Fate of candidates

to be determined
A Lane County Circuit Court judge is expected to decide today the fate of Eugene’s ballot for City Council candidates.
Candidates Jim Hale and Kurt Thelen filed a lawsuit Monday challenging the candidacy of three prospective councilors who, according to the plaintiffs, filed election documents with the city in an improper order. Hale is running for the Council’s Ward 5 seat, and Thelen is running for Ward 6.
Defendants are Ward 5 candidate Gary Papé, Ward 6 candidates Jennifer Solomon and Frank Wiley, city recorder Kathleen Fieland and Annette Newingham, a Lane County elections official.
Hale and Thelen say Papé, Solomon and Wiley turned in the 25 signatures of registered voters, required of all candidates, before gaining city approval of their signature forms. City rules require the forms to be approved before they are signed.
Stating that the candidates received bad advice from Fieland about when to turn in the signatures, Newingham placed them on the May 21 primary election ballot.
Plaintiffs will argue that the candidates should be removed from the ballot because they broke rules that other candidates followed.
“We believe that people have been treated inequitably — the rules were applied unevenly,” Hale said.
Though not named in the suit, incumbent Ward 3 Councilor David Kelly, who represents the University area, could potentially be affected by the judge’s decision. Kelly, like the candidates being sued, turned in his signatures before gaining approval of his signature form, but Hale and Thelen did not challenge his candidacy because the plaintiffs are not competing with Kelly in the election.
In Friday’s hearing, the city will likely counter that no law was broken, that candidates should not be removed from the ballot for following bad advice from a city official and that the plaintiffs were not injured by Newingham’s decision to place the three contested candidates on the ballot, said Jerry Lidz, the city attorney representing the defendants.
“We expect a decision promptly, because obviously there are tight deadlines for election officials to get ballots out to voters,” Lidz said. “But it’s up to the judge.”
The county is scheduled to mail ballots to voters May 3.

— Darren Freeman

Lecture to focus on

Mideast women’s rights
The University and the Justice not War Coalition will co-sponsor a discussion Saturday on the rights of women living in Afghanistan and Iraq.
The goal of the event is to discuss women’s rights in the Middle East, and specifically the efforts of the Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan, a women’s rights group formed in Afghanistan in 1977.
The lecture includes seasoned journalist and Middle East reporter Larry Everest, as well as Neesha Mirchandani and James Ingalls, both members of the Afghan Women’s Mission board of directors. The lecture begins at 7 p.m. in 100 Willamette Hall.

— Brook Reinhard

Hong Kong Night to feature traditional wedding
The sound of ringing wedding bells will be heard during this year’s Hong Kong Students Association’s Hong Kong Night, which will be held from 5:30 to 9 p.m. Sunday.
The event will begin with dinner in the EMU Skylight at 5:30 and move into the Fir Room at 7:30 for the evening’s performance. For
dinner, the group will be making a traditional Hong Kong meal with chicken, barbecued pork and steamed tofu — for dessert, they will serve a coconut-flavored pudding and a sweet egg soup.
HKSA member Macy Chan will be singing Chinese songs from the 1960s that are popular in Hong Kong and six HKSA members will sing Chinese rock songs.
Members will also perform the play “Wedding Invitation,” which will explore the culture of Hong Kong. The play will demonstrate how a traditional Hong Kong wedding is celebrated and follow the married couple’s life in Hong Kong through their 50 years of marriage.
In addition, Office of International Programs Director Thomas Mills will be speaking at the event about study abroad programs in Hong Kong.
“This event is to let people learn more about Chinese and the city of Hong Kong,” HKSA Co-Director Wilbur Lee said.
Tickets, which are available at the EMU Ticket Office, are $6 for students and $7 for the general public.

— Danielle Gillespie