Oregon Citizens Alliance
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Oregon Citizens Alliance (OCA) is a conservative Christian political activist organization, founded by Lon Mabon in the U.S. state of Oregon. It was founded in 1986 as a vehicle to challenge then-Senator Bob Packwood,[1] and was a prominent fixture of Oregon politics in the 1990s.
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[edit] Promoter of anti-gay legislation
The group gained statewide, national, and international attention in 1992, when it proposed Ballot Measure 9. This initiative would have amended the Oregon Constitution to prevent what the OCA called "special rights" for gays, lesbians, and bisexuals. According to many civil rights activists, it would have gone further, mandating state discrimination against sexual minorities.
The ballot measure was defeated by voters, 56 percent to 44 percent, in the 1992 General Election.
The OCA successfully promoted similar measures at the local level -- both before and after the 1992 election -- but those measures were ultimately invalidated by the Oregon Legislative Assembly.
It also promoted similar statewide measures, which softened the rhetoric of Measure 9.[2] These included Measures 13 and 19 in 1994 and Measure 9 in 2000.
[edit] Senator John McCain
On August 30, 1993, Senator John McCain spoke at an OCA fund-raising dinner.[3]
[edit] 1996 Senate race
In 1996, the OCA endorsed Gordon Smith over Ron Wyden in the race to succeed disgraced US Senator Bob Packwood. Smith, a Republican running in a progressive state, attempted to dodge controversy by neither embracing nor rejecting the right wing organization's endorsement. Critics faulted him for failing to take a strong stand against the OCA and Smith was defeated by Wyden in this head to head race.
When Smith made a second run for the Senate a few months later, as the seat of retiring US Senator Mark Hatfield had opened, Mabon ran against Smith. The Oregonian cited Mabon's candidacy as a key component of Smith's attempt in that second race to establish himself as a centrist, contributing to his victory over Democrat Tom Bruggere.[4]
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Wentz, Patty. "Homophopia hits home", Willamette Week. Retrieved on 2007-05-05.
- ^ Meadow, Bob; Dawn Laguens, Heidi Von Szeliski, Michael Terris. "Oregon's Prop. 13: how conservative values were used to defeat an anti-gay rights referendum", Campaigns & Elections, March 1995.
- ^ Mapes, Jeff. "Arizona Senator Speaks on Tolerance at OCA Dinner", The Oregonian, August 31, 1993.
- ^ Kinsey-Hill, Gail. "After earlier defeat, Smith successfully moves toward center", The Oregonian, November 7, 1996.
[edit] Further reading
- Ashbel S. Green and Bill Graves. "Searching out Oregon's stance on gay rights", The Oregonian, December 13, 2004.
- David Sarasohn. "Lon Mabon is having a really bad week", The Oregonian, May 23, 1996.
- "Lon Mabon's woes", The Register-Guard, April 6, 2002.
- Ashbel S. Green. "Appeals court rules against OCA founder Lon Mabon The Oregon Court of Appeals on Wednesday sided with a gay-rights activist who accused the former head of the Oregon Citizens Alliance of fraudulently transferring assets to avoid paying a judgments", The Oregonian, February 15, 2007.
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