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Medford rally puts focus on 2002 As Bush becomes president in D.C., protesters stage �pro-democracy� rally By Paul Fattig While George W. Bush is being inaugurated Saturday in Washington, D.C., people who didn�t support the Republican will be rallying in Medford. The local event, which begins at 1 p.m. at Hawthorne Park, will be a "pro-democracy" rally, explains Matt Conens, one of the organizers. "The theme is looking ahead at 2002," said Conens, a local communications consultant. "There probably will be some bashing of the new administration, but we want to make it as positive as possible. "If there is anger about what happened in Florida, that�s fine," he said, adding that anger should only be expressed in a constructive manner. "We want it to be peaceful and positive." Similar rallies are scheduled in Corvallis, Portland, Seattle and San Francisco on Saturday. Prior to the Medford rally, participants will meet at 12:30 p.m. at Biddle Road and Stevens Street to march several blocks east along Biddle to Hawthorne Park. Several people will be speaking at the rally, including Jay Mullen, immediate past chair of the Jackson County Democratic Central Committee. Mullen is an associate professor of history at Southern Oregon University. The event is being organized by Citizens for Democracy, a coalition of political and environmental groups. It is not being organized by the Democratic Party, Conens stressed. "But a lot of us will be involved," said longtime Democratic Party member Jean Maack of Medford. "We want to start organizing for a victory in 2002." "It will be a big umbrella of folks," said Ashland resident Wes Brain, a union activist. That will include environmental activists concerned that a Bush administration will seek to weaken or abolish laws protecting the environment, said Spencer Lennard, director of the Klamath-Siskiyou Wildlands Center. During the rally, organizers will circulate petitions asking Oregon Gov. John Kitzhaber, a Democrat, to run for the U.S. Senate seat now held by Republican Gordon Smith, Conens said. Participants also will be invited to write comments on a roll of butcher paper to be sent to Bush, he said. "We want people to know there are those who don�t like what happened in Florida," Conens said. "The idea is to take the anger some people have and turn it into something productive to help Democrats in 2002." Reach reporter Paul Fattig at 776-4496 or e-mail him at [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2000 Mail Tribune, Inc.