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Portland voters were on track to sink Measure 26-267, which asked to amend the city charter to dedicate funding to a participatory budgeting program in city government. The measure was losing 111,100 to 54,600, or 67% to 37%, in the first round of returns.
Now we’ll never know how leaders would have implemented the controversial measure.
“We came up short tonight, but we changed the conversation in this city,” said Jim Labbe, co-chief petitioner of the measure. “Every major opponent told voters they support participatory budgeting. We look forward to having conversations with all parties to establish meaningful participatory budgeting in Portland.”
In July, backers submitted nearly 80,000 signatures—more than twice the number required to make the November ballot.
The measure—the only question on Portlanders’ ballot this election—promised to give Portlanders a greater say in how the city spends 2% of the general fund, or around $16 million this year.
With a campaign of slick TV ads and a glossy website, supporters of the measure, dubbed Your 2 Cents PDX, hailed the example set by New York City, Paris and Columbus, Ohio, and other localities with their own long-standing and successful versions of the program. Closer to home, they pointed to the Metro regional government, which has used a more limited form of participatory budgeting in two recent budget cycles, though Metro has no plans to repeat the program.
In the final days of the race, The Oregonian revealed the campaign behind the measure was largely funded by anonymous out-of-state donor networks. More than two-thirds of its $2 million war chest came from undisclosed sources, i.e., dark money.
To be sure, the measure had local support as well, including by the six-member progressive wing of the Portland City Council as well as groups like the Urban League of Portland, the American Federation of Teachers, and Multnomah Democrats. But it was opposed by prominent establishment figures in the city, including Mayor Keith Wilson, the six moderate city councilors, Multnomah County District Attorney Nathan Vasquez, and the unions representing most city workers.
“Firefighters answer the call, that’s the job,” Isaac McLennan, president of the Portland Fire Fighters’ Association, IAFF Local 43, wrote in a statement. “Tonight, Portlanders answered our call. They showed up for the firefighters, police officers, 911 dispatchers, parks maintenance staffers, and all of the front-line workers who show up for them. Thank you.”
Opponents cited research showing the scope of Measure 26-267 was “unprecedented” compared with other participatory budgeting regimes in the U.S. And they noted the ballot measure language left unanswered important questions like what kind of projects the program would fund, how Portlanders would submit their ideas, how those ideas would be vetted for feasibility, and who would vote and how. Supporters countered that the measure was written intentionally vague to provide greater flexibility.
The policy divide was on full display at a contentious WW endorsement interview in late September, where the camps debated the measure’s level of detail and vagueness. Wilson said with the city struggling to provide basic services and preserve jobs, it was the wrong time to experiment with new forms of civic engagement.
