Voter Owned Elections Need Your Help NOW!

Voter Owned Elections will come up for a "final" vote on Wednesday morning
before the Portland City Council. Following is message from Money in Politics
Research Action Group detailing some issues which may surface during that meeting.
Because this is not a slam dunk, it is important that we turn a lot of people out
including people willing to speak on the need to have Voter Owned Elections and
the need to not have any amendments to the proposal. Please read this and contact
your city commissioners and the mayor indicating your support for Voter Owned Elections.

A quick side note on elections: In Washington state, the legislature has passed
and the governor has signed two bills affecting that state's elections. First, they
approved the use of Instant Runoff Voting for use in a five year pilot project in the
cities of Vancouver, Spokane, and Tacoma. Good news indeed. Vancouver had
elected to allow the use of instant runoff voting some years ago but had not used
it pending state authority.

Second, they passed legislation which guarantees a voter verified paper ballot on
all electronic voting machines used in the state. It also requires an audit of 4%
of those machines.

This is in stark contrast to Oregon where our proposal for Instant Runoff Voting is
still in committee with no hearing scheduled and there is a proposal, HB 2614, which
would prevent registered members of political parties from signing independent candidate
petitions. This bad bill already has had a hearing. The Oregon legislature seems not to
believe in voter choice, honest elections and democratic process.

David e. Delk, Co-Chair
Alliance for Democracy - Portland Chapter
503 232 5495
www.afd-pdx.org
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Act Now for Voter Owned Elections with No Strings Attached

Background

The City Council has an historic opportunity to bring Voter Owned Elections to Portland.
But amendments that would weaken the proposal have been popping up.

Voter Owned Elections is a sensible and proven reform that is changing "business as usual"
in Maine and Arizona. The City Council debate on the first reading of the ordinance was great,
and Council members spoke eloquently about taking decisive action to enact Voter Owned
Elections. We applaud their political courage.

The first hearing was packed with supporters and postcards from another 2000 Portlanders
were given to each Council member. The only opponents were business lobbyists obviously
afraid of losing clout in City Hall. It is disappointing that Commissioner Dan Saltzman has
listened to these City Hall insiders instead of grassroots activists and has been floating
damaging amendments.

Voter Owned Elections creates a level playing field and encourages a diversity of candidates
to run for City Council. A citizens' commission and the Council will continually monitor the
effectiveness of Voter Owned Elections.

Urge the City Council to oppose a sunset amendment. It is unnecessary and sends the wrong
message that the problem of lack of access to City Hall will just go away. I
t is the job of future Councils to evaluate the law. Let them do their job.

The Message

Urge all City Commissioners and the Mayor to stand firm and pass the ordinance with no strings attached.

"Thank you for your support of Voter Owned Elections. I urge you to take the courageous step of
enacting the proposal with no amendments and no other strings attached. Your action will reaffirm
your commitment to opening City Hall to candidates with great ideas, not great bank accounts."

The Timeline

The next hearing on this ordinance is on Wednesday, May 11 in the morning. Use the contact i
nformation below to call or e-mail city council. Please join us to cheer on this historic vote.

Commissioner Erik Sten
503-823-3589
erik@ci.portland.or.us

Commissioner Dan Saltzman
503-823-4151
dan@ci.portland.or.us

Commissioner Randy Leonard
503-823-4682
randy@ci.portland.or.us

Commissioner Sam Adams
503-823-3008
sadams@ci.portland.or.us

Mayor Tom Potter
503-823-4120
mayorpotter@ci.portland.or.us

Auditor Gary Blackmer deserves a big thank you for all his hard work.
Gary Blackmer
503-823-4078
gblackmer@ci.portland.or.us

Need more information? Check out these talking points on our website
http://www.oregonfollowthemoney.org/CampaignReform/Portland/050605Talkin....