Measure 49, land use reform: PASS

Oregon voters overwhelmingly approved Measure 49, a revision of a complex and controversial land-use law they approved in 2004, in Tuesday’s special election.
With 60 percent of the projected vote counted, about 61 percent of voters statewide supported the measure, which strengthens controls on the developments of forests and farms that voters amended last time.
In Lane County, voters supported the measure 65 percent to 35 percent, as of 10:45 p.m. with all precincts reporting.
“We had to do this to show the other side that this wasn’t a fluke,” said Ashley Miller, a Lane County field organizer for the Yes on 49 campaign. A wide margin of victory was necessary to convince doubters that voters really meant it this time, Miller said.
Jeremiah Baumann of Environment Oregon, an organization backing Measure 49, said, “This is a resounding vote from Oregonians for protecting our farms, our forests, and our water supply. The debate about land use is over.”
Measure 49 will allow landowners to build a specified number of homes as compensation for land-use restrictions passed after they purchased their property. Those who had Measure 37 claims approved will be allowed to build three homes on their property in most cases. But if landowners can prove that regulations diminished their property value, they will be allowed to build up to 10 homes.
Supporters of the measure said it protected against out-of-control development that endangered forests. Opponents said the measure would radically revise Oregon law and allowed the government to take private property. None of the measure’s detractors could be reached for comment.
Though the measure passed handily statewide, it fared better in urban counties than in rural ones. More than 58 percent of voters rejected the measure in Douglas County, directly south of Lane County. In Coos County, west of Douglas County, more than 55 percent voted against it. The measure was whacked down in Josephine County in southern Oregon, 66 percent to 34 percent.
Lane County had 60 percent voter turnout as of 10:45 p.m. Statewide voter turnout numbers were not immediately available.
-Robert D’Andrea

Measure 50, Tobacco tax: FAIL

The big tobacco big spending campaign worked in Tuesday night’s election, as voters defeated the state ballot measure that would have increased the tobacco tax by 84.5 cents per pack of cigarettes to fund health care for uninsured children in Oregon. As of 10 p.m., state Ballot Measure 50 was defeated by a 60 percent vote, and the race was officially called around 9 p.m. – much earlier than many political activist groups expected.
However, while the early timing of the end results may have been unexpected, the overall results were not startling to the opponents of the measure.
“We’re not surprised of the outcome. We’ve been in command of this measure for sometime. It just wasn’t something we publicly announced,” said J.L. Wilson, a spokesman for Oregonians Against the Blank Check, an organization running the campaign to defeat Measure 50.
Supporters for the measure were not available for comment, but have stressed throughout the campaign that if the measure is defeated they will look toward the 2009 legislative session to work on another source of funding for Gov. Ted Kulongoski’s Healthy Kids Plan.
Wilson’s organization withstood a barrage of criticism for being predominately funded by the RJ Reynolds Tobacco Company, the maker of Camel and Winston-branded cigarettes. The tobacco company is the second-largest in the world behind Marlboro maker Philip Morris USA, the other major campaign spender. Together the two cigarette companies contributed more than $11 million to the two main anti-Measure 50 groups.
But that money represents protection for its customers, opponents of the measure said.
“One of the lessons to be learned here is if you’re gong to pick on smokers, expect that the tobacco companies will come to their defense,” Wilson said. “They’ll say it’s not fair to pick on our folks to get the minority to pay for a problem that is the responsibility of everyone.”
Those opponents have said that by forcing the relatively small amount of smokers, 20 percent in Oregon, to pay for a program that will fund healthcare for some 117,000 uninsured children is unfair. Opponents also argued that putting the tax in the state’s constitution, as the measure would have done, was the wrong place to cement a single-item tax.
-Jason Reed

City gas tax: FAIL

Eugene voters rejected a city gas tax increase in a special election Tuesday night, choosing instead to keep the city’s rate at 5 cents per gallon.
At 10 p.m. Tuesday, the measure was being defeated by a margin of 56 percent to 44 percent.
Ballot Measure 20-132 would have increased Eugene’s gas tax by 3 cents per-gallon, making it the highest in the state at 8 cents per gallon. The revenue from the measure was slated to be spent on the city’s estimated $170 million backlog of road repair and maintenance.
The Eugene City Council originally approved the tax this summer, and it took a petition from local business owners to get the measure on the ballot.
While most city councilors supported the additional gas tax, other groups such as the Oregon Petroleum Association said the additional tax would burden Eugene gas sellers and drive down their total revenues.
Councilor Chris Pryor supported the additional tax as part of a package of solutions proposed by a subcommittee.
“About 30 different funding options were reviewed by the council subcommittee on transportation and most were dismissed because they were unfair, did not have enough support among the four members of the committee, or were too difficult to administer or collect,” Pryor said.
Oregon Petroleum Association lawyer Paul Romain said he believes a statewide gas tax would be better than a local tax.
“Gas taxes are a reasonable way to finance road repair and road construction, but a local gas tax is a terrible way to go,” he said.
Romain said it was unfair that Eugene station owners would be paying 8 cents more in taxes than other dealers in Lane County, putting them at a competitive disadvantage.
Pryor stressed the tax was only one part of a comprehensive plan to fix Eugene’s roads.
“If we were going to rely on gas tax to do the whole job it would have to be about 50 cents a gallon,” he said. “We’ve always recognized that fixing the problem requires more than one revenue source.”
Pryor said the city would have needed about $16 million more in revenue to fix the problem. The city’s current tax brings in about $3.4 million each year. The increase was predicted to bring in an additional $2 million.
– Jill Aho

City urban renewal: FAIL

Eugene voters spoke loud and clear Tuesday night when they defeated a ballot measure that would have allowed the city to spend an extra $40 million on the revitalization of downtown. Its victory was a landslide – as of 10 p.m., the vote was 63 percent no on Measure 20-134, the Downtown Urban Renewal Plan Amendment.
“For me it’s a very happy night, and it’s also a very happy night for Eugene,” said City Councilor Betty Taylor.
Councilor Taylor fought against the measure with the help of fellow Councilor Bonny Bettman and a handful of business owners from the downtown area.
The small group of opposition was widely considered the underdog in a fight that went against the majority of the city council and supporters who had help from professional campaigners.
“I’m delighted. We didn’t have much money, and we’re amateurs, so to defeat opponents that were well funded professionals, it feels good,” said Gavin McComus, the owner of Sundance Natural Foods, a small, local grocery store in south Eugene.
A number of small businesses similar to Sundance fear
ed that with the passage of the measure the city would have the financial muscle to push forward a plan that would completely change the look or perhaps the cozy feel of Eugene’s downtown. That plan would have brought in two Portland developers’ visions consisting of a small-style cinema, a Whole Foods-style grocery store, and the likelihood of bringing in large chain stores.
“The big chains would not reflect local sensibilities. They would dominate the market place,” McComus said. “This is more than a business, it is a way of life that needed to continue.”
But that plan also would have brought in hundreds of new housing units situated above the ground-level stores. City councilors and the developers believed these apartments would have provided eyes to watch over the crime-ridden West Broadway region, and helped public safety in the area.
“The city council’s goal was to make progress on significantly revitalizing downtown, and that doesn’t change,” said Eugene City Councilor Mike Clark, a supporter of the measure. “The majority of the city council still wants to see that goal and the details will have to be worked out … we need to do a better job with the public safety, and it’s going to be my personal goal to do that.”
-Jason Reed