Hi Sunnyside! It’s the most wonderful time of the year! OK, it’s not Christmas or a PNW summer, but it is that time of year where we get to exercise one of our most basic, hallowed rights as U.S., Oregon, and Portland citizens. I always feel a little warm inside as I sit down with my family, talk through the ballot together and make my choices. I know that I’m a nerd, but I do love our mail-in/drop-off ballot system!
At our September meeting, we kicked off election season with guests from Your 2 Cents PDX and Protect Our City Services to debate Measure 26-267, which, if passed, would mandate that an amount equal to a minimum of 2% of the city’s general fund (~$16-17 million next year) be open to the public for ideas and a public vote. Community members and groups would submit ideas—maybe funding an after-school program, refurbishing bathrooms at a city park, or funding more police officers. Ideas would then go to a city-appointed committee to vet for legality and feasibility. Finally, there would be a binding public vote. Your 2 Cents argues that this will promote budgeting transparency, give citizens a more direct voice in how their money is spent, take decisions away from powerful interests, and provide a more equitable process for historically disadvantaged communities. Protect Our City Services counters that we are in a budget crisis and that mandating 2% of our limited general fund would almost certainly harm core city services such as fire, police, and parks. Only about 10% of the Portland budget is in the general fund; the rest is restricted for items like transportation, water, and the Portland Clean Energy Fund. The folks at Protect Our City Services also worry about a process written into the city charter that will provide little flexibility to our elected officials as we try to navigate out of our current budget hole.
There was a spirited Q&A. I would say that the tone of the questioners was fairly skeptical. Personally, I would chalk some of that skepticism up to worries about this proposal, and wariness about how the city, county, and state have implemented well-intentioned citizen initiatives in the past. There’s a lot to think about. Learn more from the sponsors at your2centspdx.org and from the opposition at protectourcityservices.org.
Switching to the local election, all three of our District 3 City Councilors are up for re-election. We’ll also need to elect a new Multnomah County chair. Not only can you vote for multiple candidates for city council but also for county commission. That’s right, ranked-choice-voting (RCV) has gone Multnomah-county wide this year! You may vote for as many as six candidates in each race; only three candidates are running for county chair vs. 20 for city council. We aren’t here to endorse any particular candidate(s), but I do have some advice:
• DO rank candidates who you are ok with winning. You can’t hurt your top choices by voting for another candidate further down.
• DO NOT vote for candidates you don’t want at all, even if you rank them last. Those votes could come into play!
• DO NOT rank more than one candidate with the same ranking! This may result in none of your votes in that race counting.
• DO read the city’s guide to RCV at portland.gov/vote/ranked-choice-voting-rcv.
• DO talk through your ballot with friends and family! It’s a complicated ballot with many choices. Help others out. Don’t tell them how to vote, but help them understand the still-new RCV system.
• DO get your ballot in the mail early or use a ballot drop box. There’s a list of ballot drop sites here: multco.us/info/official-ballot-drop-sites. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled against Trump’s plan to restrict mail-in voting, but he is still trying to mess with the system by not prioritizing
election mail. You want your vote to count!
Finally, thanks to everyone who helped make the 1st Annual Sunnyside Yard Sale a success. It was great fun and we look forward to doing it again next year!
The board will meet in October to hear a presentation from the Mt. Tabor Neighborhood Association about their program to support seniors in their neighborhood. I’m looking forward to hearing about ideas that we can implement in Sunnyside!