This piece reflects the views of the author, Robbie Farewell, and not those of Emerald Media Group. It has been edited by the Emerald for grammar and style. Send your columns or submissions about our content or campus issues to [email protected].
The One Oregon campaign is misleading you. As I will explain, its promise to “bring back Uber” is both dishonest and troubling.
Many of you are aware, One Oregon and its supporters are circulating a petition, and according to One Oregon, they are “in the process of filing a citywide ballot initiative for the November election, and if passed, the measure would force the city council to allow Uber to operate.”
Let’s get some facts straight, shall we?
Uber left Eugene. The city council neither forced them out nor excluded them from operating here. Consequently, a ballot initiative, that would require 7,646 signatures, would literally, and I mean literally, do absolutely nothing to get Uber back. Eugene’s planning department has already amended city code to facilitate Uber returning, and Uber simply has chosen not to operate in Eugene.
Additionally, the Eugene City Recorder must approve the ballot title language, advertise the language in the Register Guard, and have a 5-day waiting period. Following this, the recorder must certify the chief petitioner to collect signatures. One Oregon is not following this process.
A ballot measure is a waste of time, money and effort.
So, why is One Oregon spending thousands of dollars promising to bring Uber back when it has neither the authority nor power to do so, you might ask? Well, they hope you’re all suckers, quite frankly.
One Oregon’s strategy is preying on your deficit of knowledge to swindle you into voting for them.
I want to be clear. I like Uber too, and I would love to see the service come back to our campus. Uber can operate tomorrow if they wanted to. The city has made every attempt to update their codes to allow smartphones to act as fare meters, and to include uber’s business model in city code. None of this was because of One Oregon.
Don’t fall for cheap tricks. Decline to sign, and vote no on One Oregon.
Robbie Farewell
College Democrat
Former Accessibility Advocate