This year's ballot measures suggests that in politics, as in life, only two things are certain--death and taxes.
When we consider how the measures ended up on the ballot, though, we have to add a third: cowardice.
How else can you explain the sorry six-pack of ballot measures being mailed to Multnomah County voters this week?
Introduction:
In recent years, we've introduced our endorsements with a note about the value of voting. As hokey as it sounds, the process of interviewing candidates and assessing ballot measures typically makes us stand in awe of this 200-year-old experiment called democracy. The process of preparing for this election, by contrast, makes us want to take a shower. Let's face it. This fall's vote-by-mail election stinks. In fact, it shouldn't be taking place at all. Not one of these measures would be in front of us if the political leaders in this state had done their jobs. For starters, the only controversial contest--Measure 51, doctor-assisted suicide--has already been decided. Four years ago, 51 percent of Oregon voters approved a measure legalizing doctor-assisted suicide. It had some problems, as its supporters admitted, but rather than fix them, the Legislature, in an unprecedented act of spineless insubordination, put the measure up for another vote. Similarly, Measure 52, lottery-backed school bonds, is on the ballot only because Senate Republicans couldn't bring themselves to vote for the amount of money schools needed, so they concocted this harebrained scheme to get voters to approve the cash. The four county measures are no better. Measure 26-58 asks voters to approve a levy for the Multnomah County Library, even though we did just that last year. We owe this déjà vu experience to Bill Sizemore and his Measure 47, which voters passed last fall. Measure 47--and Measure 50, which revamped and replaced it--cut taxes and capped increases at 3 percent annually. Measure 50 had the effect of wiping out the levy that voters passed in May 1996. So the library is back before voters this fall, asking for the money it lost and extra cash for additional projects. The remaining three county measures are needless ballot clutter. Not because they're bad, but because they shouldn't require voter approval. Measure 50 again is to blame. In addition to capping taxes, the measure required voter approval of fee increases that replace tax dollars. As a result, county voters this election will cast their ballots on such burning issues as whether to raise the county's annual dog license fee by $2 and bump the cost of a "grading and erosion control permit" from $300 to $320. It's not as if these issues haven't been debated. The Multnomah County Board of Commissioners held hearings on all three proposed fee increases, and not a single person showed up to speak against them. Our elected officials voted to raise the fees, but their decisions are now subject to the whim of voters who did not have the benefit of hearing the deliberations. Such a system undermines the republican form of government. Elected officials are entrusted to spend money wisely. If they don't, voters can replace them. Putting routine fee increases on the ballot further erodes our trust in our elected representatives. Given all this, it might be tempting to toss this year's ballot into the trash. Don't. Because of another quirk in Measure 50, the library levy needs to receive a yes vote not just from a majority of ballots cast, but from a majority of registered voters. In some ways this democratic derailment was inevitable. As shown by the two statewide measures on the ballot, state legislators increasingly have been unwilling to tackle tough issues, from death to taxes. Into that void have stepped citizen activists like Sizemore who, while responding to legitimate frustrations over the state's out-of-whack tax system, have gone too far in efforts to rein in government spending. Voters are left to clean up the mess--which is what we recommend in this election: Get informed, make your choices, hold your nose and cast your ballots. Then, you might want to rinse off. |
