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The voters on the fence Mail Tribune / Bob Pennell "I vote for the man, not the party," says 76-year-old Newt Likely, puffing on his pipe at his Jacksonville home. Likely, a lifelong independent, says he�s waiting for a presidential candidate to win him over. These six Rogue Valley residents share little but their indecision By Dani Dodge Over the next two months, presidential candidates Al Gore and George W. Bush Jr. will be courting a group of citizens who collectively hold the key to the White House: undecided voters. "I don�t know for sure what will make my decision," said Newt Likely of Jacksonville, taking a thoughtful pull on his pipe. "But whoever gets in there will leave their mark on history ... so it�s important." Three months before the election, polls show that there aren�t enough die-hard Democrats or completely reliable Republicans to put either man in office. And many of those who have a preference say their support is soft: They may change their minds before election day. It�s no different in the Rogue Valley, where many voters are just starting to take notice of the candidates and what they stand for. From now through election night, the Mail Tribune will follow the decision-making process of six undecided voters. These Jackson County fence-sitters, chosen at random, agreed to have their opinions monitored. They range in age from 19 to 76. They are independent, Republican and Democratic. But they all share an indecision they vow to overcome by Nov. 7. Some, like 76-year-old Likely, have never affiliated with any political party. He�s voted for everyone from Harry Truman to Barry Goldwater to Ross Perot. "I don�t believe in the blind loyalty they think you have to go along with," Likely said. "I vote for the man, not the party." Likely expects to get a good deal of his information on the candidates from newspapers. His wife says that he reads every story in the newspaper, checking them off with a pen as he goes along to make sure nothing is missed. A self-described conservative resident of the Rogue Valley since 1974, he�s pro-choice and interested in renewable energy. But he said he�s disgusted with forest policies of the current administration that he believes don�t allow the forests to be used sensibly. For Matthew Beeson, 19, of Talent, and Amber Bates, 20, of Medford, Nov. 7 will be their first chance to help pick a president. Most polls show that young people aren�t exercising their right to the vote. But Beeson, who is looking for work in the restaurant industry, and Bates, who is attending Creighton University in Nebraska, are excited about their chance to engage in democracy. "The vote is one of the most important things we have," said Beeson, who spends his days hiking in the wilderness and teaching himself to play guitar. Bates says the rigors of university life haven�t left her much time to focus on the candidates and their stands. "It�s pretty low on the totem pole," she said last week while visiting her mother�s business, Jan�s Tans. Although Bates, a 1998 South Medford High School grad, will return to school in late August, she�s registered to vote in Jackson County. She�s a registered Republican like her parents, but only because it allows her to vote in the primary. "I�ve seen more TV talk shows on Bush and I agree with some things he says, but I haven�t heard anything on Gore as far as issues," she said. "So right now I�m undecided completely and not leaning either way. " She expects to base her decision on who can keep the strong economy going � and give her the best chance of landing a good job in physical therapy when she graduates. Beeson said he�ll base his decision partly on who can get past the partisanship plaguing national politics. "I want a president willing to work with the other party and forget about the Republican and Democrat stuff," said Beeson, an unaffiliated voter. "There�s so much tension between the parties, and progress gets sidetracked." Although Beeson considers environmental protection a deciding issue, he finds himself leaning toward Bush for two reasons: Bush advocates less government, and he�s not connected to President Clinton. "I feel Clinton has made a mockery of a lot of laws," Beeson said. He doesn�t want a vote for Gore to be construed as approval for the Clinton administration. That leaves Bush, although Beeson said he�s considering Green Party candidate Ralph Nader. For 28-year-old Rueben Davis, owner of Low Down Boards in Ashland, Nader seems like the pick of the litter. "I think Bush will put us right back into the �80s with huge million-trillion-dollar deficits, and he�ll stack the court against abortion," Davis said. "But Al Gore seems so contrived. He flip-flops so much, he seems like he�s in it just to be a politician. "The only real alternative is Ralph Nader, who has committed his whole life to public service. But he doesn�t have a snowball�s chance in hell." Davis said he worries that a vote for Nader is really a vote to put Bush in the White House. "I don�t know how I�ll resolve it," he sighed. Robert Soltz, 40, of Medford, finds himself with a similar dilemma � he doesn�t like either major party candidate. He said he won�t vote for either Bush or Gore � but he will probably vote against them. "If it�s against Bush it will be against his stands on abortion and his connections with big business," Soltz said. "If I vote against Gore, it will be because he�s too darn liberal and I�m afraid he�ll raise taxes too much." Soltz, who retired from computer consulting at the age of 32, has always considered himself a "staunch Republican." But when Gordon Smith, Oregon�s Republican senator, voted to block Oregon�s voter-approved physician-assisted suicide law earlier this year, Soltz rethought his political allegiance. "People should have the right to do what they want with their money and bodies," he said. "But what�s happened with Republicans is they�ve gone way too conservative. They want too much control over bodies and minds." Soltz really wishes Arizona Sen. John McCain, who lost to Bush in the primaries, was the Republican candidate. Since he�s not, Soltz is thinking about Gore and has even considered voting Libertarian � although when put on the spot he can�t name the Libertarian�s candidate. "I�m just about as undecided as I could be at this point," Soltz said. Donna Epstein, 60, has always been a Democrat, but she�s one of those so-called swing voters who looks at the person and not the party. She considers herself "apolitical." "I think what will sway me in the next two months is looking at how ... Bush and Gore deal with issues and education and campaign reform," she said. "It�s important if they are really looking at what is real to people instead of just campaign verbiage and rhetoric." Like the other undecideds, Epstein wants someone special to fill the country�s highest office. She hopes by gleaning information from CNN, newspapers and periodicals, she�ll figure out if any candidate fits that bill. "I like to find charisma � something in a person that sparks life," she said. "And I want someone that if I met them on the street I could say, �Hey how ya doing?� " Reach reporter Dani Dodge at 776-4471, or e-mail [email protected] Obituaries | Sports | Business | Classifieds | Tempo | Prime Times | So Oregon Sites | Outdoor Journal | Subscribe | Contact | Movies | Advertise | Real Estate Showcase | Archive | Editorials | Letters to the editor | Religion | Wake-up Call | NIE | Cyber Chef | Job Network | So Oregon Weather | WSJ Northwest | Forums | AP Wire | AP Money | F.A.Q. | Awards Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. The Community Newspaper Subsidiary of Dow Jones & Co, Inc Copyright �The Mail Tribune 2000, Medford, Oregon USA