On June 1, 1997, police and Eugene residents tangled over a development company’s cutting down of 40 trees for the Broadway housing complex at Charnelton Street. A peaceful protest turned violent as the police used tear gas to contain the crowd.
Five months into her first term as the Ward 3 city councilor, Betty Taylor was right in the middle of it all, helping to organize the citizens who showed up that Sunday evening, observing her city’s people in action.
“I was standing there with tears running down my cheeks because of the trees and the people not being listened too,” Taylor said.
This is the Betty Taylor that Ward 3 residents and the rest of Eugene have come to know in the first four-year term of her political career. This is the Taylor who has quickly developed a band of followers. This is the Taylor who has been told by such city officials as Mayor Jim Torrey, “Betty, your people are here,” referring to large groups of citizen activists who come out in numbers to express their opinions in city politics.
“I’d be proud to have them be my people,” Taylor said. “But I don’t tell them what to do, and they don’t tell me what to do.”
This is also the Taylor who is modest about her accomplishments yet very direct about addressing the issues set in front of her.
“She is very straightforward and doesn’t mince her words,” said Gary Rayor, Ward 1 city councilor.

Mincing democracy
With the recent issue of the police union filing a tort claim notice — a notice of intent to sue for libel or slander — against Ward 4 City Councilor David Kelly, the concept of being straightforward with their words brings new meaning to the city’s coucilors. But Taylor is not afraid to address the issue.
“The police were out of line in proposing to sue,” Taylor said. “Like David, I am concerned with reports of abuse by people who were close to the action.”
When asked if these events make her feel threatened about speaking out in the future, Taylor expressed her concern.
“I do feel threatened,” Taylor said. “Such threats may make all of us more cautious about expressing our opinions, and that is not good for public discourse. It is a threat to democracy.”
Kelly’s major concern is the way the police union handled the situation.
“I don’t think threatened is the right word,” Kelly said. “It makes me feel surprised and disappointed. If they have disagreements with me, what I would have vastly preferred is if they had written me a letter or made a phone call … as opposed to getting this legal notice out of the clear blue.”
Taylor and Kelly continue to express their concerns for an issue that has been covered extensively by the media in the past month since the latest anarchist/police interactions, which began with the June 18 gathering in Washington-Jefferson park.
“An important community issue that we’ve all got to figure out is how to allow political protests to take place while at the same time keeping the public safe and the police — if they are involved — safe,” Kelly said.
Taylor would like to see the council spend more time discussing the issue.
“It is an important issue and deserves more attention than we have given it,” Taylor said.

Yesterday, today, tomorrow
As the issue of police intervention in political protests continues, Taylor will undoubtedly remain on the sidelines, watching every gathering and continuing her fledgling political career.
Taylor has been interested in politics all her life, though she never held office until coming to Eugene. She has worked on various campaigns, and she especially remembers pushing her son, now in his 40s, around in a baby carriage while advocating a bond issue in Illinois.
In 1996, the retired English teacher found herself at the forefront of a new political career. She noticed that Barbara Keller was not running again for the Ward 3 position, and after being dissatisfied with the candidates who hoped to replace Keller, Taylor decided to start a new political campaign — her own.
“I worked on various campaigns before my own,” Taylor said. “I had a drawer full of buttons, and after my campaign I added my button to the drawer.”
Born in Tennessee in 1925, Taylor spent 20 years teaching English to high school students. She held her first teaching job at the tender age of 19, when she taught one student from every grade at an elementary school. She was also the janitor of that school.
Taylor moved to Eugene in 1979 and began work on her doctorate degree in English from the University. She taught for four years at the University while she studied and also found time to teach two terms at Lane Community College. After one year at Southwestern Oregon Community College, Taylor finished her teaching career with a four year stint at Oregon State.
With the help of Deborah Noble, who has helped manage both of Taylor’s campaigns, Taylor was elected to the Ward 3 seat and began her first term in January of 1997. She says that being a teacher all of her life prepared her well for her new role as a city councilor.
“I think I’m more inclined to listen to other people before giving my decision,” Taylor said. “But in the end, I vote the way I think is right. Another thing I think is similar is you never get done with your work. You’re always on duty.”
Taylor was definitely on duty full-time during her first term. Besides her role in getting hundreds of people active in the tree-cutting issue in her fifth month in office, Taylor has become a watchdog for the environment and a councilor who prides herself on representing the people.
“I have emphasized that we should consider the environmental impacts on what we do,” she said.
She also says the city should consider community interests and respect the voice of the people.
Taylor was also the only councilor to vote against increasing the fine for minors in possession of alcohol. She said that those kinds of fines only hurt the poor and could even mean for some students that they could not go to school for a term. Taylor is a big advocate of spending the city’s money on helping people who break laws, rather than creating ordinances to punish them.
“When penalties get beyond deterrence and become punitive, I don’t approve,” Taylor said.
So what’s on the forefront for Taylor as she finishes her first term and embarks on her second in January of 2001?
“I don’t think anything changes with the beginning of a new term, just like nothing changes with the beginning of a new century,” Taylor said. “I will continue to be interested in citizen involvement and protecting the environment.”
Taylor said she will continue to be concerned with the city’s use of tax payers’ money and hopes to be a voice in city government for people without one.