 percent, a record low.
Other studies have pointed to huge gains among the top 1 percent, fueling protests by Occupy Wall Street. Last fall, the Congressional Budget Office found that incomes for the richest 1 percent soared 275 percent between 1979 and 2007. For the middle 60 percent of Americans, average incomes grew just under 40 percent.
Two academics, Emmanuel Saez and Thomas Piketty, have used IRS data to construct longer-run assessments of income inequality. They found that in 2007 the richest 1 percent earned 23.5 percent of income. That was the biggest share since 1928, just before the Great Depression.
Some economists argue that these figures overstate inequality. They point out that Saez and Piketty exclude income from Social Security and other government benefits from their calculations. Most studies also don't count the value of health insurance and other employer benefits, which have risen sharply in recent decades.
But the CBO's study does include the impact of taxes and government benefits. Few economists dispute that income inequality has worsened in the past three decades.
Poverty has deepened. Fifteen percent of Americans were below the poverty line in 2011, the Census Bureau says, slightly lower than the 15.1 percent in 2010. That was the first drop after four straight years of increases.
But the recession has pushed up the poverty rate sharply since it stood at 11.3 percent in 2000. About 46.2 million people were poor last year, 46 percent more than in 2000.
Government programs such as unemployment benefits and Social Security have lifted millions of Americans above the poverty line. That raises the stakes surrounding future proposals to limit such benefits.
Some economists argue that income inequality contributed to the financial crisis. As middle-class incomes stagnated in the 2000s, Americans borrowed to fuel more consumption and buy larger homes. That caused an explosion in household debt that couldn't be sustained when the housing bubble burst.
At stake, says Obama, is "the basic bargain at the heart of America's story, the promise that hard work will pay off." Romney says Obama's policies have made the middle class poorer. He says he will remove barriers to opportunity, such as excessive regulation of small business, so that more Americans can succeed. "We're not the party of the rich," he said. "We're the party of the people who want to get rich."
By Alicia A. Caldwell/Associated Press
The issue
Illegal immigration is a decades-old problem. With an estimated 11.5 million illegal immigrants living, and in many cases working, in the U.S. the question remains: What do we do with them? And how do we stop more people from coming? Lax enforcement potentially leads to more illegal immigrants competing with U.S. citizens for jobs and some social services, without necessarily paying income taxes. But a too-tight policy could mean farmers and others in industries that rely on the cheaper labor of illegal immigrants are left begging for workers, passing higher costs on to consumers or going out of business altogether.
Where they stand
President Barack Obama has pushed for the DREAM Act, a path to citizenship for many young illegal immigrants who arrived in the U.S. as children. Efforts to pass the bill have repeatedly failed, most notably in 2010 when it stalled in a Democratic-led Senate after failing to win the 60 votes it needed to proceed to a full vote. Five Democrats voted against the measure. In June, Obama announced a plan to delay deportations for many illegal immigrants who would have benefited from the DREAM Act for up to two years and let them get work permits.
Mitt Romney has said that as president he would veto the DREAM Act should it ever cross his desk. He told The Denver Post that he would honor work permits for those immigrants who benefit from Obama's new policy and promised to put a comprehensive immigration plan into place before those permits expire. He favors completing a towering steel fence along the Mexican border, in addition to the 650 miles already constructed, and opposes letting illegal immigrant students pay in-state tuition at state universities.
Why it matters
Illegal immigration has slowed in recent years, with the Border Patrol recently recording the fewest arrests in almost 40 years. But many people worry that the Mexican border, the most popular crossing point for newly arriving illegal immigrants, still isn't secure more than a decade after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
In the last several years, the government has spent billions building a fence, doubling the number of Border Patrol agents and adding a slew of high-tech gadgets to stop the flow of illegal immigrants. The numbers tell a compelling story: In the last budget year, the Border Patrol arrested about 327,000 people at the Mexican border. In 2006, agents made more than 1 million such arrests.
Obama's administration also deported a record number of people last year, nearly 400,000. The government has been shifting its focus to finding and deporting criminal immigrants and those who otherwise pose a threat to security.
There's room for debate about what has led to the steep drop in arrests; it's quite clear the struggling economy has made it less attractive to enter the U.S. Still, Republicans insist any illegal crossings are too many. And there's broad agreement that the border should be more secure.
As for illegal immigrants already in the country, there's no easy answer about what to do.
In 1986, under President Ronald Reagan, Congress approved an amnesty that granted millions of immigrants legal status while also changing the law to make it illegal to hire illegal immigrants.
Hiring has continued in many sectors, notably farming. And some lawmakers worry that agriculture would sink if there were an aggressive effort to verify that all farmworkers could legally work in the U.S.
Various overhauls of immigration policy have been proposed since the early 2000s. But the debate often boils down to Republicans wanting the border secure before anything else, and Democrats pushing for that security and for a path to legalization at once. The result has been a legislative stalemate.
By Calvin Woodward/Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Barack Obama and Republican rival Mitt Romney spun one-sided stories in their first presidential debate, not necessarily bogus, but not the whole truth.
They made some flat-out flubs, too. The rise in health insurance premiums has not been the slowest in 50 years, as Obama stated. Far from it. And there are not 23 million unemployed, as Romney asserted.
Here's a look at some of their claims and how they stack up with the facts:
OBAMA: "I've proposed a specific $4 trillion deficit reduction plan. ... The way we do it is $2.50 for every cut, we ask for $1 in additional revenue."
THE FACTS: In promising $4 trillion, Obama is already banking more than $2 trillion from legislation enacted along with Republicans last year that cut agency operating budgets and capped them for 10 years. He also claims more than $800 billion in war savings that would occur anyway. And he uses creative bookkeeping to hide spending on Medicare reimbursements to doctors. Take those "cuts" away and Obama's $2.50/$1 ratio of spending cuts to tax increases shifts significantly more in the direction of tax increases.
Obama's February budget offered proposals that would cut deficits over the coming decade by $2 trillion instead of $4 trillion. Of that deficit reduction, tax increases accounted for $1.6 trillion. He promises relatively small spending cuts of $597 billion from big federal benefit programs like Medicare and Medicaid. He also proposed higher spending on infrastructure projects.
ROMNEY: Obama's health care plan "puts in place an unelected board that's going to tell people ultimately what kind of treatments they can have. I don't like that idea."
THE FACTS: Romney is referring to the Independent Payment Advisory Board, a panel of experts that would have the power to force Medicare cuts if costs rise beyond certain levels and Congress fails to act. But Obama's health care law explicitly prohibits the board from rationing care, shifting costs to retirees, restricting benefits or raising the Medicare eligibility age. So the board doesn't have the power to dictate to doctors what treatments they can prescribe.
Romney seems to be resurrecting the assertion that Obama's law would lead to rationing, made famous by former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's widely debunked allegation that it would create "death panels."
The board has yet to be named, and its members would ultimately have to be confirmed by the Senate. Health care inflation has been modest in the last few years, so cuts would be unlikely for most of the rest of this decade.
OBAMA: "Over the last two years, health care premiums have gone up -- it's true -- but they've gone up slower than any time in the last 50 years. So we're already beginning to see progress. In the meantime, folks out there with insurance, you're already getting a rebate."
THE FACTS: Not so, concerning premiums. Obama is mixing overall health care spending, which has been growing at historically low levels, and health insurance premiums, which have continued to rise faster than wages and overall economic growth. Premiums for job-based family coverage have risen by nearly $2,400 since 2009 when Obama took office, according to the nonpartisan Kaiser Family Foundation. In 2011, premiums jumped by 9 percent. This year's 4 percent increase was more manageable, but the price tag for family coverage stands at $15,745, with employees paying more than $4,300 of that.
When it comes to insurance rebates under Obama's health care law, less than 10 percent of people with private health insurance are benefiting.
More than 160 million Americans under 65 have private insurance through their jobs and by buying their own policies. According to the administration, about 13 million people will benefit from rebates. And nearly two-thirds of that number will only be entitled to a share of it, since they are covered under job-based plans where their employer pays most of the premium and will get most of the rebate.
ROMNEY on the failure of Obama's economic policy: "And the proof of that is 23 million people out of work. The proof of that is 1 out of 6 people in poverty. The proof of that is we've gone from 32 million on food stamps to 47 million on food stamps. The proof of that is that 50 percent of college graduates this year can't find work."
THE FACTS: The number of unemployed is 12.5 million, not 23 million. Romney was also counting 8 million people who are working part time but would like a full-time job and 2.6 million who have stopped looking for work, either because they are discouraged or because they are going back to school or for other reasons.
He got the figure closer to right earlier in the debate, leaving out only the part-timers when he said the U.S. has "23 million people out of work or stopped looking for work." But he was wrong in asserting that Obama came into office "facing 23 million people out of work." At the start of Obama's presidency, 12 million were out of work.
His claim that half of college graduates can't find work now also was problematic. A Northeastern University analysis for The Associated Press found that a one-fourth of recent graduates were probably unemployed and another quarter were underemployed, which means working in jobs that didn't make full use of their skills or experience.
OBAMA: It's important "that we take some of the money that we're saving as we wind down two wars to rebuild America."
THE FACTS: This oft-repeated claim is based on a fiscal fiction. The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan were paid for mostly with borrowed money, so stopping them doesn't create a new pool of available cash that can be used for something else, like rebuilding America. It just slows down the government's borrowing.
ROMNEY: "At the same time, gasoline prices have doubled under the president. Electric rates are up."
THE FACTS: He's right that the average price has doubled, and a little more, since Obama was sworn in. But presidents have almost no influence on gasoline prices, and certainly not in the near term. Gasoline prices are set on financial exchanges around the world and are based on a host of factors, most importantly the price of crude oil used to make gasoline, the amount of finished gasoline ready to be shipped and the capacity of refiners to make enough to meet market demand.
Retail electricity prices have risen since Obama took office -- barely. They've grown by an average of less than 1 percent per year, less than the rate of inflation and slower than the historical growth in electricity prices. The unexpectedly modest rise in electricity prices is because of the plummeting cost of natural gas, which is used to generate electricity.
OBAMA: "Gov. Romney's central economic plan calls for a $5 trillion tax cut -- on top of the extension of the Bush tax cuts, that's another trillion dollars -- and $2 trillion in additional military spending that the military hasn't asked for. That's $8 trillion. How we pay for that, reduce the deficit, and make the investments that we need to make, without dumping those costs onto middle-class Americans, I think is one of the central questions of this campaign."
THE FACTS: Obama's claim that Romney wants to cut taxes by $5 trillion doesn't add up. Presumably, Obama was talking about the effect of Romney's tax plan over 10 years, which is common in Washington. But Obama's math doesn't take into account Romney's entire plan.
Romney proposes to reduce income tax rates by 20 percent and eliminate the estate tax and the alternative minimum tax. The Tax Policy Center, a Washington research group, says that would reduce federal tax revenues by $465 billion in 2015, which would add up to about $5 trillion over 10 years.
However, Romney says he wants to pay for the tax cuts by reducing or eliminating tax credits, deductions and exemptions. The goal is a simpler tax code that raises the same amount of money as the current system but does it in a more efficient manner.
The knock on Romney's plan, which Obama accurately cited, is that Romney has refused to say which tax breaks he would eliminate to pay for the lower rates.
ROMNEY: "What would I cut from spending? Well, first of all, I will eliminate all programs by this test, if they pass it: Is the program so critical it's worth borrowing money from China to pay for it?"
THE FACTS: China continues to be portrayed by Romney and many other Republicans as the poster child for runaway federal deficits. It's true that China is the largest foreign holder of U.S. debt, but it only represents about an 8 percent stake. And China has recently been decreasing its holdings, according to the Treasury Department. Some two-thirds of the $16 trillion national debt is owed to the federal government, with the largest single stake the Federal Reserve, as well as American investors and the Social Security Trust Fund.
OBAMA: "Independent studies looking at this said the only way to meet Gov. Romney's pledge of not ... adding to the deficit is by burdening middle-class families. The average middle-class family with children would pay about $2,000 more."
THE FACTS: That's just one scenario. Obama's claim relies on a study by the Tax Policy Center, a Washington research group. The study, however, is more nuanced than Obama indicated.
The study concludes it would be impossible for Romney to meet all of his stated goals without shifting some of the tax burden from people who make more than $200,000 to people who make less.
In one scenario, the study says, Romney's proposal could result in a $2,000 tax increase for families who make less than $200,000 and have children.
Romney says his plan wouldn't raise taxes on anyone, and his campaign points to several studies by conservative think tanks that dispute the Tax Policy Center's findings. Most of the conservative studies argue that Romney's tax plan would stimulate economic growth, generating additional tax revenue without shifting any of the tax burden to the middle class. Congress, however, doesn't use those kinds of projections when it estimates the effect of tax legislation.
ROMNEY: "Right now, the CBO says up to 20 million people will lose their insurance as Obamacare goes into effect next year."
THE FACTS: Romney is making selective use of the Congressional Budget Office's March findings on how employers might adjust to the new health law. The neutral Washington scorekeeper actually gave Congress four scenarios -- ranging from a net increase in employer-provided coverage for 3 million people to the decrease of 20 million that Romney cited.
Here's why: The law offers tax incentives for companies with more than 50 workers that provide coverage and penalties for those that don't. The analysis says it's difficult to say how companies will behave, with some making a purely economic calculation and others concluding that continuing coverage may be essential to pleasing workers in a competitive environment. "As a result, any projections of those effects are clearly quite uncertain," the study's authors concluded.
ROMNEY on cutting the deficit: "Obamacare's on my list. ... I'm going to stop the subsidy to PBS. ... I'll make government more efficient."
THE FACTS: Romney has promised to balance the budget in eight years to 10 years, but he hasn't offered a complete plan. Instead, he's promised a set of principles, some of which -- like increasing Pentagon spending and restoring more than $700 billion in cuts that Democrats made in Medicare over the coming decade -- work against his goal. He also has said he will not consider tax increases.
He pledges to shrink the government to 20 percent of the size of the economy, as opposed to more than 23 percent of gross domestic product now, by the end of his first term. The Romney campaign estimates that would require cuts of $500 billion from the 2016 budget alone. He also has pledged to cut tax rates by 20 percent, paying for them by eliminating tax breaks for the wealthiest and through economic growth.
To fulfill his promise, then, Romney would require cuts to other programs so deep -- under one calculation requiring cutting many areas of the domestic budget by one-third within four years -- that they could never get through Congress. Cuts to domestic agencies would have to be particularly deep.
But he's offered only a few modest examples of government programs he'd be willing to squeeze, like subsidies to PBS and Amtrak. He does want to repeal Obama's big health care law, but that law is actually forecast to reduce the deficit.
ROMNEY: "Simpson-Bowles, the president should have grabbed that."
OBAMA: "That's what we've done, made some adjustments to it, and we're putting it before Congress right now, a $4 trillion plan."
THE FACTS: At first, the president did largely ignore the recommendations made by his deficit commission headed by Democrat Erskine Bowles and Republican Alan Simpson. He later incorporated some of the proposals, largely the less controversial ones. He did not endorse some of the politically troublesome recommendations, such as trimming popular tax deductions like the one for home mortgage interest.
Associated Press writers Andrew Taylor, Stephen Ohlemacher, Jonathan Fahey, Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar, Tom Raum, Christopher S. Rugaber and Brian Bakst contributed to this report.
By Robert Burns/AP National Security Writer
The issue
Is the U.S. spending enough money on defense, and is it spending it in the right ways? In the aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attacks the money spigot was turned wide open, pouring hundreds of billions of dollars into the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and expanding the armed forces. Now that's changing, and an important issue in the election is whether budget cuts have gone too far.
Where they stand
President Barack Obama wants to put the brakes on growth in the defense budget. He reasons that a new era of austerity at the Pentagon won't hurt American security. Earlier this year, Obama adopted a military strategy to fit leaner budgets and to take into account that U.S. troops are winding down a decade of wars.
Republican nominee Mitt Romney takes a far different view. He argues that Obama has presided over a military decline, and defense budgets need to grow faster. He wants to add tens of billions of dollars a year to the Pentagon's core budget, particularly to build Navy ships at a faster pace and to reverse troop cuts.
Why it matters
There are plenty of potential security threats on the horizon, not to mention an unfinished war in Afghanistan.
The size and shape of the defense budget go a long way toward determining whether the U.S. can influence events abroad, prevent new wars and be ready for those it can't avoid. It also fuels the domestic defense industry in ways that affect the economic vitality of communities large and small across the country.
The Pentagon's budget, including war costs, is $670 billion this year, or about 18 percent of total federal spending. The dollar amount has more than doubled since 2001, when the U.S. began a decade of wars. Under Obama's plan it will grow by $259 billion less over the next five years than previously envisioned.
The hope is to align defense budgets with the most worrisome security threats, Iran being a case in point. Its suspected drive to build a nuclear weapon could lead to war. Diplomacy is at the forefront of Obama's strategy for preventing a nuclear-armed Iran, but at the same time he is building up U.S. forces in the Persian Gulf region near Iran, including missile defenses that could protect Gulf allies in the event of an Iran war.
Obama also wants more focus on Asia-Pacific security issues, starting with China's rapid military modernization. But that and other elements of his new military strategy could come apart at the seams if Congress and the administration don't come up with a way to avoid automatic budget cuts starting in January.
If such a budget deal is not reached in time, the Pentagon would absorb an additional $500 billion in cuts over the decade. That was put in place by a bipartisan deal reached in August 2011 between the White House and Congress.
At its core, the debate over whether the U.S. is spending enough on defense — and whether the dollars are being invested wisely — gets down to this: What should America defend against? Is it the al-Qaida terrorist network, which has been the central focus of U.S. defense strategy for a decade but is now in decline? Is it China, which is gaining military strength and flexing its muscle in regional disputes? Is it Russia, whose nuclear arsenal is the only one in the world still capable, in theory, of destroying the United States?
One lesson of 9/11 and the two wars that followed is that the U.S. has a poor track record of preparing for the right threat.
By Kasie Hunt and Nancy Benac/Associated Press
DENVER (AP) -- President Barack Obama and Republican Mitt Romney come face to face for the first time in this presidential campaign Wednesday night for a nationally televised debate that will give millions of Americans a chance to size up two fierce competitors in a moment of high-risk theater.
Romney, trailing in polls in a number of key states and running short on time to reverse his fortunes, is angling for a breakout performance in the three 90-minute presidential debates scheduled over the next three weeks.
Obama, well aware that the remaining five weeks of the race still offer enough time for tectonic shifts in his prospects, is determined to avoid any campaign-altering mistakes as he presses his case for a second term.
A pre-debate skirmish Tuesday over Vice President Joe Biden's passing reference to "a middle class that has been buried the last four years" demonstrated how just a few words can mushroom into something larger during a heated contest for the White House.
Wednesday's 9 p.m. EDT (6 p.m. PDT) faceoff between Obama and Romney on domestic policy at the University of Denver is sure to offer a blend of choreography and spontaneity: Both men have spent hours rehearsing smart lines and pithy comebacks with proxy opponents -- yet know to expect the unexpected.
"That's what so tricky about this," says Alan Schroeder, author of a book on presidential debates. "There's never a template for preparing because each one takes its own direction."
The central role of the economy in this election is evident in the topics selected for the first three of the night's six debate segments: The Economy I, The Economy II and The Economy III. The last three segments will focus on health care, the role of government and governing.
Romney has pinned his campaign on the argument that Obama has failed to adequately juice up the U.S. economy, but his challenge is reflected in recent polls showing growing public optimism about the economy and the president's leadership. His case got tougher after a secret video revealed Romney telling donors that it's not his job to care about the 47 percent of Americans who don't pay federal income taxes and believe they are victims.
Romney tried to address accusations that he doesn't care about those voters with a new ad Wednesday in which the casually dressed candidate looks at the camera and acknowledges the struggles of Americans living paycheck to paycheck. "We should measure our compassion by how many of our fellow Americans are able to get good-paying jobs, not how many are on welfare. My economic plan will get America back to work and strengthen the middle class," he says.
Republicans tried to frame the economic debate in their terms Tuesday by pointing to the vice president's comments in North Carolina about the beleaguered middle class as an unwitting acknowledgment that Obama's economic policies have devastated average Americans.
"We agree," GOP vice presidential nominee Paul Ryan declared in Iowa. "That means we need to stop digging by electing Mitt Romney the next president of the United States."
Obama's camp countered that it was the policies of the president's Republican predecessors that had caused the damage.
Biden, at a later campaign event, was careful to say that "the middle class was buried by the policies that Romney and Ryan supported," calling their economic plans an amped-up rework of those from the George W. Bush years.
Romney calls Wednesday's debate the beginning of a monthlong "conversation with the American people," and the debates do tend to consume much of the political oxygen for several crucial weeks.
The candidates will be speaking to a TV audience of tens of millions in one of those rare moments when a critical mass of Americans collectively fix their attention on one event. Fifty-two million people tuned in to the first debate four years ago, and 80 percent of the nation's adults reported watching at least a bit of the debates between Obama and Republican John McCain in 2008.
The two campaigns on Wednesday announced new websites -- http://debates.mittromney.com and http://barackobama.com/debate -- to respond to their opponent in real time.
In a quadrennial pre-debate ritual, each campaign has worked overtime to raise expectations for the opponent while lowering the bar for its own candidate. The thinking is that it's better to exceed lukewarm expectations than to fail to perform at an anticipated level of great skill.
But both men are seasoned debaters: Obama has been here before, facing off with McCain in 2008. Romney hasn't gone one on one in a presidential debate, but he got plenty of practice thinking on his feet during 19 multicandidate debates held during the Republican primaries.
On a long day of debate prep -- Romney in Denver and Obama in Henderson, Nev., near Las Vegas -- both candidates tried to blow off some steam Tuesday. The president made a tourist's visit to nearby Hoover Dam, and Romney fit in a lunchtime outing to a Mexican grill for a burrito bowl.
The two candidates' biggest fans talked up their debating abilities in pre-debate interviews.
Michelle Obama told CNN she's like a nervous parent watching a child performing on the balance beam when her husband debates.
"I do tell him to have fun and relax and just be himself, because the truth is, if he's the Barack Obama the country has come to know and trust, he is going to do a great job," she said.
Ann Romney said her husband always looks around to find her in the debate audience and keeps a paper in front of him that says "Dad" -- to remind him to make his father proud.
As for her advice, Mrs. Romney told KMGH-TV in Denver that she tells her husband: "Sweetie, you had five boys. You learned to argue really well and make your points years ago. Just go do that."
Wednesday's format: The moderator, PBS newsman Jim Lehrer, will open each 15-minute segment with a question, and Obama and Romney each will have two minutes to answer. After that, it's up to Lehrer to keep the conversation going and to intervene if one candidate goes on too long.
Obama and Romney have a two-track mission with debate viewers: Motivate core supporters to turn out and vote -- at a time when early voting already is under way in many states -- and try to lock in some new supporters from among the small subset of viewers who haven't settled on a candidate or whose support for one man or the other is squishy.
The viewers who matter most live in the contested battleground states that will determine which candidate gets to 270 electoral votes on Nov. 6: Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Nevada, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Ohio, Virginia and, to a lesser extent, Wisconsin.
Recent national polls show the two candidates in a tight race among likely voters. But Obama has the advantage in many of the battlegrounds, including Colorado.
Romney and Obama debate again Oct. 16 in Hempstead, N.Y., and Oct. 22 in Boca Raton, Fla. Biden and Ryan have their lone debate on Oct. 11 in Danville, Ky.
Obama plans to use the first presidential debate as the hook for fundraisers and recruiting volunteers. Former President Bill Clinton will be in Boston on Wednesday night for Obama, with donors paying $20,000 a person. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo is headlining a New York fundraiser.
The Obama campaign plans more than 4,000 debate-watching events around the country. And Biden is scheduled to hold a live discussion with supporters that will be streamed online after the debate.
The Romney camp planned 336 debate parties at restaurants, bars, grills, VFW halls and other sites concentrated in battleground states.
Benac reported from Washington.
By David Crary/AP National Writer
The issue
Whether women have access to abortion services and birth control is a long-standing and divisive issue in politics, and it has flared up from time to time in this campaign despite the candidates' reticence to dwell on such hot-button topics.
Where they stand
President Barack Obama supports access to abortion. His health care law requires contraceptives to be available for free for women enrolled in workplace health plans.
Republican Mitt Romney favors limits on abortion, though he previously supported access to it. He says Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court ruling establishing abortion rights, should be reversed, which would allow states to ban abortion. He would end federal aid to Planned Parenthood, a major provider of abortion and contraception, and has criticized mandatory coverage for contraception as a threat to religious liberty when it's applied to employers, such as Catholic hospitals, that disagree.
Why it matters
There's been a lot of heated talk this year by Democrats contending that Republicans are waging a "war on women." That's hyperbole, retorts the GOP, but there are indeed stark differences between the two parties over these volatile issues.
Obama's Affordable Care Act, which Republicans opposed and want to repeal, vastly expands women's access to copay-free preventive health care, including contraception.
The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and many conservative Protestant evangelicals have denounced this contraception mandate, saying it violates religious freedom. The provision generally exempts houses of worship, but faith-affiliated employers would have to comply.
Obama's campaign has been running ads aimed at female voters, noting that Romney supports overturning Roe v. Wade and has assailed the contraception coverage requirement as a "war on religion."
Were Romney to be elected, his ability to push through tough federal abortion restrictions would probably be limited unless Republicans gained firm control of both chambers of Congress.
However, the next president — Obama or Romney — could have huge influence over the future of abortion policy if vacancies arise on the Supreme Court. For example, if two seats held by liberal justices were vacated and filled by Romney-nominated conservatives, prospects for a reversal of Roe v. Wade would increase.
"That's bigger than everything else combined, because of the long-term consequences," said anti-abortion rights activist Charmaine Yoest, president of Americans United for Life.
Another issue of contention is the federally financed family planning program known as Title X. Romney has proposed ending the program, as well as all other federal money for Planned Parenthood. Obama supporters say this could be harmful to the large numbers of women who rely on Planned Parenthood clinics for affordable birth control, breast-cancer screenings and other services.
Aside from the presidential and congressional elections, there's a lot riding on the results of state-level elections. Anti-abortion rights activists hope for further gains to accelerate a dramatic trend of the past decade: the enactment of scores of laws restricting access to abortion in states with Republican-controlled legislatures.
Among these measures are laws in several states prohibiting abortion after 20 weeks of pregnancy, on the disputed premise that fetuses can feel pain at that stage; and a South Dakota law requiring doctors to warn women seeking abortions that they face increased risk of suicide by undergoing the procedure. In Mississippi, the lone abortion clinic is threatened with closure because of a new law requiring abortion providers to have hospital admitting privileges.
In some parts of the country, abortion providers already are so scarce that women with an unintended pregnancy face a choice between reluctantly bearing a child or traveling hundreds of miles for an abortion. Election results could reduce access even further in some states.
By David Espo/AP Special Correspondent
WASHINGTON (AP) -- On the eve of the first presidential debate, the early autumn Republican reviews are in for Mitt Romney's presidential campaign, and they are not pretty.
In some states, candidates who share the Nov. 6 ballot with the former Massachusetts governor already have taken steps to establish independence from him. Party strategists predict more will follow, perhaps as soon as next week, unless Romney can dispel fears that he is headed for defeat despite the weak economy that works against President Barack Obama's prospects.
Former Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour, who headed the Republican Party when it won control of Congress in the 1990s, said disapprovingly over the weekend that Romney's campaign has been focusing on polling, political process and campaign management. "It's about everything but the issues. It's about everything but Obama's policies and the failures of those policies," he said.
A prominent party strategist, Matthew Dowd, says the Romney campaign was almost guilty of political malpractice over the summer and during the two political conventions. It "left the playing field totally to Barack Obama and the Obama campaign" and "'basically set the tone for the final 60 days of this campaign, which put them behind after the conventions," Dowd said. He and Barbour both spoke on ABC.
Ed Gillespie, a senior adviser to Romney, defended the campaign in a conference call with reporters on Monday.
"Our message is very clear, which is we cannot afford four more years like the last four years. And we need a real recovery, we need policies that are going to help," he said.
Republicans say there is time for Romney to steady his campaign but only if he acts quickly.
It is unclear how long congressional candidates are willing to wait for a turnaround. Several Republican strategists point to this week, which includes the debate and Friday's release of September unemployment figures.
Some Republicans who are in periodic contact with the campaign say Romney's strategists have concluded that a recent uptick in public optimism, coming on top of Obama's success to date, complicates the attempt to defeat the president solely on the basis of pocketbook issues.
In recent days, Romney has emphasized criticism of the president's foreign policy, particularly in the Middle East, where a terrorist attack at the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, Libya, left Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three other Americans dead.
Privately, GOP strategists agreed with Barbour's public statement that Romney's campaign has been unable so far to settle on a single, overarching theme to tie together its advertising, the rhetoric of its candidate and appearances by surrogates.
Many of the Republicans who commented on the race declined to be identified by name, saying they were not authorized to speak publicly about strategy.
In one statement emailed on Monday, the campaign quoted Vice Presidential candidate Paul Ryan as telling WTJM in Milwaukee: "This election is a clear choice between different paths."
That was close to what the Obama campaign wants, and considerably different from Romney's earlier insistence that the race is a referendum on the president's performance in office.
Already, there are examples of concern from Republican candidates in other races, some subtle, others less so.
In Arizona, Rep. Jeff Flake recently began airing a commercial that accuses Democrat Richard Carmona of being Obama's "rubber stamp," a candidate whom the president recruited to run for the Senate to "help push his agenda." The ad doesn't say so, but Obama would need support in the next Congress only if he defeats Romney this November and wins four more years in the White House.
In North Dakota, Rep. Rick Berg, also running for the Senate, promises in an ad he will "serve as a check on Obama's failed policies" by fighting to repeal Obamacare, reduce government regulation and scale back the debt.
Both men are favored to win their races, taking place in states that Romney is expected to carry.
Nervousness first surfaced publicly among Republican Senate candidates two weeks ago, with the disclosure of a video of Romney saying 47 percent of Americans pay no income taxes and a like percentage view themselves as victims who are entitled to government benefits. As a candidate, he said, "my job is not to worry" about them.
Linda McMahon, making a second try for a Senate seat from Connecticut, quickly expressed a different opinion. "I disagree with Governor Romney's insinuation that 47 percent of Americans believe they are victims who must depend on the government for their care," she said in a statement released by her campaign.
Republican Rep. Dean Heller, in a competitive race for a Senate seat in Nevada, said, "My mom was a school cafeteria cook, so I have a very different view of the world than the one Romney expressed."
Former Wisconsin Gov. Tommy Thompson, running for the Senate, said, "The presidential thing is bound to have an impact on every election." His remark produced a rebuttal from former New Hampshire Gov. John Sununu, a top Romney surrogate, who said: "My good friend Tommy Thompson sounds like Barack Obama, blaming it on somebody else."
MEDFORD, Ore. -- The election is right around the corner, and voters don't have much time to get registered.
Oregon voters have until Oct. 16 to register to vote. Voters can register online at oregonvotes.gov or pick up registration forms at county election offices, the Department of Motor Vehicles or the U.S. Post Office.
Voters can double check their registration at oregonvotes.gov. Just click on My vote.
Local election officials remind voters to update their registration. If a voter has moved, their ballot will not be forwarded.
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