State Feed: Oregon

Oregon: Tighter restrictions faced by petitioners

Thu, 17 Jun 2010 12:24:54 -0400

Jeremiah McKay knocks on the first door in a quiet neighborhood off Southeast Powell Boulevard, near the eastern edge of Portland, during the 10 a.m. lull. Families had rushed to work and school, but plenty of retirees and stay-home parents remained. He’s wearing a sports shirt and khaki pants, trying to avoid the formal sales look he’d donned for seven years.

Read the story from Oregon Live

Oregon: Signature gathering efforts ramped up for various measures

Tue, 15 Jun 2010 15:10:08 -0400

Common Sense for Oregon is boosting its signature gathering efforts for initiatives that would put legislative redistricting into the hands of a non-partisan commission and that would allow property owners more leeway to defend their property. Initiative campaigns are now required to turn in signatures gathered by paid canvassers every month. The deadline was 5 p.m. Monday, and I have some of the totals.

Read the story from Oregon Live

Oregon: Medical marijuana dispensary measure signatures submitted

Mon, 24 May 2010 10:53:34 -0400

Supporters of an initiative to create a system of medical marijuana dispensaries in Oregon have submitted petitions with more than 110,000 signatures in hopes of getting on the ballot this fall. The Coalition for Patients’ Rights was able to gather the signatures before an early submission deadline, requiring the state Elections Division to immediately determine whether there are enough valid signatures to meet the minimum of about 83,000 needed to qualify.

Citizens' Rights Safe in Many States as State Legislatures End Sessions

Tue, 18 May 2010 14:23:59 -0400

Of the 45 states whose legislatures hold sessions in 2010, 27 of them have adjourned for the year, and 5 more will wrap up before the end of the month. Of the more than 80 bills dealing with the initiative and referendum process in various states, 51 of them would have reduced citizens’ initiative rights. Thanks to the work of activists in our coalitions, only 3 bills reducing citizen’s rights have passed and become law.

Voters in Oregon and Arizona to Decide on Tax and School Spending Measures

Tue, 18 May 2010 10:50:56 -0400

In Arizona’s first statewide special election since 1980, voters will decide today whether to raise the state sales tax by 1¢. Farther north, Oregon voters will decide whether to allow the state government to issue bonds to match local school district bonds as well as whether to authorize state spending on higher education. Both state’s ballot questions were referred by the state legislatures.

Oregon: More petition signatures turned in, few measures may make ballot

Mon, 17 May 2010 15:31:09 -0400

The latest monthly turn-in of paid petition signatures for Oregon initiatives still shows a relatively small number of measures are likely to make it on the November ballot. Under a new law, petitioners are required every month to turn in signatures gathered by paid petitioners (the major form of signature-gathering for citizen initiatives in Oregon). The latest figures from the Oregon secretary of state leads me to list three measures that are now in the almost-certain-to-make-it-on-the-ballot category.

Oregon: Voters may get to decide on stricter DUI punishment

Mon, 17 May 2010 10:51:04 -0400

Steve Doell has seen people driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs again and again throughout the years. He has talked to the families of people who’ve been killed in impaired-driving crashes. He wants to know why DUI convicts are given so many chances. “Why should you ever get another chance when you continue to be repetitive? It’s ludicrous,” said Doell, the president of Oregon Crime Victims United. “We should have incremental increases in our punishment cycle for these people. In Oregon, its not really like three strikes you’re out. It’s like five strikes and you’re out.”

Oregon: Road naming could be on ballot

Fri, 14 May 2010 14:15:23 -0400

Opponents of renaming Beltline Road as the Randy Papé Beltline want to take their opposition to a statewide vote in November. The first two signs for the Randy Papé Beltline were made Wednesday in Salem. Kevin Prociw and Scott Reynolds, who organized protests to the name change, want to put the issue on the ballot in November.

Read the story from CBS 13

Oregon: Expanded effort for pot legalization measure

Thu, 13 May 2010 14:24:32 -0400

The campaign aiming to tax and regulate marijuana through the Oregon Cannabis Tax Act (OCTA) is circulating petitions to get the measure on the ballot for November’s general election. By creating a committee to oversee the taxation and regulation of marijuana, OCTA would effectively decriminalize the cultivation, possession and personal use of marijuana in Oregon. The measure would be the first law of its kind in the nation.

Read the story from the Oregon Daily Emerald

Oregon: Casino measure has funding but seeks signatures

Tue, 11 May 2010 11:46:25 -0400

Lake Oswego developers Matt Rossman and Bruce Studer announced last week the formation of a financial partnership group that will spearhead the development of a non-tribal casino in Wood Village. The multi-million dollar Oregon Entertainment Center would be the first casino in the Portland metro area, but laws banning non-tribal casinos must be lifted before it can be constructed. The proposed development would be located at the former Multnomah Kennel Club, located at Southeast 223rd Avenue and Halsey Street in Wood Village.

Oregon: Initiative signature drive started by casino supporters

Mon, 10 May 2010 10:44:14 -0400

Two would-be casino developers from Lake Oswego launched a new campaign Friday to win voter approval for a private casino at the old greyhound track in Wood Village. Businessman Bruce Studer and attorney Matthew Rossman, who said they have the backing of investment firms in Toronto and Los Angeles, began gathering signatures on two ballot initiatives aimed at allowing them to establish what would be the state’s first private casino.

Read the story from The Oregonian

Oregon: Education funding on ballot

Tue, 27 Apr 2010 11:12:12 -0400

A coalition of educators and business leaders push for voter approval of two ballot measures on Oregon’s upcoming May 18th ballot. School Board Member Bobbie Regan says Measure 69 would expand the items that bond money can pay for. Measure 69 allows universities to use bonds to buy older buildings. Both were put on the ballot by a bipartisan vote in the legislature.

Read the story from KBND 1110 AM

Oregon: Ballot measure would change state's school building ability

Tue, 20 Apr 2010 11:22:01 -0400

Running schools in Oregon is one of the state’s big financial responsibilities. Building them is not. That could change under a ballot measure voters will see in May. Rob Manning reports on the constitutional change suggested in Ballot Measure 68. Oregon is full of schools in need of major repairs. Many could use 21st century electrical systems and energy upgrades.

Read the story from OPB News

Oregon: Three initiatives may make ballot

Fri, 16 Apr 2010 11:39:45 -0400

This is the second month that paid petition gatherers have been required to turn in their signatures to the Oregon secretary of state’s office - and at this point there are just three initiatives that you can say are clearly on a trajectory to make the November ballot. The ones that appear headed to the ballot would raise penalties for sex crimes and drunk driving, liberalize medical marijuana laws and extend Oregon Lottery funding for parks and habitat protection.

Oregon: Tire stud issue may end up on ballot

Mon, 12 Apr 2010 10:32:36 -0400

You now have until April 17th to take off these studded tires, meanwhile an Oregon man is heading an initiative to make sure they never come back on. Jeff Bernards is in Bend this week, he wants to put a studded tire ban on the 2012 ballot. “Our State is in trouble financially and I think it’s a small sacrifice to ask that handful of people to forgo studded tire use,” said Bernards.

Read the story from KOHD

Washington City to Recognize Initiative Rights: “This was about giving the citizens a voice.”

Mon, 15 Mar 2010 11:47:13 -0400

The right of residents of La Center, WA to propose initiatives and referendums is expected to be recognized this month by the city council. The recognition comes after citizens submitted a petition to the council asking for the recognition of a formal petitioning process.

Oregon: Voters reject measures to limit city power

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 14:04:55 -0500

Damascus voters, two years after approving initiatives severely limiting their city’s financial authority, reversed course Tuesday night by rejecting four measures that would have substantially limited the city’s powers to operate. The measures’ backers said they were disappointed with the outcome, saying it will thwart greater citizen oversight of local government spending. Damascus Mayor Jim Wright, however, called it “a great result.” “It appears as if we finally got through to most of the voters in the city to get involved,” Wright said.

Petition Signature Gathering Robots

Wed, 03 Mar 2010 14:01:59 -0500

Ok, so they’re only really “robots” in the same way that an ATM is technically a robot. There are no cool lasers or arms. It can’t crush cars or fly (yet), but it might talk to you. I’m not entirely sure about the last point as I haven’t seen one of these things in person yet, but I imagine some sort of audio prompt is possible.

Oregon: Robot Petition Signature Collector Unveiled

Tue, 02 Mar 2010 11:49:20 -0500

Some day, we may see a robot chase a voter down the sidewalk, clutching a clipboard in its metal talons, as it chirps, “Sign this if you want to cut your taxes.” For now, however, we have “Petey,” an ATM-style kiosk that may be the country’s first electronic canvasser. Ross Day, a conservative political activist who also runs the petition firm Vote Oregon, developed Petey — short for “petitioner” — and proudly showed off the prototype outside his Beaverton office Tuesday.

Oregon: Initiative banning gill net fishing halted

Tue, 16 Feb 2010 12:43:02 -0500

The latest effort to ban gill net fishing on the Columbia River is dead, at least for now. The group backing the proposed ballot initiative said it will abandon the Protect Our Salmon Act following an Oregon Attorney General decision altering its title.

Read the story from The Oregonian