07/15/2008

Associated Press

Henceforth, it won't cost $70 extra to take a political stand in Ashland as you celebrate the Declaration of Independence.

The Chamber of Commerce has agreed to charge just one entry fee for each float in the Fourth of July parade.

Until a liberal group questioned the practice, the chamber charged floats $30, unless they were political in nature, or as a parade organizer put it: "promoting or identifying with a political party."

In that case, the entry fee was $100.

A lawyer for the American Civil Liberties Union said the disparity violated free speech rights in the U.S. and Oregon constitutions.

A lawyer for the chamber said it didn't agree but wanted to settle the matter.

So, the chamber agreed to a uniform entry fee — the amount hasn't been fixed.

And it refunded $70 to the group Southern Oregon Jobs with Justice. The group displays banners of the Green Party, a member of its coalition.

"You can't be charged a different amount for what your content says," Wes Brain, the chair of the coalition, told the Ashland Daily Tidings.

"But more than that, it's about our rights," Brain said. "I'd like people to educate themselves about the Bill of Rights and fight for them. They don't just sit on a shelf, they have to be exercised."

Representing the ACLU Foundation, lawyer Michael Simon of Portland argued the chamber was entwined with the city government, which made the parade and its entry-fee structure a government matter.

Ashland attorney Allen Drescher, arguing for the chamber, disputed that analysis but said the chamber would shift control of the parade to its foundation, which is independent of the city and the chamber.

That "may be overkill, but, hopefully, that will avoid even the appearance of entwinement with the city that could be perceived as state action," Drescher said.

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Information from: The Ashland Daily Tidings, http://www.dailytidings.com