Wang’s fortunes may yet improve http://www.theoutlookonline.com/opinion/print_story.php?story_id=128...

OPINION COLUMN

Wang’s fortunes may yet improve

BY MARK GARBER
The Gresham Outlook, Nov 6, 2010

He may have lost in his first attempt at public office, but candidate Andre Wang has my
vote as the most creative of the people running in the election that ended Tuesday.
At one candidates’ forum I attended, Wang was handing out fortune cookies that, when you broke them
open, all just happened to contain messages encouraging the recipient to vote for Andre.
Earlier in the campaign, Wang – who lost to incumbent state Rep. Greg Matthews – sent out a press
release declaring that his new son, born just two days prior, had endorsed his candidacy. Among other
things, the 9-pound, 9-ounce infant Reagan Wang was quoted as saying he would go door to door, work
the phones and even “let strangers kiss me.”
The boy’s father didn’t quite make it this time, but he ran a clean campaign. Plus, he plays a mean
violin. Something tells me we may be hearing more about Mr. Wang in the future.

CASINO BACKERS BEGINNING

TO LOOK A BIT DELUSIONAL
So just how badly did Measure 75 – the Wood Village casino proposal – lose in this election?
For starters, it lost by a wide margin in every single county in the state – from Klamath to Clatsop. It
was rejected, according to polls, by Democrats, Republicans and independents. Of all the major party
candidates and ballot measures put to a statewide test in this election, Measure 75 was the least
supported of all – attracting just under 32 percent of the vote.
To put it into perspective, Measure 75 was less popular than marijuana (Measure 74 got 44 percent
support), less popular than the Legislature (voters approved annual sessions) and even less popular than
sex offenders and drunken drivers (43 percent of voters opposed minimum sentences for those two
populations.)
Taking a bit longer view, the casino measure lost by a larger margin than all but four of the 74
statewide measures that preceded it in the past decade. And none of those four measures – including the
comforting idea of allowing 18-year-olds to serve in the Legislature – ever saw the light of day again.
I rehash all these facts solely for this reason: The day following the election, after the depth of their
defeat was clear, the casino’s promoters sent out a press release saying they’d be back in 2012. The only
rational response to that statement is this:
Really???
Personally, I can think of better ways to invest the $3 million that casino proponents spent on their
2010 campaign.

IN CASE YOU WERE WONDERING

WHAT THAT WAS ALL ABOUT
If you were driving past The Outlook’s office last week, you might have noticed a group of sign-waving
protesters in front of the building demanding that this newspaper “print the truth.”

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Wang’s fortunes may yet improve http://www.theoutlookonline.com/opinion/print_story.php?story_id=128...

I don’t have adequate space here to fully explain what the protest was all about, but here are the basics:
Troutdale resident Marni Zollinger, the leader of the protest, approached her city months ago with an
idea for converting the town’s garbage into energy and other useable products. City officials, including
Councilor Matt Wand, looked into the idea just long enough to figure out they didn’t want to get involved.
Zollinger was displeased with that decision and with the way city leaders had gone about investigating
her idea. At one point, the city even referred some of the information to the local office of the FBI.
This matter then became a minor issue in the campaign between Wand and Democratic state Rep.
Nick Kahl, who Wand just unseated on Tuesday. Wand’s campaign sent out an e-mail alleging that
Zollinger was working with the Kahl campaign and that she was under investigation by the FBI. Zollinger,
however, counters that she was a campaign volunteer, not a “worker,” because she wasn’t paid. She also
disputes that there is indeed an active FBI investigation.
The Outlook didn’t see much news value in a back-and-forth debate over an e-mail that got very little
distribution – and our decision not to do a story is what led Zollinger to the front of our building, insisting
we print the “truth.”
As newspaper people, we’re pretty good at reporting facts, but it doesn’t take too long in this business to
figure out that just about every person has his or her own version of the “truth.” If you want to learn more
about Zollinger’s version, you can find it online at scribd.com/doc/39647031.
Mark Garber can be reached at 503-492-5130, or mgarber@theoutlookonline.com.

Copyright 2010 Pamplin Media Group, 6605 S.E. Lake Road, Portland, OR 97222 • 503-226-6397

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