Oregon
The Damascus City Council voted unanimously tonight to file a ballot initiative to amend the city’s charter to offer more resident power over the city’s future comprehensive plan and similar plans and ordinances. With the initiative on the ballot, Damascus residents will vote on whether to add an amendment to the Damascus Charter that would “require voter ratification of any ordinance or plan adopted by City Council before such ordinance or plan is submitted to Metro, Land Conservation and Development Commission or the Department of Land Conservation and Development or their successors, retroactive to March 1, 2011.”
Gay rights activists in Oregon will not try putting marriage equality up for a vote in 2012, saying the support it needs doesn’t seem like a sure thing. Basic Rights Oregon announced its decision not to pursue a ballot measure Wednesday after a long flirtation with the idea. A local newspaper had reported in August, for example, that the group would pursue a ballot measure, only to have executive director Jeana Frazzini publicly correct the article.
A judge recently changed the wording on a ballot measure in Philomath, Oregon regarding whether or not the city should put flouride in the drinking water. This is not a nationally covered, and it really only affects those in one city, but it brings ups an interesting topic. How much should a judge be able to alter ballot measure wording? From an article on the wording changes:
Sometimes minor changes can make all the difference. After a hearing at the Benton County Courthouse on Thursday morning, Circuit Judge Locke Williams revised the language of a proposed Philomath ballot measure that aims to restore fluoride to the city’s water supply. Williams didn’t change much: He added one word to the question and summary that will go before Philomath voters if backers succeed in getting the initiative on the ballot.
The Oregon Senate gave final approval today to a bill that allows Oregon residents to review ballot initiatives and share their recommendations with other Oregon voters. The Citizen Initiative Review Commission, approved by the 2009 Legislature as a pilot project, brought about two dozen Oregonians in August to evaluate two ballot measures, render a decision and present their reasons in the Voter’s Pamphlet.
In 2009, Citizens in Charge Foundation gave the October Lilburne Award to Healthy Democracy Oregon, and organization working to improve the state’s citizen initiative process through citizen led review panels.
Yesterday, the Oregon House approved a bill that will create the very citizen review panels that Healthy Democracy Oregon worked for:
The Oregon House today approved a bill that would allow Oregonians to review ballot initiatives and share their findings and recommendations with other Oregon voters.
Hours after Wilsonville City Councilors voted to adopt an urban renewal district designed for SoloPower, local resident Vince Alexander launched a petition drive Tuesday morning to push the $11 million plan to a public vote. “Are we ready? Because now the roar starts,” said Alexander as he walked into City Hall at the open of business. Alexander’s political action committee, Stop Urban Renewal Giveway, now has 30 days to collect signatures from 10 percent of Wilsonville’s registered voters.
Studded tires in Oregon are out for the season as of today, and a proposed initiative would ban them permanently. The Oregon Transportation Department, which last week extended the end of the studded-tire season from April 1 until Monday night, did not extend it again. The agency said it might still be snowing on some passes from time to time, but the legal use of studded tires was over for now.
House Republicans may not get far in efforts to revamp Measure 67, the voter-approved ballot measure that raised corporate income taxes. The House Revenue Committee heard testimony Tuesday on four bills that would change Measure 67, which Oregon voters approved in January 2010. A news release from Republican supporters said replacing the tax will promote job creation in the state. But the bills seem unlikely to move out of committee.
Controversy is growing as a special election about a Keizer building-cap initiative draws near. First, Keep Keizer Livable, the group that put the city initiative on the March 8 ballot, filed a complaint with the Oregon secretary of state against the city of Keizer and the city attorney this month. Then, Keizer Chamber of Commerce announced Wednesday that its board opposes the measure.
The proposed measure implements a graduated tax on all city residents, with the increase ranging from 0.49 percent for individuals making less than $10,000 a year to a maximum of 0.90 percent for individuals earning above $22,000. The new tax would remain in place for four years and is projected to raise $16.8 million annually.
he head of the Hemp and Cannabis Foundation in Portland, Paul Stanford, is working to put a measure on the 2012 ballot in Oregon to legalize marijuana. Stanford told KATU marijuana should be regulated like cigarettes and liquor. He says taxes would bring a steady flow of revenue to the state.
Clackamas Community College will ask county voters to approve $130 million in general obligation bonds for increasing the safety and educational opportunities of its three campuses by modernizing classrooms, training equipment and buildings.
If Hank Grum’s initiative petition hasn’t yet shown up at your doorstep, it likely will in the coming months. The Newberg man started gathering signatures about a month ago for his petition to put all new or increased taxes, fees and charges to a vote of the people, and while he hasn’t yet “gotten very far” in his efforts, the doors he has knocked on have yielded decent results, he said.
One of the greatest strengths of the initiative process is that it allows citizens to deal with issues or present positions that politician are unlikely to every tackle. Among those issues is drug policy reform, and the legalization/decriminalization of marijuana in particular.