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--> --> Bates hides out at clinic during Capitol feud By Vickie Aldous Ashland Daily Tidings Rep. Alan Bates, D-Eagle Point, has gone into hiding as Democrats boycott the state House of Representatives to stall a Republican redistricting effort. This morning, Democrats entered their third day of a walk-out in protest of the Republican effort to pass a partisan redistricting plan via a resolution rather than a bill. Unlike a bill, a resolution cannot be vetoed by Gov. John Kitzhaber, a Democrat. Kitzhaber has said he will not sign a redistricting plan that lacks bipartisan support. With Democrats missing, the House does not have a two-thirds quorum needed to conduct business. Democrats fear the House Sergeant at Arms will attempt to return them to the state capitol building to resume business, according to Bates. Kitzhaber has said he will not call out the Oregon State Police to retrieve the absent legislators. "We've had to leave our homes and live in friends' homes so we can't be found," Bates said on Tuesday by cell phone. Like other Democrats, Bates has refused to accept his pay or daily expense allowance while the walk-out continues. Some Democrats have returned to their home districts, but Bates - a physician with a practice in Central Point - remains in the Salem area, working at a free clinic serving the Latino population. He declined to disclose the name or location of the clinic. "Frankly, I'm enjoying myself working here," said Bates, who is filling in for the physician who treats diabetic patients. He said Democrats will not return until Republican leaders abandon the effort to push through redistricting through a resolution, a move he labeled "shenanigans and trickery." "We won't go back until they assure us they won't do an end run around the Constitution," Bates said. House Democratic Leader Dan Gardner of Portland has said a redistricting plan can't be passed without the governor participating and Attorney General Hardy Myers' office agreed in an opinion issued Monday. Republicans have said the issue should be decided in court. The House was scheduled to convene at 1 p.m. today, but Shauna Shindler, media director for the House Minority Office, said Democrats will not return unless House Speaker Rep. Mark Simmons, R-Elgin, pulls back the resolution. Meanwhile, Sen. Lenn Hannon, R-Ashland, said today from the Capitol he does not support the Republicans' redistricting resolution. "I stated publicly, if it came back to the floor of the Senate, I would not vote to support the resolution. It is a slap in the face of my colleagues in this process," Hannon said. Without his support, the resolution would fail in the Senate. Hannon said he offered on Monday to broker a compromise among Republicans, Democrats, Kitzhaber and Secretary of State Bill Bradbury. House leaders have been meeting to discuss the impasse. Hannon said Republicans and Democrats alike will be harmed by the partisan fighting. "It's like a standoff right now. No one is winning and everyone is losing. Partisanship doesn't promote credibility with the public. Both the Democrats and the Republicans are going to suffer some consequences by losing credibility with the public," he said. If a legislative redistricting plan doesn't become law by Sunday, the task of redrawing district lines to reflect population changes goes to Bradbury, a Democrat. The Associated Press contributed to this story. Email your... Technical questions & comments to: WebMaster Daily Tidings editorial comments & questions to: Editor Visit our other Oregon Newspapers... | Albany Democrat-Herald | Ashland Daily Tidings | Corvallis Gazette-Times | | Lebanon Express | Newport News-Times | Springfield News | Cottage Grove Sentinel | Ashland Daily Tidings 1661 Siskiyou Blvd. Ashland, OR 97520 Telephone 541-482-3456 © Copyright 2001 Lee Northwest Publishing