posted by Janice Thompson - Mar 06, 2006

Letter to Editor in Friday, March 3, 2006 Portland Tribune

Let’s get on with voter-owned elections
   Thank goodness voter-owned elections are safe for now. Portland residents weren’t fooled when PGE, Qwest, the Oregon Restaurant Association and developers dumped $350,000 into the effort to overturn a reform that increases accountability in government, creates fairer elections and reduces the influence of big-money contributors on City Hall.
   It’s not surprising that they missed the mark. They had virtually no grass-roots help with their signature-gathering process, so they relied heavily on paid signature gatherers who only had so many places to gather signatures.
   It’s hard to say what they will do next, but we know that businesspeople don’t invest $350,000 for nothing. Be on the lookout for another power grab by Portland’s financial elite.
   Meanwhile, let’s engage in the new, issues-based City Council races. May the voter-connected candidates win!
   Jamie Partridge
   Northeast Portland

read more