6-15-2007

The man some called "America's Mayor" in the wake of September 11th visited Portland today for some fundraising on his bid to be the next President of the USA . . .

Rudy Giuliani, the former Mayor of New York, stopped by the Flying Elephant Deli in the Fox Tower for about a half hour, sipping a black coffee and chatting with the store's owner as well as Portland icon Tom Moyer.

During his visit, Giuliani addressed some of the issues impacting local people ... most significantly the recent immigration raids at Del Monte Fresh produce in North Portland. Giuliani says, while difficult, the raid highlights the issue of illegal immigration (something he says is impacting people everywhere). His solution is a combination of an actual fence and technological fence blocking the border.

He also touched on Oregon's driver's license program and the fact that this is one of only a handful of states that does not require proof of citizenship to get one. The candidate says that it should be up to Oregon to determine who gets a license in this state HOWEVER, for national security's sake, we need to introduce a tamper-proof, national ID card.

Several supporters were on hand to meet Giuliani, discussing who might be his biggest challenger in the primary. Also on hand were two supporters of Giuliani's potential competition. They jeered him verbally as he was leaving the deli but there was no kind of confrontation between the two sides.