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90 °F Forecast | Road Cams Wednesday, May 25, 2005 Today's News | Shop Our Valley | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery | Contact Us SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion Tempo AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map SPECIAL SECTIONS Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Menu Guide How To Guide Health Biz Connection Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Real Estate Guide Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Wedding Guide Passport to the Rogue Valley SHOP OUR VALLEY AutoFinder HomeFinder JobFinder Classified Place an ad TOP JOBS EXTRA Ashland News NIE Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People Volunteer Moving here? eSouthernOregon CUSTOMER SERVICE FAQ's Advertise with us Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend March 11, 2005 AuCoin’s forestry board bid in jeopardy By DON JEPSEN for the Mail Tribune SALEM — Les AuCoin’s appointment to the Oregon Board of Forestry was on life support Thursday after Senate Democrats failed to muster enough votes to confirm the former congressman. Instead, the leadership moved to set it over until Monday in hopes of twisting arms to come up with the 16 votes required for confirmation. Democrats have an 18-12 majority, but four Democrats refused to support Gov. Ted Kulongoski’s appoint of AuCoin, a retired Southern Oregon University professor from Ashland. "The votes weren’t there," said Senate President Peter Courtney, D-Salem. "I don’t know what’s going to happen next." Legislative leaders were tight-lipped over the defections, but other sources identified them as Sens. Vicki Walker and Floyd Prozanski, both of Eugene; Rick Metsger of Welches; and Kurt Schrader of Canby. Minority Republicans who vehemently opposed AuCoin were jubilant over the impasse. Along with the timber industry, GOP legislators were particularly critical of AuCoin’s environmental views and the fact that he would replace an Eastern Oregon member, Chris Heffernan of North Powder, a family forester. Advertisement In addition to frequent criticism of the timber industry in his radio commentaries and newspaper columns, AuCoin’s support of ballot Measure 34 to put roughly half of the Tillamook and Clatsop state forests off limits to timber harvests was frequently cited. Voters defeated the initiative in November. Republicans arrived on the Senate floor sporting recycled buttons from the 1995 U.S. Senate campaign where AuCoin unsuccessfully challenged the GOP incumbent, Bob Packwood. The original button read, "Packwood. Why settle for Les." Heffernan’s name was pasted over Packwood’s on the buttons. AuCoin was not in Salem Thursday. Contacted on his cell phone while en route to Bend, he declined to comment on the failure to bring his nomination to a vote. "I’ll have something to say on Monday," he said. Sen. Alan Bates, D-Ashland, said even if the governor attempts to salvage the appointment over the weekend, "I don’t think its going to change anything. "I think the nomination will be returned to committee, then pulled," he said. Bates, who described AuCoin as an "extremely capable individual and a close friend" criticized the poor communication between the governor and the Senate’s leadership. "They should have counted their votes first," he said. He said the fact that Democrats have only recently gained a majority after 12 years as back-benchers may have contributed to the political impasse. "I don’t think we know how to communicate our issues effectively yet," he said. The Ashland physician lashed out at the contentious four-hour confirmation hearing for AuCoin’s appointment held on Tuesday. "This man was demonized and vilified beyond the pale," he said. "And that reflects poorly on the Legislature." The governor’s office did not return phone calls seeking comment on the failure to get a vote on confirmation. Don Jepsen is a freelance writer living in Salem. Mail Tribune Home | Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life | Opinion AP News | Archives | Site Map | Community | Classified Copyright © 1997-2005 Mail Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions | Website Feedback Free Music Downloads Conference Calls - $50/Month Home Security Systems Trunks, Footlocker, Trunk, Footlockers home equity loans helzberg diamonds Distance Education Diamonds Online Poker Auto Insurance Mesothelioma Slippers Student Loans tcg student loan consolidation teleconferencing Website Design & Marketing Memory Foam Mattress w2 forms Mortgage Calculator Free Home-Loan Referrals Payday Loans Advertisement s