Suit Filed Over Censorship of Klamath Ad
By Dan Bacher, Fish Sniffer
February 20, 2008

The ACLU, Karuk Tribe and Friends of the River are standing up for freedom of speech in their campaign to remove four environmentally destructive dams on the Klamath River, owned by Warren Buffett-owned subsidiary Berkshire Hathaway.

The ACLU of Oregon this morning filed a lawsuit against Tri-County Metropolitan Transportation District of Oregon (TriMet), alleging the public bus company has violated federal and state constitutional free speech protections in its rejection of an advertisement it deems “political.” The lawsuit was filed in Multnomah County Circuit Court, on behalf of the Karuk Tribe of California and Friends of the River Foundation, who had sought to place an ad on TriMet buses regarding the damage done to salmon runs for decades by electricity-generating dams, owned by Portland-based Pacific Power, on the Klamath River.

TriMet’s "Advertising Standards Committee" rejected the proposed ad on the grounds that it did not constitute an “advertisement” and that the public transit agency did not want its buses or property “to become a public forum for the dissemination, debate, and/or discussion of public issues.” The ACLU appealed the committee’s decision to TriMet’s general manager, who in a letter dated Jan. 18, 2008, upheld the rejection.

“TriMet’s policies discriminate on speech based on its content, and we believe that is unconstitutional,” said David Fidanque, Executive Director of the ACLU of Oregon. “A public agency should not place itself in the role of deeming some speech acceptable and some speech objectionable. TriMet’s job is to transport riders, not to override free speech protections.”

The ad, displaying a photo of salmon on the left side and wall sockets on the right side, says, "Salmon shouldn't run up your electric bill. They should run up the Klamath River." The Tribe and FOR consider the refusal of TriMet to run the ad to be discriminatory and illegal.

“The Karuk Tribe has as much right to buy advertising space on publicly owned buses as anyone else,” said Leaf Hillman, Vice Chairman of the Karuk Tribe. “Our ad simply promotes a website with information about Pacific Power’s Klamath dams and how they impact the river as well as power rates. Refusing to run this ad is discriminatory and illegal.”

I agree. Why is TriMet refusing to run the ad? Why are they refusing to allow the Karuk Tribe and FOR to get out their message about the necessity of removing four Klamath River dams?

"Experts have shown that removing those dams -- and replacing the electricity they produce with other renewable sources of power -- would actually be cheaper than PacifiCorp's plan to keep the dams and build fish ladders," according to FOR. "So we thought by running this ad on Portland area buses, PacifiCorp customers would start to raise the issue with their utility."

Experts from Oregon, California, and the U.S. government have compared the cost of updating the dams with such things as fish ladders versus the cost of simply removing the dams, FOR noted. They found that removing the dams could save Pacific Power’s customers approximately $30 to $290 million.

“We are trying to get the word out to Pacific Power’s customers that dam removal could save them a significant amount of money,” said Kelly Catlett, Hydropower Reform Policy Advocate for Friends of the River. “It’s unfortunate TriMet thinks that is a message that needs to be censored.”

The refusal of the public bus company to run the ad occurs within the context of increasing repression of freedom of speech across the country by the federal and state governments and regional government entities. It is deplorable that TriMet chose not to run the ad - and I urge environmental activists and free speech advocates to support the ACLU, Karuk Tribe and Friends of the River in their legal battle against TriMet's blatant attempt at censorship. The Tribe and FOR should be allowed to run their ad about the need for PacifiCorp ratepayers to support dam removal rather than the more expensive fish ladder alternative.

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