Conservative county condemns Reagan saber-rattling

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"THERE'S ABSOLUTELY POSITIVELY NO WAY WE'LL SEND TROOPS TO CENTRAL OLYMPIA, Wash.—Polls all across America have shown that despite President Ronald Reagan's handy defeat of his Democratic challengers, the majority of Americans do not support his stand on most issues. While those who put their hopes in the Mondale-Ferraro ticket for Nov. 6 were depressed by the results of the election, communities that found a way to let the people vote on the actual issues had good reason to be encouraged.

In Washington state, for example, a measure to prohibit state funding of abortions was defeated by a vote of 856,670 to 743,442. And in Thurston County a referendum in favor of ending U.S. intervention in Nicaragua and El Salvador-Proposition 1- passed by 30,660 to 21,021. Although Thurston County voters favored Reagan over Mondale by 30,758 to 24,216, at least 20 percent of those preferring Reagan voted unambiguously against his policy in Central America.

Thurston County Thurston County comprises a predominantly rural area, with a large population of active and retired military personnel. Though the voters approved a nuclear-freeze resolution in 1982, the county has a reputation for conservatism, and its largest city, Olympia, narrowly defeated a proposal to fluoridate the water in the same election. The outcome of the anti-intervention measure, then, was by no means a foregone conclusion..

But Olympia has also had for some years a strong group called the Central American Action Committee. A numLAMI ALL 111-10 ber of key activists in the group decided that the election offered an opportunity for even broader-based campaigns and that the time had come to reach out to more people.

Anna Schlecht, one of the main organizers, said: "Putting the issue on the local ballot was a way to educate the general public and to make the problem a subject for dinner-time conversation."

In addition, organizers felt that a non-partisan campaign on a clear-cut issue would be a positive alternative to the prospect of having individuals throw themselves into the campaigns of various candidates.

After an aggressive and successful campaign to gather signatures in favor of putting the proposition on the ballot, PENTAGON organizers presented the measure to the county commissioners at an open meeting. Testifying in support of the measure were a representative of the State Employees Union, Local 443, the county's largest union, and several church and community leaders.

Organizers pointed out to county officials that each taxpayer in the county pays approximately $1000 a year to support military spending and an additional $400 a year for the national debt, which essentially props up the defense budget. They explained that the deep depression in the fishing and timber industries were related to high interest rates and militaristic priorities and warned as well of the very real threat that the draft might be reinstated. The commissioners agreed to put the propo847 NEAL.

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Committee members visited local churches, campuses, women's groups, and political parties to recruit volunteers. They attracted the endorsements of a wide range of organizations and individuals, including prominent Democrats, but were careful not to associate the issue with any particular party.

At one well-attended rally, for example, Congressman Don Bonker spoke in support of the proposition but urged people to "give Duarte a chance."

On the other hand, another speaker, Stephanie Coontz, blasted the sham elections in El Salvador and insisted that U.S. crimes in Central America were part of a bipartisan foreign policy that no politician was going to end. She maintained that it would take the personal involvement of ordinary people in a massive, independent antiwar movement.

Newspaper endorses

Every urban district and almost every rural one in the county was canvassed by volunteers, who went door to door with informational material. Yard signs appeared everywhere. And to the surprise of nearly every political observer in the area, the local newspaper decided to endorse the referendum after interviewing proposition organizers. The Olympian's editorial utilized much of the information provided by the committee while drawing as well on its own research. The editorial was also reprinted and distributed door to door.

On the night of the election the striking difference between Thurston County and other Washington counties was the number of antiwar activists who felt invigorated rather than depressed. As one organizer commented: "Unlike those who threw their eggs into the Mondale-Ferraro basket, we have come out of this election with something to build upon, something to be proud of. Our victory... shows what an independent organization can do when it has people who are willing to work on the issues."

TT Vietnam antiwar movement in articles by Evans and Novak, and

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IN -11 AMERICA... BUT THERE'S ALWAYS THE POSSIBILITY!"