Skip to main contentPortlanders love taxes. That's the tax-away from tonight's results in which bluer-than-blue Multnomah County provided enough "yes" votes to pass Measure 26-152, Metro's five-year operating levy to support greenspaces and natural areas. Portland voters did just enough to overcome tepid support in Washington County and outright hostility in Clackamas County.
The measure was passing 57 percent to 43 percent.
Updated on Wednesday at 1:15 pm: The Tuesday night figure was Multnomah County only. As of Wednesday afternoon, the result of voting in three counties is the measure passing by a margin of 54 percent to 46 percent.
Metro, the regional government which operates in the three metro-area counties, asked voters to provide about $10 million a year to maintain, fix-up and operate 12,000 acres of land the agency has acquired over the past two decades.
The other tax measure on the ballot, Measure 26-150, also called the Children's Levy, held a wide lead, passing 78 percent to 22 percent.
The measure benefited from being a Portland-only vote and having twice previously passed. The five-year levy will raise about $10 million a year, which will be used to fund various programs that benefit low-income and minority kids.
WWeek 2015