My name is Cecil Prescod, and I am a minister at the Highland United Church of Christ in Portland, Oregon. As a Christian minister, I believe that all human beings are created in the divine image and are therefore worthy of tolerance, understanding, and respect. I also believe that the Biblical principles that best apply to the secular order are those which call for peace and justice in our land. That is why, as a citizen of the great state of Oregon, I have often joined with others to help secure the rights of all our citizens, and to promote a society in which all people participate more fully and equally.

I am pleased to be here today and to join with my colleagues in announcing the formation of the Oregon Interfaith Alliance. It is time that people of faith throughout Oregon come together and stand together with those who are political targets of the extreme right. I am also pleased to inform you that, together with the national Interfaith Alliance, we are sending out [number] voter guides to the citizens of Oregon.

The need for fair and honest voter guides should be obvious to anyone who has seen the so-called "voter guides" distributed by extremist groups like the Oregon Family Council and Pat Robertson's Christian Coalition. As described by Republican Norma Paulus, the "voter guides" distributed by Pat Robertson's followers and allies are "neither fair nor accurate," but rather an "outrageous and totally irresponsible" attempt "to manipulate well- meaning church-goers seeking impartial advice." There is a good reason for Ms. Paulus to feel this way: In her recent primary struggle against Republican Gordon Smith, she was the target of Pat Robertson's Christian Coalition. According to Ms. Paulus, this group's "voter guides" shamelessly set out to "bear false witness" against her and her campaign.

This is certainly not surprising. Both the Oregon Family Council and Pat Robertson's Christian Coalition distribute "voter guides" which are greatly deceptive in their choice and wording of issues. In "guides" distributed nationally by the Christian Coalition, targeted candidates are said to favor such things as "taxpayer funding of obscene art," "the promotion of homosexuality among school children," and "the banning of all legal firearms." The guides distributed by the Oregon Family Council contend that if you oppose a balanced budget amendment, you also oppose "Biblical principles"! And the hot-button issue of abortion is manipulated in different ways in different races, and worded differently in different "guides," depending on how "pro-choice" or "pro-life" the candidate favored by the far right happens to be.

In contrast to the extreme right's manipulation of wedge issues, The Interfaith Alliance is distributing voter guides which concentrate on the issues important to Oregon voters: the minimum wage, Medicare and Medicaid, the environment, discrimination in housing, and the deduction of college costs from one's taxable income. These issues were identified by Oregon voters as most important to them in this special election.

The information provided on the voter guides comes from the candidates themselves--by direct response to questionnaires, by votes cast, or by public statements made by the candidates. Please note that no attempt is made to convince the voter that there is a "Biblical" or religiously correct position on these issues: No one's faith is called into question because of his or her political views.

Also note that these voter guides will not be distributed in or by churches. To preserve both the openness of the democratic process and the integrity of faith, The Interfaith Alliance has mailed the voter guides to the citizens of Oregon. This is in sharp contrast to the Oregon Family Council's political manipulation of churches during the primary, and the same use of churches by the Christian Coalition in most elections.

We at the Oregon Interfaith Alliance sincerely hope that our voter guides will be helpful to voters as they cast their ballots in this important special election. We encourage voters to scrutinize the information they receive from any and all organizations. We ask voters to think carefully about their votes, and to vote in such a way as to promote a positive vision for Oregon and the nation. But most of all, we urge all Oregonians to vote: the future depends on all of us making the right decisions now.