Clackamas County Urban Renewal District Creation Question (November 2011)
A Clackamas County Urban Renewal District Creation Question was on the November 8, 2011 ballot in Clackamas County.
Because this measure receive more votes than the local question it will be the measure that is implemented in the county.
This measure sought to require voter approval if the county wanted to create an urban renewal district within the unincorporated areas of the county. The county had been seeking to create a special taxing district for the proposed Portland-Milwaukee light rail, but since this measure was approved then it would be harder for the county to fulfill its obligations to that project. This measure was brought to the ballot by a successful petition drive. At first it seemed as though they had not collected enough signatures, but after the county went through all the signatures it was verified they had just enough to pass. The County Commission had also came up with a counter ballot measure.[1]
Election results
| Clackamas County Urban Renewal District Creation Question | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Result | Votes | Percentage | ||
 Yes | 57,085 | 70.4% | ||
| No | 23,989 | 29.6% | ||
Source: Clackamas County Elections, Current Election Results
Proponents
Those in favor of this measure noted that if an urban renewal district was to be created, everyone in the county should have a say as it effects everyone. Also those in favor were opposed to the county proposed measure, local question noting that the county rushed to put an opposing measure on to the ballot just to have something against the petition led initiative.[2] Loren Park had donated $10,000 towards this campaign, sending the total amount collected for this measure to $16,814.50. Though the competing local question had raised significantly more, proponents of this measure were still confident they could win the vote.[3]
Opponents
Those opposed to the measure had raised suspicions about the verification of the signatures, noting that it seemed as if signatures which were thrown out at first were then considered valid. The county clerk commented that the process was all above board and the only reason people have brought up suspicions is that the random sampling done at first showed that there were not enough signatures. But in fact, when the clerk went through each name the measure did qualify.[4] The Oregon Secretary of State had stated that the County must go through and verify all those remaining signatures that were in question. When the County Auditor had gone back to verify signatures, she had just gone up to the point of the amount needed to place the measure on the ballot, but now the Secretary of State stated that all of the signatures must be verified. This did not remove the issue from the ballot as it had reached the needed amount of signatures. The review was public so residents can see the process.[5] After reviewing the remaining signatures, seven additional signatures were found to be valid and were added to the total amount of signatures collected for the petition.[6]
Text of measure
The question on the ballot:
| Shall the Clackamas County Code be amended to require voter approval of Urban Renewal decisions?[7][8] |
Additional reading
- Politi Fact, "Does Clackamas County have more urban renewal debt than all the other counties combined?" November 1, 2011
- The Oregonian, "'Fatal flaws' in Clackamas County urban renewal measures lead Wilsonville chamber board to remain neutral," October 13, 2011
- Clackamas Review, "Urban renewal makes November ballot, again," September 28, 2011
- The Oregonian, "Clackamas County urban renewal initiative signatures come up short, might not qualify for ballot," August 16, 2011
- The Oregonian, "Clackamas County urban renewal district petitions turned in; initiative could endanger light-rail funding," August 10, 2011
- The Oregonian, "Clackamas County commissioners develop urban renewal measure that could include limited public vote," July 30, 2011
- The Oregonian, "Clackamas County commissioners to consider putting Milwaukie light rail to public vote," July 7, 2011
Footnotes
- ↑ The Oregonian, "Clackamas County urban renewal initiative qualifies for November ballot," August 23, 2011
- ↑ The Oregonian, "Wilsonville Government Affairs Committee takes no position on Clackamas County urban renewal measures," October 6, 2011
- ↑ The Oregonian, "Loren Parks donates $10,000 to Clackamas County urban renewal initiative measure," October 31, 2011
- ↑ The Oregonian, "Clackamas County Elections faces scrutiny following approval of urban renewal initiative," August 24, 2011
- ↑ The Oregonian, "County erroneously accepted signatures for urban renewal initiative," September 16, 2011
- ↑ Oregon Public Broadcasting, "Clackamas Land Use Measure Back On The Ballot," September 20, 2011
- ↑ Clackamas COunty Elections, November Issues
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
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