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