Pacific Green Party (Oregon)
www.pacificgreens.org
Keating for Governor
www.keatingforgovernor.org
Posted March 26, 2006
Released March 21, 2006
For more information contact: Marnie Glickman, 503-313-7919
In his first remarks after winning the Pacific Green gubernatorial primary on March 17, Joe
Keating called on Oregon Governor Ted Kulongoski to end all future deployments of the Oregon
National Guard to Iraq.
Governors can veto deployment of the National Guard if the deployment affects a state's basic
training responsibility or harms its ability to respond to local emergencies.
"Oregon's top priority should be to build peace here at home, not to fight a war for oil in
Iraq," Keating said. "Governor Kulongoski should quit whimpering about attending too many
funerals, and be brave enough to stop all future deployments of Oregon National Guard in Iraq."
"Oregon's firefighters, police officers, other emergency responders and equipment are vital to
our infrastructure. They should stay here," Keating said.
According to Maj. Gen. Raymond F. Rees, Oregon's Adjutant General, in 2005, Oregon has deployed
more troops to Iraq, Afghanistan, and Guantanamo Bay, Cuba than it has since World War II. Rees
also noted in the Oregonian that there has been a significant toll on the Guard's equipment. For
example, Rees said, ".the Guard at one time had 3,000 M-4 carbines --the main weapon for infantry
soldiers. However, based on orders that it must leave its equipment with other Army units in
Iraq, the Oregon Guard is now down to 600 M-4 rifles, making it difficult to keep the force
trained and up to date."
After Keating graduated from Georgetown University in 1964, he served as a second
lieutenant in the United States Army until 1966. He served as a captain from 1971 to 1973.
Between his tours of duty, he worked in New York as an investment banker for the Wall Street firm
of Thomson & McKinnon. Since moving to Oregon in 1988, Keating has worked as
the operations director and action coordinator for Oregon Greenpeace, director of United Community Action,
KBOO station manager and chair of the Oregon Sierra Club. He is currently a director of the
Oregon Wildlife Federation.
As a candidate for governor, Keating will advocate for building peace, protecting our
environment, and providing financial solutions to our health care and education crises.
