Ashland City Council Candidate is "Tough Cop"

Instigator, 21.10.2006 08:23

Ashland City Council candidate Greg Lemhouse was part of the notorious "Reservoir Dawgs" Medford Police group. He is in favor of police use of tasers and thinks community policing requires a "quasi-military" police force.

books not bombs tough cops

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Do people in Ashland know that City Council candidate Greg Lemhouse was a member of the notorious "Reservoir Dawgs" Medford Police group? The group got their name from an ultra violent Quentin Tarantino film. There was a big controversy about Medford cops roughing up transients. Medford Mail Tribune article in 2001 -  http://www.mailtribune.com/archive/2001/may/051301n1.htm

Lemhouse is also in favor of using tasers, so-called "non-lethal" police weapons that have been implicated in a number of deaths around the country (including a case in Ashland this year). At a Medford city council meeting he said the "use of tasers ... does not have lingering effects on the suspect." -  http://www.ci.medford.or.us/Agendas.asp?Display=Minutes&AMID=2115

On community policing Lemhouse has this to say - "Without a professional quasi-military structure in place ... Community Policing will not be possible." -  http://double-take.org/Responses/Lemhouse-Policing.pdf

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And the alternative is... 16.10.2006 - 20:46 I am voting for his opponent... the guy that walks around naked down town... The guy that wants "green businesses" in Ashland but can't define what a green business is... The guy that wants to make Ashland a laughing stock... oh whats his name... Not You> Navickas maintains high-road campaign 16.10.2006 - 22:00 To Eric Navickas' credit his race is not lowering itself to the negative campaigning we have started to observe. Everything we can see Eric doing adds to his campaign in a favorable light and his stellar attitude earns him some real honor. Keep it up Eric. I think the term to describe you is "statesman"! clean politics> Withdraw, Mr. Navickas 17.10.2006 - 09:09 Your smear tactics will not work and shame on rogueimc and Mr. Navickas for trying to paint a false impression of Greg Lemhouse. The voters are much smarter than you think as will be shown on election day. Your desperate tactics are those of a desperate campaign that cannot gain traction beyond a small group of regressives whose “my way or the highway” approach to governance holds no appeal. If Mr. Navickas has any integrity at all he will gracefully withdraw so as not to inflict his divisive politics on our fair city. This is not the 70’s and like it or not Ashland has grown and matured and expects the same from its leaders. The records of the candidates are abundantly clear, for all to see. Your candidate has exposed himself (in more ways than one) and now, realizing that the emperor has no clothes, you resort to falsehoods and mischaracterizations and selective quoting. You disgrace civility. Bill Bartlett> e-mail:: ceo@forcecut.com Homepage:: http://forcecut.com Eric is the only credible candidate 17.10.2006 - 09:48 Eric Navickas has made many real contributions to the City of Ashland. He has worked on the big box ordinance, the street tree ordinance, the watershed fuel reduction plans, and the Mt. Ashland expansion plan, among many other issues. He is an expert on Planning Commission related laws. Lemhouse on the other hand has NO RECORD at all contributing in any meaningful way to Ashland civic matters. The record Lemhouse has is as a tough guy mean cop as documented above. So all the Lemhouse people can do is to run a negative campaign, some of which is made up lies or exaggerations. Notice that the Navickas campaign does not even bother to get down into the gutter and reply to these smears. Some developers and entrenched interests hate Eric because he is usually right and he usually wins. Too bad they couldn't find a real candidate to run against him. Paul Copeland> PLANNING COMMISSION LAWS? 19.10.2006 - 17:48 PAUL 1 HOW ABOUT A LIST OF ERICS' REAL CONTRIBUTIONS 2 TO CALL ERIC AN EXPERT IN PLANNING COMMISSION LAW, (I'M GUESSING YOU REALLY MEAN LAND USE LAW) IS ACTUALLY AN INSULT TO THOSE OF US WHO REALLY ARE EXPERTS. 3 WAS HE REALLY ON ANY OF THOSE COMMITTEES/COMMISSIONS YOU MENTIONED MIKE > e-mail:: msquared@mind.net Candidates hold very different views 19.10.2006 - 21:02 It is clear where these candidate stand on the issues regarding low-income & no-income housing. At the October 11 forum, the candidates were asked some softball questions on how tho address the problems of affordable housing and homelessness. Predictability, Eric Navickas claimed it "one of the most crucial things facing our community." He then proceeded to layout a positive strategy for the city council with an emphasis towards using city and school properties, encouraging mixed-uses, facilitating public-private partnerships and petitioning State Legislation for Transfer Tax and Inclusionary Zoning. Greg Lemhouse holds equally strong views, but suggests that the root problem isn't homelessness but the homless themselves. Upper-middle class working families are ok, but "unless we eliminate mental illness and addiction we won't eliminate homelessness." Lemhouse proclaimed. Failing to see value in nomadic or simplified lifestyles and emphasizing that government funds should not be wasted on those undeserving. It has been demonstrated that the public cost of homelessness is twice the cost of simply providing basic housing. Fiscal and moral responsiblity begins with providing for those with the greatest need. Food, clothing and shelter are only basic needs... hygene, transportation and moral support provides dignity. Poverty should not be a crime in Ashland. Pogo> Community Service 25.10.2006 - 18:22 Paul Copeland says: "Lemhouse on the other hand has NO RECORD at all contributing in any meaningful way to Ashland civic matters." Greg served the Ashland community for a few years in the nineties as a police officer. I guess putting his life in harms way, for thankless people like Paul no less, must not count as a meaningful contribution to Ashland's civic matters. Just because he doesn't march to an alternative beat, doesn't reduce the contributions that Greg has made to Ashland. Robert James> Amnesty International On Taser Use 26.10.2006 - 17:12 See "Excessive and lethal force? Amnesty International’s concerns about deaths and ill-treatment involving police use of tasers"  http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/ENGAMR511392004. Also see "Taser questioned in deaths across continent"  http://www.rogueimc.org/en/2006/01/5948.shtml. Vegan1forpeace> Commitment to civic engagement 27.10.2006 - 13:25 Its interesting how these "comments" always degenerate into inflated negativity. Disappointing really, when we probably all want very similar things in the end: a safe community for our kids and grandkids, clean air and water, leadership that is accessible to community concerns... I have attended countless Ashland City Council meetings over the years, sharing my views during public comment periods, staying informed on current issues, and doing my best to be an active citizen involved in the municipal process. I have never crossed paths with Greg Lemhouse in this capacity. I have had many opportunities to observe Eric Navickas interacting with the Council, as he is truly almost always there! Over the years, I have observed Eric's involvement evolve from concerned citizen to thoughtful and committed advocate. He does his research, occasionally more thoroughly than some council members he addresses :), and represents the values and concerns of Ashland's vast majority. I was born and raised in Ashland and have crossed paths with Eric many times over the years. I urge people to see Eric for the intelligent, passionate, and sensitive young person he is, rather than the distorted character his opponents have created. Malena Marvin> Willful Infliction Of Pain And Torture 27.10.2006 - 16:00 Here is an article that describes an incident of torture with pepper spray, implicating unnamed members of the "Reservoir Dawgs":  http://www.ocnsignal.com/westp.shtml Vegan1forPeace> Blog site is your proof? 27.10.2006 - 19:07 Vegan1forPeace, I read the rambling article on the blog site you cite as your proof of bad acts? The only thing that site proves is that, just like this website, anyone can put a blog site up and call it news. You are referencing a 2001 mail tribune article that takes a stupid name given to a team of police by a supervisor, and making it into a definition of who Greg Lemhouse is. Did I miss something in the article? I read about a busy police team actively doing what the citizens of medford want, working their beats. That is what community policing is about. By taking a stupid name and trying to stretch it into something it isn't you show that you don't want Greg because he is a police officer and don't have a real argument. Robert James> When Has Lemhouse Distanced Himself? 27.10.2006 - 21:20 When has Lemhouse distanced himself from the abuses of the Reservoir Dawgs? Instead, Lemhouse talks about a "quasi-military" police and, combined with his connection to the Reservoir Dawgs, an aggressive police team, in a context of recent actions of local police - and I'm particularly thinking of "Operation Green Sweep" - in paramilitary garb in low-intensity warfare operations against the homeless, flags go up for me. Even under Bianca, there were police abuses against the homeless that are totally ignored by Ashland's progressive community. Waylon Andreason died the night his Willows camp was raided by the APD - where is the outcry for an independent investigation and oversight? Lemhouse may be a cool guy for all I know, but there are big unanswered questions I have. I note how Saxon and Walden supporters - people who somehow overlook the erosions of American civil society and civil rights under the kooky types who now control the Republican party - are also supporters of Lemhouse. Now's the time to ask questions before Lemhouse wins a seat on our city council and helps to set policing policies. Vegan1forpeace> Operation Green Peace? 27.10.2006 - 21:50 You quoted Operation Green Peace as why you have questions about Lemhouse? I looked up that operation in the mail tribune archives. It was an operation taken against trespassers in the medford area after a teenage girl was raped by a transient on the Bear Creek Trail by a transient? Lemhouse isn't referenced but it mentions twelve agencies including Medford PD and the Sheriff's Office conducted the operation in the name of community safety. What is your point? I am not a fan of teenage girls being raped on the bear creek trail by transients and think that the response was a good one. The police seized a tent as evidence in the case and bought the people living in it (homeless folks that weren't involved in the crime) a new one. How horrible was that? Sorry, you strike out again, and everyone knows your argument is based on greg being a police officer and not on substance. Robert James> Do we need another hero? 27.10.2006 - 22:05 So this is what it all come down to? The Hippy vs the Hunk? Cops vs. Crackpots? Shirts vs. Skins?!? In the past decades, Ashland witnessed it's share of great leaders. War heros and patriots, captains of industry, finance and real estate. Brilliant educators and the sharpest legal minds have all shared this civic responsibility. Yet our community values and principals are often ignored in favor of profits and revenue. It took some time but citizens are now demanding more accountability. Greg Lemhouse is a sincere, dedicated, stand-up guy. Yet he is not right for this position. The committment required is too much to ask as his family needs him home more than at city hall. Eric Navickas has more than demonstrated his committment to this city. No longer an outside instigator, Navickas will now be part of the problem. The end result in November is that citizens are interested and choosing to become more engaged. pogo> Facts on the Greenway Rape 29.10.2006 - 13:19 Robert, Check your facts. The "transient" who raped the girl on the Greenway owns a home in Phoenix. Its a pretty successful transient who can afford a house in the Rogue Valley. You'll note that the Reservour Dogs didn't run through the suburbs of Phoenix playing war games and rousting home-owners in order to "make our community safe." Instead they exploited the location of the rape to preform a military crack down on the homeless and the helpless. Gee, I feel safer. Observer>