Author: Chris Waldmann

Hi Sunnyside! Welcome back to the season of little ghosts and goblins and superheroes running around the neighborhood demanding candy in return for being so darn cute!

We had a great meeting in September. First, we learned a ton about how the new ranked-choice voting (RCV) system will work. The key takeaways from the transition office’s RCV presentation are:

• You may select and rank up to six candidates for the three seats in the District 3 council race.

• When filling out your ballot, make sure you only fill out one oval in each row and each column. This is really important, since the elections office will not be able to tell which candidate you meant to choose for that particular ranking and they won’t count that selection.

• If you make a mistake, that’s ok! Make it clear that that choice was incorrect. I’d suggest marking an “X” or a clear “/” over the oval.

• Once a candidate receives 25% +1 of the vote in a district race, that person is deemed elected.

• Counting the votes in the district races gets pretty complicated after the
first round with fractional votes being redistributed during the next round. If I may editorialize here, I am worried that the very complicated math underlying this process is opaque and may lead to confusion and a reduced
level of trust in the system. We’ll see how it works over the next few cycles
and if need be, we can change it in the next round of charter reform after 2030.

• RCV is much more straightforward in the elections for mayor and auditor because there is only one winner in each race.

• I encourage you to do two things. First, visit www.portland.gov/transition to learn more about the elections and how the city government will function
starting in January 2025. Second, since Oregon only has mail-in voting, sit down with your family or friends while voting so that you can help each other with the process and make sure your ballot is counted the way you meant it to be.

We also heard from Greg Raisman with PBOT and Heather Flint-Chatto from PDX Main Streets about the exciting new pedestrian plaza that will be coming next spring to Sunnyside on 37th by Buffalo Exchange and Three Doors Down! This project looks amazing and promises to be a great gathering place. PBOT has been expanding its plaza program and now it is Sunnyside’s turn! The plaza will include tables, seating, greenery, extra lighting, and space for art and performance. One of the centerpieces of the plaza will be a solar-powered kiosk that could provide phone charging, area information and other services to the public. Some great examples of pedestrian plazas in Portland include Ankeny Rainbow Road off SE 28th St. and Concordia Commons at NE 30th and Killingsworth.

To learn more about the plaza program and the kiosk, please visit www.portland.gov/transportation/planning/plazas and
www.pdxmainstreets.org/kioskdesign.  The SNA Board will hold a vote on our support for this project at our Board meeting on October 9th. If you have comments, please send them to [email protected].

Finally, I want to thank all of the volunteers who came out to help the SNA at the Belmont Street Fair. It was a super fun day and we met a ton of folks who will bring lots of energy, engagement and support to the SNA!

That’s all the news for now. The next SNA General meeting will be on November 13th. We will have Representative Rob Nosse discuss issues for the upcoming legislative session. In the meantime, be safe out there this Halloween and every day!

Want to help the SNA serve the community by aiding our less-fortunate neighbors, beautifying Sunnyside, and doing community outreach and education? You can donate with Give Lively or text SUNNYSIDE to 44-321.

Thanks for your continued support.