Oregon Considered; 1993--excerpts, Coverage of Senator Packwood in Oregon; Part 1

This is Oregon Considered. I'm Morgan Holm. Oregon Senator Bob Packwood returned to the state today for the first time since The Washington Post newspaper published allegations of sexual harassment involving Packwood. The senator met with timber industry representatives and Medford in Klamath Falls, where participants professed more interest in the new Democratic administration in Washington, D.C., than in the sexual harassment allegations. Louise Rogers is a reporter at Jefferson Public Radio in Ashland. She attended some of Packwood's meetings today and joins us now live on the telephone. Good afternoon. Hi, Morgan. Could you tell us, first of all, why Senator Packwood chose to stop in southern Oregon before coming up to the Willamette Valley? Well, the senator believes that southern Oregon is probably one of the hardest hit areas as far as the timber crisis. And he said it was very appropriate for him to come in at this time. As the new administration is coming in, he's looking at compromise as a very important issue. And that's what he was telling the Southern Oregon Timber Industry Association today, that he had a very warm welcome.

Needless to say. Well, did he face any opposition at all? Well, as he walked in, there were five protesters, one from now and then from the other women who were basically on their own. And they were asking for his resignation in no uncertain terms. One woman in particular confronted him last night outside one of the local TV stations asking for his resignation. And one of the senator's aides had her removed from the area, as well as the senator's reaction to the protesters today. He ignored them. How much timber talk was there, particularly with the media that was present? Well, the media did not really want to talk about it. The senator noted that it's kind of difficult to normally get some media coverage at timber related meetings. And he said he was heartened by the media coverage today. He invited us to ask questions on the timber industry

and told us we could not answer any questions regarding the allegations of sexual misconduct. There were no timber questions asked by the media. Well, I assume he did go on to discuss timber issues with the industry representatives there. Did he have any specific comments on the timber summit and specifically Vice President Al Gore's role in that? Well, he he said he has a hunch that Gore would like to put the Northwest out of the timber business. He said he hopes that the vice president won't, you know, won't play a role in the summit talks. He's very fearful of the vice president. As we all know, Al Gore is a strong environmentalist, has written a very good book on the environment. And it does put a bit of a shudder through the spine of the timber industry in a reaction to a new interior secretary, Bruce Babbitt. He, as everyone knows, Bruce Babbitt has a very strong environmental background.

And Packwood said he can't make any assessment on what that means right now, that it could be more compromising as far as some of the issues and maybe Vice President Gore. All right. Thanks for speaking with us. Thank you very much. Take care. Thanks. Louise Rogers is a reporter at Jefferson Public Radio in Ashland. A prominent Oregon businessman is urging Senator Packwood to accept an invitation to speak before the Portland City Club. Vern Ryles Says it's important not to prejudge the senator on charges that he made unwanted sexual advances to more than 15 women. And he says the city club would provide a fair forum to discuss the charges. Patrick Cox reports. Ryles, a lifelong Republican, says he chose this time to speak out because the senator is in the state for the first time since The Washington Post published the charges. So far, Packwood has avoided answering questions of any of the specific allegations

or on subsequent charges that he orchestrated a smear campaign of some of his accusers. Packwood plans to visit Portland on Friday and Ryles says that's, that the perfect time for Packwood to address the city club. The city club meets on Friday, and they would be willing to make whatever arrangements necessary to give Senator Packwood a very fair hearing. I think the city club is known for its fairness and its independence. And I think he would have a good opportunity in an open forum to explain his position. The City Club first extended its invitation to Packwood last month. Packwood will be making a number of appearances in Portland on Friday, including a lunch speech at the Pacific Rim Trade Association spokeswoman. The senator says he won't be accepting the city club's invitation and she disputes the club's characterization of such an event as a public forum, city club meetings are for members and their guests only, although they usually broadcast. Live by OPB Radio for OPB.

I'm Patrick Cox. Senator Bob Packwood visited Bend and Eugene today. This visit is of more than usual interest since it's the first time Packwood has been in Oregon since The Washington Post newspaper published allegations of sexual harassment against Packwood. OPB television reporter Jim Leinfelder caught up with Packwood today. He joins us now live from the Valley River in in Eugene. Good afternoon, Jim. Hi, Morgan. What's going on in Eugene right now? Well, Packwood is still in a closed meeting with Eugene in Springfield, representatives of timber interests, which has been the dominant theme of his visit throughout the state. While he has been inside the remainders of what was about 200 protesters and winnowed down to about 50 to 75, gathered outside a wall of plate glass windows just adjacent to the room where Packwood was meeting and began chanting and pounding on the doors and the windows, chanting various chants, requesting that he resign from

office. And yet I understand the police are there. Are they doing anything about it? Vice president doesn't, Eugene, police officers showed up, but a representative from now came out and requested that the protesters leave the Valley River in property and quietly disperse, which they did. She gave a brief speech and basically in which she said that they will not go away, that this will continue until Packwood resigns and then they disperse to an adjacent parking lot. Were there any similar incidents in Bend today? And no, in Bend, there were maybe about 35 protesters who showed up at a motel down there were Packwood again met with a group of individuals representing various timber interests. The protest there was was rather quiet and muted. They were not allowed into the meeting was a very small meeting room. The media were barely able to fit in themselves, while Senator Packwood is clearly traveling to the major population centers of the state.

But has he addressed whether he's reaching his constituents in a personal enough way to respond to their concerns? Well, he feels that he has nothing to talk about with groups who have called for his resignation because he feels there's no room for compromise there and therefore he sees no reason to meet with them as far as the public in general. I asked him about that. He said that he's doing an adequate job of reaching them through the media, though he has not responded directly to pointed questions about the veracity of the allegations against him. He says responses of that nature will have to wait until after the Senate Ethics Committee has met. Well, one subject, it seems that Senator Packwood is willing to talk about, as you referred to, as the possibility of a timber summit. What have you heard about those conversations? The one conversation that I was privy to, the discussion he had with about 16 members of the timber industry this morning was and again, I don't cover the timber beat, but it didn't strike me as particularly revelatory. He merely pointed out to them that in order for a summit to be successful, that some sort of consensus would have to be reached with environmental interests.

He also pointed out that the summit itself would not be the point of negotiation, that a lot of long and difficult negotiation would have to precede that, and the summit itself would be more or less a coronation. OK, thanks for speaking with us. You bet Morgan. Jim Leinfelder is a reporter for OPB Television's Northwest Week program. He spoke with us live from Eugene. Protests continue today against Senator Bob Packwood on his first trip to Oregon since charges of sexual harassment surfaced in mid-November, more than 15 women charged the Republican with making unwanted sexual advances. Eric Westervelt has the latest. Senator Packwood found a largely sympathetic audience in the Farm Bureau Association at a lunchtime address in Salem. Oregon's embattled junior senator addressed issues of importance to Oregon farmers and timber interests like changing the federal Endangered Species Act to place more importance on jobs and the economy, easing development restrictions on wetlands, maintaining current fees on cattle grazing and bolstering

private property rights. The senator defended spending most of his time with timber groups on his first homecoming since sexual harassment charges, saying that he needs to set the groundwork for the prospective timber summit. But he could not evade questions about the harassment charges. He asserts that, if relevant, he will strongly challenge his accusers version of the charges and did not rule out using details of their sexual histories and private lives in his defense. What my lawyers will do on this is any evidence that would be relevant to the credibility of the story, to the honesty of the story, and to the honesty of the witnesses. Is it fair evidence if statements they've made in the past, things they've done in the past would bear on their relationship to me or the truthfulness of what they're saying? And that is fair testimony. Packwood declined to answer charges. He led personal attacks against some of his accusers credibility before the November election. Packwood repeated that the controversy is not impeding his effectiveness as a senator and that he plans to spend at least two hundred thousand dollars in his defense. His luncheon address to farmers was interrupted once by a lone protester who shouted for

his resignation outside the downtown Salem restaurant. More than 100 protesters heatedly called for Packwood to resign his Senate post immediately. Salem resident Tom Mako's anger was typical of many of the protesters. I'm here because Bob Packwood is a disgrace to Oregon and he needs to resign. And I'm here because I want Bob to tell the truth. We want to hear it here. Is he an advocate for a woman or women or is he an abuser of women? Matko and others stood in the rain for close to two hours, chanting and venting their frustration. Don Eric was the only Packwood supporter challenging the protesters, calling them, in his words, Oregon Nazis. Yes, they have a right to protest, but they should make the protest after he's been found guilty. How can you somebody made a few allegations and he's admitted saying, hey, I've made a few sexual advancements. Who hasn't? Many expressed doubt that the Senate Ethics Committee could come down hard on one of their own. Even after the Clarence Thomas Anita Hill hearings, the Senate committee has launched a preliminary investigation into the charges against Packwood.

Packwood admitted recently that he is a binge drinker who has suffered from alcoholic fainting spells. More protests are expected Friday when Packwood visits Portland. For OPB, this is Eric Westervelt. Protestors ranging in age from about two to 75 mugged for the dozen or so TV cameras and listened to impassioned speeches by names now familiar in the anti Parkwood movement like former Oregon Supreme Court Justice Betty Roberts. The man has no shame, much less any sense of responsibility to the people of Oregon. He has brought ridicule upon our state by his actions and by his fraudulent claim to the election. We must not allow this to continue. Roberts joined the crowd in calling once again for Packwood's resignation. The senator has been under fire for refusing to address sexual harassment allegations

against him. The Senate Ethics Committee is investigating claims by several women that Packwood made unwanted sexual advances toward them. The allegations span peckerwoods entire 24 year Senate career. Others speaking at the rally included the head of the Oregon State Council of Senior Citizens and the executive director of Oregon, NARAL, Diane Lynn, who called Packwood a bully. Bob Packwood is attempting to blackmail women. You can't be that. We want to keep them from moving forward. We know what we know. There are more women and more sorry for what it is, and we're not going to allow it. Lynn referred to recent comments by Packwood that he would conduct an aggressive defense during the ethics investigation. The senator hinted that he would provide witnesses to directly refute the testimony of his accusers. One of the organizers of Friday's rally went so far as to compare Packwood to the late Senator Joe McCarthy. Oregonians for Ethical Representation spokesman

Mark Weiner reiterated a question which eventually toppled McCarthy's efforts in the 1950s. Have you no decency, sir? And we are here to say that now in 1993, a bully will not have a place in the United States Senate and has no place representing the people of Oregon. Protesters booed when told that Packwood had made an unannounced switch in his schedule. The senator was supposed to address a group downtown just a couple of blocks away from the plaza, but secretly change the location to a hotel several miles south on Interstate five. Spokesman Matt Evans said there was a concern about potential violence directed at Packwood during the rally. At events earlier this week in Corvallis and Eugene, crowds did become restless and

tried to break down the door of a motel conference room. Portland police had several squad cars, mounted police and officers in riot gear ready for any trouble at Terry's front plaza. But the demonstration proved peaceful. Packwood is expected to return to Washington Friday night or Saturday. He may return to the state as soon as mid-February for OPB. I'm Tess Vigeland. Here are comments from some of the unofficial speakers in downtown Portland today. Has no right to be in office. He has to. He has no ethics. He is bad for Oregon. He's bad news. I, I feel that the man feels like he's got too much power. Entitled is not in touch with the if you are a normal voter, normal people. I'm a senior citizen. I've become more aware in the last ten years of who I am and where I fit in this scheme of voters.

And this the first time I've ever been out to protest for anything. But it feels good and we don't necessarily want to. And that's the castrated what rip his heart out. I certainly think we deserve the opportunity to once again judge judge him at the voting booth if he's not willing to step aside because of his activities. It seems to me that voters should have the opportunity to once again say whether or not we want that kind of representation. I don't think we do. I think it's very important that a process be developed that will allow people that represented to get the representative out. If he doesn't do a good job, Nixon could have been impeached. People can be impeached. And yes, there's a Senate process, but senators or politicians support each other. And we need a process that has where it represented people capable of doing that as opposed to the other representatives. You know, actually, I was surprised to see that there was a drop off in attention from the media somewhere around the inauguration.

And it seemed like there was a real there was a drop in attention and that nobody was seeing in the papers anymore. So I'm really hoping that this sort of thing will bring it back into the spotlight. I don't think that he can go out in public because one violence could occur to him and to his not stupid people are angry at him. And why would anybody want to face crowds of angry people? I don't think his handle is right or is ethical, but I think as an individual, he's doing a good job protecting himself. Let's see a runoff or something like that. I want to see a special election because that's I think that's the biggest. My biggest concern is I don't know if they should resign or not. I don't know what happened. It would help if the press would tell us a little bit more about, you know, specifically what's going on in the committees in Washington. But right now, I want to see the guy do a special election. Let us decide he's representing us. He's not letting the Senate represent him. One, two, three. Eric Westervelt produced that report after Senator Packwood changed his

location today, he repeated his claim that it's up to the U.S. Senate whether he resigns, not the people of Oregon. In an address to the Pacific Rim Trade Association in Lake Oswego, Packwood said voters can't be allowed to change their minds just because the allegations surfaced after the election. Portland attorney attending the talks, David Wu, said he was disturbed by Packwood's attitude. Wu said Packwood was telling voters in his words, You guys can stick it in your ears. This is Oregon, considered in Portland, Beaverton and Gresham, you're listening to OPB

Radio at ninety one point five FM, a reminder that marketplace is coming up at four 30 this afternoon. Senator Packwood's visit to the state capped a busy week in politics. The other highlight was House Speaker Larry Campbell's announcement of his one year budget plan. OPB political analyst Bill Lunch and capital correspondent Patrick Cox talked with me about those events earlier today. Bill, I'd like to start to talking to you for just a moment about Bob Packwood. It appears that he's revealed a new and more aggressive strategy during his tour of the state that's wrapping up today. Yeah, he seems to be making renewed allegations about the character of the women who have brought charges against him. Not in any specific sense, but he has been making noises that that's sort of the direction that he's going to take.

And this is a very aggressive stance. But it's also politically very dangerous for him because unlike the situation with, say, Clarence Thomas and Anita Hill, we're not talking about a one on one situation. There have been charges leveled against Packwood by a number of women so that the risk for him is that he may be able to disprove charge or charge B, but he'll still have PFG and on out there are currently apparently 12 women who have made allegations of sexual misconduct against the senator. So it's a dangerous strategy in that it may backfire. And by focusing attention on these incidents, make him look even worse than he would if he took the approach he did in December when he was more apologetic in the press conference held in Washington, D.C.. Well, in the meantime, Senator Packwood has been traveling around the state to trying to rebuild relations with some of the timber industry groups and some others.

Yes. Going on there. Well, the thrust of these meetings has been on concerns that timber industry and other natural resource folks have about the Endangered Species Act and other kinds of restrictions that they are beginning to feel pinching them pretty strongly. From Packwood's point of view. He's trying to rebuild support in the state, sort of one group at a time. One way of thinking about this is that he starts with some core groups and then is hoping to work outward from there and sort of concentric circles in an attempt to reconstruct the support that he's had in the past. But in doing that, we see some shifts in the constituencies or the groups that have been supporting Packwood, at least compared to what we've had in the past. Now, how is he changing constituencies? Well, remember, the old Bob Packwood was a guy who was frequently identified as a Republican sort of environmentalist. Remember that earlier on in his career, he argued in favor of creating either a national park or as it developed a national recreation area out in the Hell's Canyon area in eastern Oregon.

Now he is standing on the other side of environmental issues and is being opposed by environmental groups. And the old Bob Packwood was very close to women's groups, in fact, and some of his earlier reelection campaigns. They raised substantial sums for him with direct mailings and things of that nature. He was their friend in the Senate on the issue of choice that was particularly important during the years from 1980 to 86 when the Republicans controlled the Senate. And that's a constituency that's turned against him. So what we're seeing here, in some sense, is the movement of Bob Packwood towards more core Republican groups and away from groups that traditionally have been more Democratic. So in some what we're seeing in the behavior or the the efforts that he's making in the state now is the movement of a moderate Republican towards the more traditional, more conservative groups that have been supporters of other Republicans historically. Well, Patrick, you were in Salem yesterday afternoon for the release of House Speaker

Larry Campbell's budget plan. Maybe you can give us a brief overview of that and tell us about some of the things that haven't been quite so widely reported about that plan. Right. Well, the bare bones of it, that two one year budget instead of a. The group formed to oust Senator Bob Packwood from office is scheduled to file legal briefs with the Senate Rules Committee in Washington, D.C. tomorrow. The briefs deal specifically with the issue of whether Packwood defrauded Oregon voters in the November election by lying to the media. The five term Republican has been under fire for nearly four months. Close to two dozen women are accusing him of sexual harassment and demanding he be removed from office. Tess Vigeland reports. The legal briefs expected to be submitted to the Senate Rules Committee on Friday are the first step in what is bound to be a long process. Several groups seeking the ouster of Senator Packwood filed petitions with the Rules Committee accusing him of defrauding voters in the November general election.

The committee requested that both sides make legal arguments about the committee's authority to investigate the allegations. Catherine McDowell is an attorney for the petitioners. Assuming the allegations of election fraud that have been leveled against Senator Packwood, assuming that they're true, whether the Senate has the authority to act on those charges by excluding Senator Packwood from the Senate, whether there were any state investigations going that impacted what the Senate is going to be doing. And then the third issue was how the Rules Committee investigation and the Ethics Committee investigations relate to one another. McDowell declined to discuss the legal arguments outlined in the brief until it is delivered to the Rules Committee. The Rules Committee investigation does differ from that of the Senate Ethics Committee. The Rules Committee will look into the allegations of fraud facing Senator Packwood.

Those allegations stem mainly from statements Packwood made to reporters just prior to the election about whether he was being investigated on possible sexual harassment charges. The petitions accuse Packwood of lying about his contacts with The Washington Post to ensure that the story would not break before the election. The Ethics Committee is looking into the harassment allegations. 23 women have publicly accused Packwood of making unwelcome sexual advances toward them during his 24 years in the Senate. The bulk of the alleged incidents happened 10 or more years ago. A political action committee formed to unseat Packwood continues to place public pressure on him to resign. But the scandal has, for the most part, slipped off the front page, with the exception of several lengthy investigations by The Oregonian newspaper detailing Packwood's problems with alcohol and his diminishing influence among his peers in the Senate. However, Dianne Lynn of the PAC Oregonians for Ethical Representation says the group will not allow the scandal to disappear. We knew that that through a long process of both that the Rules Committee

of the Ethics Committee, the secretary of state, all the different avenues we would take, we were taking that it would take some time and in that process that there would be a lot of kind of ebbs and flows of interest. And I still believe very thoroughly that that the voters of Oregon, you know, are waiting to hear about this kind of thing and are anxious to see the process proceed ahead. The Senate Ethics Committee has been interviewing Packwood's accusers over the past several weeks. There is no indication if or when it might begin formal testimony. The Rules Committee has promised a fast track investigation into the fraud allegations should it decide such an investigation is warranted. For OPB. I'm Tess Vigeland. The Senate Rules Committee is scheduled to hear arguments Monday in Washington, D.C., concerning allegations of election fraud by Oregon Senator Bob Packwood. The Packwood scandal has launched two separate Senate investigations since allegations

of sexual harassment surfaced just over five months ago. On Monday, the Senate Rules Committee will explore whether Packwood intentionally defrauded Oregon voters in November by withholding information and lying to the news media. This committee will not address the allegations of sexual misconduct made by 23 women who have worked with Packwood during his tenure in the Senate. That's left to the Senate Ethics Committee, which is still investigating the charges. Attorneys for Senator Packwood and the group Oregonians for Ethical Representation filed legal arguments with the Rules Committee in March. On Monday, each side will present its case and take questions from committee members. Tess Vigeland examines the arguments and cases that are likely to be discussed. The group Oregonians for Ethical Representation contends that the fraud occurred when Packwood, prior to the November election, apparently denied to reporters from The Oregonian and KATU TV that The Washington Post was investigating him. It also says Packwood's alleged attempts to smear his accusers by sending reports about

their personal lives to the Post delayed the Post's article, thereby keeping crucial information from the public. What the Rules Committee wants to know from both sides is whether the Senate has the authority to set aside the election of one of its members and actually whether the committee can even investigate the complaints. Packwood's attorneys argue that the scope of the committee's review is limited to two things. First, does Packwood meet the constitutional qualifications of age, citizenship and state residency to be seated as a senator? The answer is an uncontroverted yes. Second, was Packwood duly elected? Packwood argues yes, because the Oregon secretary of state signed an official certificate of election to back up the fact that these are the only issues before the committee. Packwood relies on a 1969 Supreme Court case known as the Powell decision. Prior to 1969, the U.S. Senate dealt with a lot of cases that contested the outcomes of Senate elections. Reasons for the contested elections ranged from a candidate's membership in the Mormon

church to excessive campaign expenditures to allegations of race baiting. Then, in 1966, a man named Adam Clayton Powell of New York, who had just been elected to the House of Representatives, found himself facing charges that he had misappropriated public funds. The House denied Powell his seat in Congress. It said it had broad powers under the U.S. Constitution to determine the qualifications necessary for membership. Powell took the matter to court, arguing that the Constitution only lays out the express qualifications found in Article one, Section five, which talks about age, citizenship and state residency. The Supreme Court agreed, adding that its ruling also applied to the Senate. Packwood relies on this case and a review by the Congressional Research Service that notes the 50 or so cases of contested elections prior to the decision are irrelevant cases relied heavily upon by Oregonians for Ethical Representation. In addition, Packwood argues, even disregarding

Powell, there is no precedent in the Senate where conduct like that Packwood is accused of led to exclusion. And there is no Senate rule that candidates are required to provide full and candid disclosure to the press. He notes that if the Senate is expected to assume the role of a truth squad monitoring every misstatement or omission of fact by candidates, every election will wind up contested by the loser. And finally, Packwood argues that his opponent's claims of fraud don't meet the legal definition of fraud because voters weren't deprived of anything tangible. For example, information that might aid someone in making a personal electoral decision is not a tangible commodity that can show harm to that person. Of course, attorneys for Packwood's opponents think that's all hooey. The crux of their brief is that there's a difference between the kinds of lies that can constitute election fraud. Obviously, they argue there is a wide range of opinions, promises and policy assumptions made in the heat of a political campaign that can't be policed by Congress.

But this is a whole new ballgame, they say, with Packwood making deliberate misstatements of historical fact that he knew were false and knew would be relied upon by the listener. The attorneys argued that the Powell case isn't applicable because it didn't deal with allegations about election conduct. So the Supreme Court didn't decide the scope of the Senate's authority to judge elections. They say this isn't a scandal about election returns or qualifications. It's about the election itself. In addition, Packwood's opponents cite another Supreme Court case from 1972 known as Roudebush, in which the. Court said, quote, The issue of whether a member of the Senate is validly elected is a nonjusticiable political question. Rouda Bush also said, according to the briefs, that the Senate is the ultimate authority in judging elections regardless of what the state does. In other words, just because Packwood received a certificate doesn't mean he was duly elected. Finally, they argue that the damage to voters is tangible

and argue that tangibility is a moot point, drawing from federal mail and wire fraud statutes and applying them to elections. They point out that in 1987, the Supreme Court rejected the use of an intangible rights theory as a defense against fraud charges. Conventional wisdom in editorial pages and some legal circles is that it's unlikely the Rules Committee will make the unprecedented move of taking the Packwood case to the Senate floor. If so, the Senate could open a floodgate of contested elections. However, in the continuing aftermath of the Clarence Thomas Anita Hill hearings, one sentence in the brief filed by Packwood's opponents just might stand out from the rest and cause the committee to look deep within itself in deciding whether to pursue the case. Quote, Senator Packwood's conduct presents the Rules Committee with the stark choice of either condoning or condemning this kind of unconscionable campaign behavior for OPB. I'm Tess Vigeland.

This is Oregon considered, I'm Oregon home. The Senate Rules Committee decided today to dismiss a complaint against Senator Bob Packwood. A group of Oregonians accused Packwood of stealing the November election by lying about allegations of sexual harassment just prior to the vote and by orchestrating a smear campaign against the women who accused him of such conduct. As Tess Vigeland reports, Packwood himself took advantage of the positive news to talk to the Oregon media. The Rules Committee acted swiftly in dismissing the effort to unseat Packwood in a matter of minutes. The panel, chaired by Kentucky Senator Wendell Ford, voted unanimously and without debate to drop the challenge to Packwood's 1992 reelection. Packwood's office wasted no time in calling media outlets to offer interviews with the man who's been running from reporters for the past six months. The senator naturally was pleased with the outcome, but I'm pleased not just for myself, but for the whole Senate. The last thing Congress ought to do is to get into conducting autopsies on elections every two years when the loser says, well, I think the

winner lied and I want you to consider it and overturn the election. And I thought the committee very wisely decided that they should not get into the business of evaluating campaign statement. Packwood flatly denies lying to The Oregonian newspaper, one of the charges leveled by his opponents. He refused to address questions about whether he or his staff orchestrated a smear campaign against the women who accused him of sexual harassment. The senator has been in Oregon a total of 10 days since shortly after the November election. Asked why he hadn't spent more time with the people who elected him, Packwood delivered a well rehearsed answer. You know, I have been meeting with Oregonians in my office day after day after day when they come back here. In fact, every group that comes in, I meet with them. And whether that is relatives or nurses or doctors or labor union leaders, I meet with them all here and keep on top of their problems. So why have you not come back to the state from which you were elected? Well, because I am meeting with them here. Do you have any plans to come back to the state any time soon? And I am meeting with them here.

And with that, I've got to run. See you later. Packwood says he has not been questioned yet by anyone from the Ethics Committee, which is looking into the harassment allegations. The Rules Committee decision to dismiss election fraud charges against Packwood comes less than three weeks after a public hearing in which attorneys presented legal arguments to the committee. Packwood's attorney, James Fitzpatrick, says committee members were most concerned about the potential domino effect of agreeing to a fraud investigation. I don't think it was based on any abstruse legal analysis. It was a very practical judgment that the petitioner's proposal was simply a bad idea. There's no way that one can draw the line in terms of what is the kind of post after the election to investigate factual investigation was going to have. They would have opened up the entire campaign to reexamination in terms of who said what to the press. Fitzpatrick says the action by the Rules Committee is unlikely to affect the Ethics Committee probe against the senator.

Portland attorney Carlton Grue, who represents the group Oregonians for Ethical Representation, says the Rules Committee decision sends a bad message to the voters. I think that the vote of the Senate Rules Committee sends a message to the American people that this is unfortunately the conduct that senators expect each other to engage in in the course of elections. And I think that's a really disturbing message for people who are trying to sift through the statements of candidates and determine, you know, who they should vote for. GRU says his group will now concentrate on the ethics investigation against Packwood, in which two dozen women have accused the senator of inappropriate sexual conduct. In a related development, Alaska Republican Senator Ted Stevens of Packwood ally Wednesday quit his position on the Ethics Committee, citing a heavy workload. He has been replaced by Republican Senator Larry Craig of Idaho for OPB. I'm Tess Vigeland. Oregon Senator Bob Packwood is back in the state which elected him for the first time in almost five months.

He's on a nine day swing through the state during which he's expected to hold a variety of meetings and community visits. Tess Vigeland joins us now to report that Packwood still refuses to speak about the investigation of him being conducted by the Senate Ethics Committee. Senator Bob Packwood feet touched Oregon soil yesterday for the first time since early February. Packwood had been inside the state that elected him for a total of ten days since allegations of sexual misconduct first surfaced last fall. Two dozen women have accused the senator of making unwanted sexual advances and comments toward them during his more than 20 years in the U.S. Senate. The case is currently under investigation by the Senate Ethics Committee. Senate investigators have been to Oregon to interview Packwood's accusers. Packwood refuses to say whether they've gotten his side of the story. I can't I can't comment about anything that's before the Ethics Committee, so I simply can't talk about that. You can't say whether they've approached you at all. I can't say anything at all that involves the Ethics Committee. Packwood spoke to a gaggle of reporters following a tour of the U.S.

Coast Guard station on Suan Island in Portland. He is scheduled to be in the state for nine days. Press aide Julia Brimm. Edwards would not disclose the communities the senator will be visiting, but she did note that he would be going to areas he hasn't already been this year. In February, Packwood made a swing through eastern Oregon. There, as in an earlier trip, he was met by protesters chanting and waving signs with questions about the sexual misconduct charges. Packwood says he hasn't returned to the state until now because of the violence experienced at some of those events. I came out in January and there were tremendous protests and one of my supporters in Corvallis had a rib's broken by the protesters, and she was in considerable pain for a number of months. And I thought, well, that's that's an aberration. And that then the next trip we came out to the protesters. And these are not just average citizens walking by. These are organized protesters attempted to break down the doors of the Valley River in in Eugene, causing property damage there. So I thought there's no point in my going back until passions cool and see if we can have

rational discourse. Packwood's says he doesn't know what to expect on this trip. Today's event at the Coast Guard station appeared to go as planned. The senator spent some time on a cutter the Coast Guard uses to clean up oil spills in the Columbia River. Then talk to Guardsmen about how budget cutbacks in the Department of Defense might affect the Coast Guard. Backwood took the opportunity to once again blast the forest plan released yesterday by President Clinton. He called the plan a body blow to the region. You know, Oregon doesn't grow cotton. We don't grow rice or oranges or lemons. We grow wood trees. We're better at it than anybody else. God gave us a natural area to grow it in. And this plan just says to do what Oregon can do best. We're not going to let you do it. I thought it was unfair. Packwood predicted that the plan would end up in the courts as several timber industry groups have already said it will. He said sooner or later, the president will have to come to Congress to ask for changes in the laws regulating endangered species protection. Packwood himself has proposed legislation to overhaul the Endangered Species Act for OPB. I'm Tess Vigeland.

This is Oregon Considered, I'm Nancy Marshall. U.S. Senator Bob Packwood made a rare appearance in Portland today. Packwood gave a lunchtime speech to the Portland Rotary Club. Patrick Cox was there. Packwood spoke to some 200 Rotarians at Portland's Masonic Temple for about a half an hour. He criticized President Clinton's budget plan and he offered several alternative approaches to reducing the federal deficit, as in previous appearances in Oregon this year. Packwood avoided mention of his sexual conduct, a subject that has turned him into a leading player in the national debate over sexual harassment. Packwood is accused by two dozen women of making unwanted sexual advances over the course of his 24 year Senate career. He faces an investigation by the Senate Ethics Committee. Just once. At the beginning of his speech, did Packwood allude to his troubles? Some people send out Christmas cards, some people send out Hanukkah cards, and then on occasion, some people send out New Year cards.

They come down the middle of January. And I received one from one of your members. It reads as follows, May your new year be filled with good news from Frige TYKO, publisher of The Oregonian. You look great. I appreciate that very much. I'm looking forward to the car this year to see what is nice about. Why do we want we want to know, about 40 demonstrators lined the street outside the Masonic Temple to protest Packwood's presence within it. Among them were a handful of 13 and 14 year olds from St. Mary's Academy, a private all girls high school in Portland. My mom always tells me you can keep up a lie, but I won't go on forever. And once you grow up, you're backfire on you. Well, I don't know if he was alive when he was little, but he is now. And it is backfiring because the people around here don't like it.

We'll stand up for our rights and we're not going there. It's not just the women either, you know, and well, we're not going to just lay down my lie to us. I mean, it's like we have hearts. Do we feel what men feel or something? And some men just say, oh, the women, you can do whatever you want to them. And women are standing up for themselves right now. And I think that's very good. After the event inside, Packwood spoke briefly with reporters. The exchange followed the usual pattern of recent months in which reporters ask questions solely related to the charges against him, and Packwood refused to answer them. He again berated the big city media for failing to show interest in other issues. He added that the pressure on him seems to be easing with each return trip he makes to Oregon. The difference I noticed this time, as opposed to February, is that the Portland media, for whatever reason, did not treat us all over the state, and the local media asked questions about the things that were of direct concern to their people, whether that was grazing fees in eastern Oregon or fishing on the coast, but

questions that were very much of interest to their listeners. Packwood is nearing the end of a three week stay in Oregon. That marks by far the longest time he's spent in his home state since his reelection last November. When he returns to Washington, D.C., Packwood will face increasing national media attention as the Senate Ethics Committee investigation draws to a close for OPB. I'm Patrick Cox.