Eugene voters passed a ballot measure Tuesday that will allow the city council to hire an external auditor to review complaints against the Eugene Police Department.
The unofficial final results had the measure passing with 57 percent of the vote, and proponents had already declared victory.
Ballot Measure 20-106, the only issue on the ballot in Eugene, amends the city charter to allow the council to hire an auditor, a responsibility currently held by the city manager. Under Eugene’s city manager form of government, the council hires only two positions, the city manager and the municipal court judge. The city manager then hires all other positions.
Supporters of the measure gathered at the Community Alliance of Lane County offices in Eugene last night to watch the elections results come in. Attendees went to an upstairs room of the converted house to check the Lane County Elections Web site when new results were released.
When results were updated at 9 p.m., Eugene City Councilor for Ward 1 Bonny Bettman, a key supporter of the measure and a member of the Eugene Police Commission, went upstairs to check the numbers.
The ballot measure was passing with 55 percent of the vote.
She took the news downstairs to the other attendees.
“I think we won,” Bettman told the approximately 10 people gathered, including Ward 7 City Councilor Andrea Ortiz and American Civil Liberties Union of Oregon Executive Director David Fidanque.
Many at the gathering expressed relief at finally moving forward in the creation of an independent police review.
“We’ve been working for civilian review since 1971,” Fidanque said. “This hopefully will restore community trust in the police.”
The measure did not create a review system, it merely allows the city to hire the auditor. This leaves a lot of work for the city council.
“We have to find money, hire people, design the program and work on the legal language of the ordinance,” Ortiz said.
Ortiz expects the process to take at least a year, though there is no timeline for implementing the program. Despite the work ahead, those gathered recognize this as a necessary step.
“I think everyone acknowledges that changes need to be made,” Bettman said. “This gives the chief of police and the department the tools to make those changes.”
The city council will hold a work session tomorrow at noon to discuss the first steps in the police review process.
The proposed review system would still allow EPD to investigate complaints, with the auditor taking and classifying the complaints and overseeing the investigation. The auditor would have access to all investigative materials and would be able to require additional investigation.
The police chief would still hold all disciplinary authority.
The measure grew out of the recommendations of the Eugene Police Commission, which spent 15 months researching before issuing its report. Police review became an issue after two EPD officers, Roger Eugene MagaÃ