April 18, 2004
Mondale to greet Medford audience
By PAUL FATTIG
Mail Tribune
SELMA — If you ever wanted to ask a question of a former vice president of the United States, set aside the afternoon of May 2.
Walter "Fritz" Mondale, who served as vice president from 1976 to 1980 and as the Democratic Party’s presidential nominee in 1984, will hold an informal town hall meeting at the
Selma Community and Education Center that day.
Joining him will be his wife, Joan Mondale, an Oregon native and longtime proponent of the arts.
They will be introduced by former Oregon congressman Les AuCoin, now a Southern Oregon University professor, radio commentator and newspaper columnist.
Called "Citizenship and America," the event is a fund raiser for the non-profit community center which will hold its grand opening that day.
Tickets are $2 per person, although participants can donate more if they wish. Tickets can be reserved by calling the center at 541-415-1000 or by e-mail at selmacenter@earthlink.net.
The event begins at 2 p.m. with musical entertainment, followed by the question-and-answer period with Mondale beginning at 3 p.m. Refreshments will be available for purchase.
The former vice president is coming at the behest of his brother and sister-in-law, Mort Mondale and Elaine Wood of Selma, both retired educators.
The center is in the former Selma Elementary School. Selma is about 20 miles south of Grants Pass on Highway 199.
The school was closed in 2000 because of budget cuts. A group of Selma residents leased the 19,000-square-foot building last year to establish the center.
The May 2 event’s goal is to bring a variety of people together, whether they are conservative or liberal, to discuss ways to help instill a feeling of community in the region, stressed Mort
Mondale.
"We do want to bring attention to the center and what it is doing to help build community," he said. "But we also want to provide an opportunity for area citizens to bring
questions and interact with a former vice president, a congressman and Joan Mondale.
"It doesn’t matter if the people coming are critical or supportive," he said. "We want people to communicate to each other."
No speeches will be given, he promised.
"The whole program is centered around the questions from the public — no speeches, no political events," he said. "We want to hear questions that people want
answered."
The younger Mondale said he asked his internationally known older brother to participate because of his credentials. In addition to serving as vice president, Fritz Mondale was the attorney
general for Minnesota, a U.S. senator from Minnesota for a dozen years and ambassador to Japan for six years.
Locally, having residentncern everyone can only help the community, Mort Mondale said. The Illinois Valley is known for having a rich variety of political beliefs.
When asked why he became involved in the event, Mort Mondale said, "This area is gorgeous — I’m proud to live here."
Questions can be asked from the floor or submitted ahead of time via regular mail or e-mail to the Selma Center, 18255 Redwood Highway, Selma, OR 97538.
On May 3, Joan Mondale will tour art displays at the Rising Suns Building in Cave Junction.
Reach reporter Paul Fattig at 776-4496 or e-mail him at
pfattig@mailtribune.com
