Would you willingly submit to an assessor or auditor regarding all of your proceedings if you were in any kind of public office? You’d have to be quite confident in your character to reply in the affirmative.
It would surely ease your discomfort if you yourself were the one who got to pick who this auditor was. Wouldn’t it? This way, under-the-table arrangements, backstabbing, non-cooperation and other unethical and even illegal business could proceed unimpeded.
Would it be in line with America’s values to, say, appoint a president? Political elections distance us from totalitarian systems such as monarchies, dictatorships and the overthrow of democratically elected governments. Appointments are much more in line with them. Having those who think they are better than the rest make the decisions for all of us as a group seems an earlier stage in human evolution.
The group that wants to have Eugene citizens vote to pick an auditor got about 13,000 signatures. City officials and managers want to be those who appoint their own auditors; that is why they’ve lately been mobilizing towards this with a whopping 80 signatures collected online.
What they want is obvious: Who wouldn’t like to be one’s own police or at least be able to appoint those who police you? This seems obvious from the standpoint of those being watched; but why would citizens, ordinary members of the public, share this desire?
We should all work together and collaborate for a complete and perfect Eugene.
David Ivan Piccioni
Eugene
A Note From the Publisher
Dear Readers,
The last two years have been some of the hardest in Eugene Weekly’s 43 years. There were moments when keeping the paper alive felt uncertain. And yet, here we are — still publishing, still investigating, still showing up every week.
That’s because of you!
Not just because of financial support (though that matters enormously), but because of the emails, notes, conversations, encouragement and ideas you shared along the way. You reminded us why this paper exists and who it’s for.
Listening to readers has always been at the heart of Eugene Weekly. This year, that meant launching our popular weekly Activist Alert column, after many of you told us there was no single, reliable place to find information about rallies, meetings and ways to get involved. You asked. We responded.
We’ve also continued to deepen the coverage that sets Eugene Weekly apart, including our in-depth reporting on local real estate development through Bricks & Mortar — digging into what’s being built, who’s behind it and how those decisions shape our community.
And, of course, we’ve continued to bring you the stories and features many of you depend on: investigations and local government reporting, arts and culture coverage, sudoku and crossword puzzles, Savage Love, and our extensive community events calendar. We feature award-winning stories by University of Oregon student reporters getting real world journalism experience. All free. In print and online.
None of this happens by accident. It happens because readers step up and say: this matters.
As we head into a new year, please consider supporting Eugene Weekly if you’re able. Every dollar helps keep us digging, questioning, celebrating — and yes, occasionally annoying exactly the right people. We consider that a public service.
Thank you for standing with us!
Publisher
Eugene Weekly
P.S. If you’d like to talk about supporting EW, I’d love to hear from you!
jody@eugeneweekly.com
(541) 484-0519