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About The Southwest Portland Post. (Portland, Oregon) 2007-current | View Entire Issue (June 1, 2016)
June 2016 OP–ED The Southwest Portland Post • 3 Hillsdale shoppers share how they voted in informal post-election poll By Erik Vidstrand and Don Snedecor The Southwest Portland Post Post reporter Erik Vidstrand and editor Don Snedecor interviewed folks shopping in Hillsdale on the Saturday after the May primary election to inquire about voting choices. Out of the seven people interviewed, six were Democrats and one was an independent. Six of those interviewed voted for the city of Portland’s proposed gas tax which won narrowly, 52 percent to 48 percent (rounded). The ten-cent per gallon tax will pay for road maintenance and safety improvements throughout the city ,including crosswalks and sidewalks along arterials. The measure would include helping pay for long-needed sidewalks and bike lanes in Multnomah along Southwest Capitol Highway from Garden Home Road south to Taylors Ferry Road. Carolyn Gazeley, 57, of Garden Home, said nothing stood out to her on the Washington County ballot. She voted for Hillary Clinton for president. “Governor (Kate) Brown did a pretty good job with the Malheur occupation,” she commented, “so I voted for her to remain governor.” Gazeley also voted to re-elect Ron Wyden and said the U.S. senator is poised as a high quality candidate who represents people like her and her business. “Joanna,” (not her real name), 4 2 , s h a re d h e r d e c i s i o n s w h i l e holding her infant. Joanna voted for mayoral candidate Sarah Iannarone. A Bridlemile resident, she voted for Bernie Sanders for president. Joining Joanna and also holding an infant was “Kathy,” 37, of Hillsdale. An independent, Kathy could only vote for non-partisan candidates. “I did vote for the gas tax… hesitantly,“ Kathy said. “There wasn’t an independent candidate for president so I couldn’t vote for anyone for that office.” The Post asked Kathy about Oregon holding open primaries allowing anyone to vote for any candidate (Continued from Page 2) agreement to extend the temporary shelter for just a few more months until the new beds become available. Many of us were shocked at that meeting when a very few, very vocal Multnomah residents dominated the meeting and opposed the mayor ’s humane request for just a little more time to find shelter for our new neighbors. Despite the welcome extended to the homeless by so many over these months, opponents demanded that the mayor abide by his original commitment and slam the door shut at the end of this month. If there is one small light of hope in this sad episode, it is the number of Multnomah residents who continue to support sheltering a small number of homeless in our neighborhood. A regardless of party affiliation. She would be a resounding “yes” vote. Pat Kaszmarek, 62, from Hillsdale, voted for Ted, Amanda, Steve, Ron, Hillary, and Kate, ticking them off on a first-name basis. She encouraged her adult children to vote. “My daughter is 18,” she shared, “and since it was her first time voting, she was excited about Bernie. “But she didn’t end up voting,” Kaszmarek sighed. “She didn’t even look at it. I told her you could just vote for Sanders and forget the rest, but in the end, she didn’t vote.” A 62-year-old gentleman from the Southwest Hills Residential League neighborhood voted for Fred Stewart for mayor. He said he voted against Steve Novick, but again couldn’t remember who he voted for. A Hillary Clinton supporter, he was asked about the many non- partisan candidates for judge running unopposed. He felt they should be appointed, not elected. C h a r l i e Wi l l i a m s o n , 7 2 , o f Bridlemile, said he voted for Hillary Clinton for president. He was surprised that Portland mayor-elect Ted Wheeler received such as large majority. As a friend of Novick’s, Williamson was surprised Novick didn’t get more votes and that Bernie Sanders won the presidential election in Oregon by so much. Sanders won every county in Oregon except Gilliam County, and that was by one vote. South Portland resident John, 46, sported a gray ponytail. He said he was recently from Missouri. It was his first time voting by mail. “I could take my time with my voters’ pamphlet and research the issue without feeling the pressure in the voting booth,” he said. John, who advises college student government students, shared his frustration about the difficulty of people voting in some areas of the country. He said that fewer than 100 voter fraud cases have been documented throughout the nation. “I’m a big proponent of voting by mail,” he said. One woman had lost her ballot and didn’t vote in the end. Note: If your ballot arrives damaged, you make vote taken at the end of the meeting indicated the packed room was evenly divided between supporters and opponents of granting the homeless just a little more time. I’d like to think that the very few vocal opponents are not representative of my neighborhood. We are better than that. Chris Dearth Multnomah Heritage cedar tree critical in neighbor’s move from North Carolina Regarding “Heritage tree in Multnomah Village endangered by new development,” by KC Cowan, The Post, May 2016. My husband and I own the house directly across the street from the endangered cedar tree at 7316 SW 33rd Ave. We are extremely concerned about the fate of this tree, and we feel dismayed that the city of Portland’s R5 (one Oregon state treasurer Ted Wheeler was elected mayor of Portland in the May primary election. (Photo courtesy of the Ted Wheeler for Mayor campaign) a mistake, spill something, lose your ballot, or for any other reason, contact the proper county elections office for a replacement. Since Steve Novick didn’t win more than 50 percent of the votes cast for city commissioner he will face a runoff in November with bookstore owner Chloe Eudaly. All the candidates who won begin their terms next January. The general election will be held on Tuesday, Nov. 8, and you must be registered to vote in that election by Oct. 18. Sears Homeless Shelter these individuals is the number one issue,” the mayor said. “There used to be a mental hospital here in Portland but was closed down and a new facility built in Junction City. That just doesn’t work for our residents who need the services here. This happened a long time ago and we keep chasing our tails.” Near the end of the meeting, another request was made for a straw poll and for folks present to vote “yes” or “no” on whether or not to keep the Sears shelter open. After some ho- humming, the count was split. Hales said he would make his decision after receiving feedback from the neighborhood. (Continued from Page 1) Martin Waugh, whose backyard shares a barbed wire fence with the property, just wanted the facts and communication. “While I appreciate the candor at this meeting,” commented Jordan Rice, a local community activist, “you have treated this community as an experiment, opening a shelter in its midst. “These folks keep getting recycled through the system from transitional housing to transitional housing then to tents,” he said. It’s also an issue of what to do with the mentally ill. “Mental health for residence per 5,000 square feet) zoning is not being upheld. The speed with which the lot was split and building permits issued, with no chance for public commentary, leaves us feeling that something is missing from the city’s land use review process. We received no notice of the lot subdivision or of the demolition of the property, which occurred last week. Fortunately, the tree is still standing, but we are concerned that it may be cut down at any moment. We are in shock; we are moving to Portland for the trees, so it is especially tragic that before we even get there the magnificent tree in front of our house may be destroyed. We are moving 3,000 miles because we love the neighborhood, with its large lots, old trees and nearby park. We searched for this house for three years. We bought the house in November, with the understanding that the lot across the street, with the beautiful cedar tree, which was critical to our buying decision, could not be split because it was 8,000 square feet and R5 zoning would prohibit that. We are in the process of selling our farm in North Carolina and will be moving to our house on Southwest 33rd Avenue in late June. As I said, we love the neighborhood and are hoping that this developer and all developers can join with residents to preserve what is so special about the Multnomah Village neighborhood: its spaciousness and beautiful, old trees. I truly believe that this developer can design two beautiful homes and save the tree; and that the tree and the space around it can be a very desirable mini-park for the residents of those two homes. I would love to speak with the developer myself, but hesitate to call because I have heard about the heartless, negative commentary made by his staff members -- that they are in it for the money and the tree must go. I am hoping that when I get up the nerve to call the developer himself he will speak with me. Laura Herbst North Carolina