Street Roots • Oct. 19-25, 2018
2 0 1 8 E L E C T IO N S
Out-of-state interests want your ballot Vote for Oregon instead
< | Ahank you for buying a copy of Street
Roots’ November 2018 election
-L edition.
As a nonprofit, we cannot endorse
political candidates. But we do offer up the
unvarnished opinions of candidates for
contested offices important to our readers.
We’re happy to bring you the candidates for
this year’s exciting City Council race, and at
least two of the three
candidates for
H 'ff
Oregon’s governor.
We’re disappointed
that Republican
Knute Buehler’s
campaign did not
respond to repeated inquiries, and never
returned the questionnaire - a first from a
major candidate for office in our election
coverage.
On the measures, we endorse, and this
year with more urgency than in the past.
Street Roots was asked recently if we saw
any new trends emerging this year in terms
of the measures put forward. While it’s not
necessarily a new trend, this year’s spate of
measures show clearly the concerted effort
by out-of-state organizations and
corporations to control our state’s financial
and natural resources.
That’s not hyperbole.
Measures 103,104 and 105 are all driven
by outside companies and organizations.
Measure 103 is an effort by mega-grocers to
IP 1f11 TRIP i l l 1 1 1
1» Mr B i IMP B i f t t
" " re w rite o u r s ta t e c o n s titu tio n a n d c a rv e o u t
tax exemptions for their operations.
Measure 104 is another effort by the
National Realtors Association, channeling
enormous resources through its statewide
network to, again, rewrite our constitution
to restrict Oregon’s legislative authority
over revenue.
And Measure 105, seeking to hand over
local law enforcement’s resources to the
service of federal immigration policy, is
another constitutional rewrite, this one
from the Federation for Immigration
Reform, a national organization designated
a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law
Center. The federation and its Oregon
offshoot are no stranger to tampering with
our laws, pushing numerous anti-immigrant
policies over the years.
Perhaps it’s time Oregonians reconsider
who can and cannot pay to change the
state’s constitution.
Measure 26-201 would create the
Portland Clean Energy Fund to support
renewable energy projects and jobs, with a
specific mission to support communities of
color and those experiencing poverty. It
would be funded by a 1 percent tax on
retailers with more than $1 billion in
revenue in the state and $500,000 in
Portland. The opposition is financially
fueled by large corporations from out of
state, including Walmart, Amazon, U.S.
Bank and Comcast.
This is a pay to play world, but this is not
how Oregonians should plan for a
challenging future.
More importantly, this biennial onslaught
is wasting our time. Spending our resources
on the defense, backed into corners,
diminishes our ability to reach real
solutions.
Federal policies around immigration have
created a massive human rights tragedy in
our own country. Instead of focusing on
solutions, we’re having to hold the line
against a national hate group pushing white
nationalist values in our communities.
Oregon’s state finances are near dire
straits, yet corporations are working to
ensure that in a state with relatively low
corporate taxes, they won’t have to
contribute a penny more. This state is
riddled with tax breaks and credits for
various industries, and corporations are
calling for even more.
Climate change demands immediate
action and a n e w w a y o f doin g busin ess.
And yet “business as usual” has us up
against the ropes over new jobs, clean
energy, and a 1 percent tax.
All of these efforts ultimately restrict the
ability of our own elected representatives to
fulfill their fiscal and social responsibilities.
We’re simply tying our hands behind our
back when we need to come out swinging.
So yes, we do see a trend, one that’s
been building for decades in disservice of
Oregonians, particularly our most
vulnerable neighbors. This is the year to
vote for Oregon, not outside interests.
Our complete measure endorsements are
on pages 8 and 9 in this edition. You can
also read more about our positions online at
news.streetroots.org
Page 3
Street Roots
211 NW Davis S t
Portland, OR 97209
503-228-5657
Fax: 503-227-3117
www.streetroots.org
news.streetroots.org
Hours: 7:30 a,m.-3 p,m, Mon.-Fri., 7:30
a.m.-2 p,m. S a t and 7:30-1 p.m. Sun.
Submissions
If you would like to have something that
you’ve written published in our pages,
or would like to get involved as a
member of our reporting staff, contact
Executive Editor Joanne Zuhl at 503-
228-5657, joanne@streetroots.org. We
ask that ail submissions include the
author’s name and contact information,
if available.
Advertising
Interested in advertising in Street Roots? Email
Andrew Hogan at andrew@streetroots.org
Staff
Executive Director Kata Sand
kaia@streetroots.org
Executive Editor Joanne Zuhl
joanne@streetroots.org
Vendor Program Director Cole Merkel
cole@streetroots.org
Development Director Andrew Hogan
andrew@streetroots.org
Senior Staff Reporter Emily Green
emily@streetroots.org
Vender Coordinator DeVon Pouncey
Administrative Assistant Kayla Jones
Program Assistant Meghan Murphey,
Jesuit Volunteer
Vendor Assistant Alex Gillow-Wiles
Development Assistant Rosemary Wilson
Editorial Producer Monica Kwasnik
Reporters Sarah Hansell, Leonora Ko, Emllly
Prado, Ellena Rosenthal, Amanda Waldroupe,
Helen Hill, Jason Cohen
Photographers Diego Diaz, Arkady Brown,
Celeste Noche
Canvasser Desmond Hardison
Board of Directors
Chair Rachel Langford
Vice-Chair Dan Jones
Treasurer Heather Stadick
Secretary Alison Hallett
Directors Michael Anderson, Sandra Hahn,
John Brown, Nels Johnson
Volunteers
John Barker, Stacey Heath, Anjali Rathore, Dennis
Hogan, Lucas Hawthorne, Thomas Buell Jr., Jason
Cohen, Doug Spangle, Susannah Kamala, Jon
Raymond, Diana Richardson, Paul and Madeline
Gefroh, Mary Anne Joyce, Brooke Anderson, Gillian
Floren, Mark Oldani, Bianca Butler, Camber Hansen-
Karr, Miranda Woods, Henry Brannan, Helen Hill,
Mary Emerson, Brooke Anderson, Kathleen McFall,
Robb Hengerer, Maile Yeats-Rowe, Erin Parsons, Faye
Powell, Danny Moran, Susan Maloy and Megan
Pickerel-Winer. If you're interested in volunteering
with Street Roots, please submit a volunteer
application at streetroots.org/volunteer. Or you can
call for more information at 503-228-5657.