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The Mid-county Memo is your newspaper, and we want to hear from you. Discuss an important issue or address a concern you want to call the community’s attention to. Please include a name, address, and phone number. We prefer e-mailed letters to the editor sent to Dawn Widler, Department Editor at editor@midcountymemo.com. Please put “letter to the ed” in the subject line. You may also mail complete information to 4052 N.E. 22nd Ave., Portland, OR, 97212-1503.
Recognize homecare workers
Dear Editor:
I am a live-in Homecare Worker who provides 24-hour care. I am a caregiver because I believe the aging and disabled have a right to live as independently as possible in the comfort of their own home. I am allowed 24 hours of time off, or respite care per month. I only get paid $4.26 per hour and am only allowed payment for 10 hours of work per day. My employer is considered to be my client. However, my paycheck comes from the state.
Caregiving is rewarding yet challenging. I sometimes suffer burnout. To take my time off, I must find a respite care provider willing to work for $4.26 per hour. I want to provide the best care for my client and at such a low rate it is next to impossible to find someone to replace me.
According to the Department of Aging and People with Disabilities, independence and quality care are the most important objectives of In-Home Services, but when the caregiver does not have the proper time to him- or herself how can they do the job to the best of their ability? How can quality care be provided without the proper consideration of the caregiver’s needs?
My performance not only depends on my training and compassion, but also on the time I have to myself. Homecare Workers save the state approximately $20,000 every year for each client who is not admitted to a nursing facility. When is the state going to recognize this invisible work force and convert that savings into recognition and relief for the caregivers that do so much for the aging and disabled in our state?
Larry Mudgett
Northeast Portland, 503-254-5622
A pat on the back
Dear Editor,
Last night I sat and read the July issue of The Mid County Memo cover to cover. What a great publication. The articles are short, to the point and very informative. The crossword puzzle is challenging but full of fun facts that hopefully will impress my friends when I drop bits of information about our State.
I hope this paper continues to be published. You are doing a superb job.
Theresa Baisley, Portland
A big thank-you
Dear Editor,
We would like to give a big THANK YOU! to Rossi Farms and Joe Rossi for putting together another great Barn Bash and for allowing us at Uncle John’s the opportunity to premier our outstanding Bar-B-Que sauces to go along with the Parkrose Lions Club’s wonderful chicken. We had a great time working with all the food service volunteers from Lion’s Club who worked so hard. We look forward to working with this worthwhile Parkrose fundraiser in the future.
Uncle John’s (Bar-B-Que and Dippin’ Sauce)
John and Vickie Billups
From legislator to lobbyist - close the revolving door
Dear Editor,
Your state senator or representative is working for you in the halls of Oregon legislature today. Tomorrow he or she may be representing a special interest in those same halls as a lobbyist.
I have a problem with that arrangement.
The legislature should not be a stepping stone for someone looking for a lucrative job as a lobbyist. There should be a clean break - call it a cooling off period - between representing the people and representing special interest groups.
House Speaker Mark Simmons raised this ethical cloud recently by accepting a job as political affairs director for the Oregon Association of Nurserymen. He plans to continue serving as Speaker of the House while working for the nurserymen, although he has said he will not lobby members of the legislature until next session - when he will no longer be a sitting lawmaker.
Don’t get me wrong. Mark Simmons is a decent guy who is just trying to make a living. But there is a larger question here. Should special interest groups have the ability to purchase the connections and influence of a legislator while that legislator is still in office?
Under the current system, a lawmaker could be “interviewing” for a lobby job while he or she is still in office, in effect, doing favors for the prospective employer. I think that stinks to high heaven.
Twenty-seven other states have already put the brakes on this potential for trouble by banning lawmakers from immediately becoming paid lobbyists after they leave office. Oregon should add its name to this list and prevent legislators from lobbying their former colleagues for two years. Making them sit out for at least one full legislative session may deter special interest groups from trying to buy their way into our representative system of democracy.
Oregon already has a similar ban for administrators of regulatory agencies such as the Oregon Lottery and the Department of Consumer Affairs and Business. They can’t lobby or represent a group with business before the agency for two years after leaving their job.
More than 20 former legislators lobbied the Oregon legislature during the 2001 session, according to the Portland-based Money in Politics Research Action Project. Five had left office within the previous year. I’m not questioning the integrity of these people. But appearance is important if we want to restore our trust in our government officials.
The public is already jaded about government. Just the suspicion that the legislators spend time ingratiating with perspective employers is like pouring grease onto a hot fire. Jumping from the legislature to the lobby feeds into the very cynicism that keeps people from voting.
The legislature can take a big step towards reversing this cynicism by passing the Revolving Door Act to assure citizens their leaders are looking out for them - not looking for a new job.
The Revolving Door Act is drafted and ready to go when the legislature convenes. In fact, it could have been considered in our recent special legislative session. But under the rules of the Oregon House of Representatives permission is required for all legislation before it can be introduced in a special session.
Sadly, the Speaker of the House never granted that permission.
Mark Hass
Oregon State Representative
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