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About The Blue Mountain eagle. (John Day, Or.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 14, 2016)
A8 State Blue Mountain Eagle Poll: Support for Measure 97 erodes when voters hear pros/cons Wednesday, September 14, 2016 Oregon conservation easement program will seek $4.25 million By Mateusz Perkowski By Paris Achen Capital Bureau An overwhelming major- ity of Oregon voters support a corporate sales tax measure on the November ballot, ac- cording to a new poll by ic- itizen, a nonpartisan survey fi rm. It’s the second poll in less than a week to show Mea- sure 97 with a big lead, but the icitizen survey included several follow-up questions, which indicate that voters’ opinions change when they learn more about arguments for how the gross receipts tax would work. “This suggests messag- ing about the effect on an Oregonian’s pocketbook can make for a tighter race in No- vember, depending on either camp’s ability to market the measure in their favor,” said icitizen polling analyst Cyn- thia Villacis. The measure, backed by a coalition of public employee unions, would levy a 2.5-per- cent tax on certain corpora- tions’ Oregon annual sales exceeding $25 million. The poll, taken from Sept. 2-7, found that 59 percent of 610 respondents favor the tax and 21 percent oppose it. After voters heard arguments against the measure, that sup- port dwindled to 40 percent while opposition spiked to 31 percent. The poll has a 4-per- cent margin of error. For instance, 65 percent of respondents said they would be less likely to sup- port the measure if they had to pay $600 per year in the form of higher prices and lost job growth resulting from the tax. That fi gure is based on a May estimate by the non- partisan Legislative Revenue Offi ce. Similarly, 59 percent of respondents were more like- ly to vote for the measure if the revenue were to fi ll a $2 billion annual gap in funding needed for quality education in the state. That fi gure comes from the nonpartisan Quality Education Commission. When asked how the money should be spent, the most common response — from nearly a quarter of those polled — was educa- tion spending. The icitizen poll mirrors another independent survey, this one by DHM Research taken from Sept. 1-6, which found 60 percent of respon- dents support Measure 97, while 30 percent oppose it. “At 60 percent (support) in back-to-back polls, Ore- gonians are clear they want corporations to pay their fair share,” said Katherine Dries- sen, a spokeswoman for Our Oregon, the nonprofi t advo- cacy group backing the mea- sure. “When we share with voters that large and out-of- state corporations pay little or no taxes, they’re eager to hold them accountable. They support 97 because Oregon voters know great schools and quality care for our se- niors makes Oregon strong.” So far, the campaigns for and against the measure have played out mostly on social media and in front of editorial boards and civic groups. “Generally speaking, the numbers in the polls we’re seeing is consistent with polling we’ve seen since last fall,” said Pat McCormick, a spokesman for the Defeat the Tax on Oregon Sales. “The numbers haven’t changed much because there hasn’t been much robust campaign dialogue.” McCormick said cam- paigning usually heats up after Labor Day. The opposi- tion campaign plans to debut its fi rst television ad some- time this month, he said. The debate between the campaigns centers largely on who will pay for the tax. Opponents contend that con- sumers will pay for the ma- jority of the cost of the tax, while supporters argue that many of the large corpora- tions affected by the tax will absorb most of the extra cost into their national pricing scheme. The icitizen poll also test- ed voters’ position on sever- al other measures on the No- vember ballot. • Measure 94 removes the mandatory retirement of judges at age 75: 53 percent oppose, 33 percent favor, 14 percent undecided. • Measure 95 allows pub- lic universities to invest in equities: 29 percent favor, 24 percent oppose, 47 per- cent undecided. • Measure 96 devotes 1.5 percent of state lottery reve- nue to fund veteran services: 83 percent favor, 8 percent oppose, 9 percent undecid- ed. • Measure 98 devotes a portion of new state revenue to fund dropout prevention and career and college read- iness programs in Oregon high schools: 64 percent fa- vor, 19 percent oppose, 17 percent undecided. • Measure 99 desig- nates $22 million in state lottery revenue for outdoor education for all fi fth- and sixth-graders in Oregon: 69 percent favor, 19 percent op- pose, 12 percent undecided. • Measure 100 prohibits the sale of products and parts of 12 types of endangered animals: 85 percent favor, 7 percent oppose, 8 percent undecided. Capital Bureau Oregon legislators will like- ly be asked for $4.25 million next year to pay for conser- vation easements that would protect farmland from develop- ment. Plans are beginning to so- lidify for the Oregon Agricul- tural Heritage Program, which would provide grants to farm- ers interested in easements and succession planning, said Meta Loftsgaarden, executive direc- tor of the Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board. OWEB, which will oversee the program, plans to hold “lis- tening sessions” this autumn based on concepts developed by agricultural and conserva- tion groups before drafting pro- posed legislation for the 2017 legislative session, she said. “We didn’t want to go out to farmers and ranchers with a blank slate. We really want- ed to have something they could react to,” Loftsgaarden said during the Sept. 12 Or- The Eagle/Sean Hart Roger Ediger, a rancher in Mt. Vernon, has decided to place a conservation easement on the land that will preserve its current condition in perpetuity. egon Board of Agriculture meeting in Pendleton, Ore. Conservation easements are usually sold or donated by farmers who give up their de- velopment rights in exchange for tax benefi ts and lower prop- erty values, reducing inheri- tance taxes. They haven’t been as com- monly used in Oregon as in Poll: Dems outpace GOP in state races By Claire Withycombe Capital Bureau Democratic candidates running statewide in Oregon are leading by varying margins, ac- cording to results of a new poll released Tuesday. Gov. Kate Brown was the choice of 44 percent of those surveyed, outpacing Republican candidate William “Bud” Pierce by 17 percentage points, accord- ing to the poll conducted by icitizen, a Tennessee company. Twenty-three percent of voters were undecided on their choice for governor. Brown’s lead over Pierce mirrors the advantage Dem- ocratic presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton has over Re- publican Donald Trump in Or- egon. The icitizen poll puts her ahead, 43 percent to 28 percent. Libertarian Gary Johnson was Pamplin Media Group Secretary of State candidate Brad Avakian responds to a question as GOP candidate Dennis Richardson listens. A recent poll shows Avakian has a 3-point lead over Richardson, with 45 percent of voters either undecided or backing another candidate. favored by 11 percent of the respondents, while Green Party candidate Jill Stein drew 3 per- cent. According to the poll, the contest for the Oregon secretary of state is much tighter. Debbie Ausmus 245 South Canyon Blvd. John Day, OR 97845 OPEN WED. & THUR. 9 am - 5 pm 541-575-1113 24 hrs/7 days wk debbie.ausmus@ countryfinancial.com Robbins Farm Equipment 3850 10th St. Baker City 10218 Wallowa Lake Hwy. La Grande 1160 S Egan Burns 86812 Christmas Valley Hwy. Christmas Valley 541-523-6377 541-963-6577 541-573-6377 541-523-6377 other states because of the state- wide land use planning system, but this system alone isn’t enough to prevent the fragmen- tation of working lands, Lofts- gaarden said. The $4.25 million wouldn’t be enough funding for every- one who wanted to sell an ease- ment, but it would serve as a pilot program — particularly for lands inhabited by threat- ened or endangered species, or that are subject to “urban growth boundary” expansion, said Doug Krahmer, a blueber- ry farmer who sits on a work group advising the program. The easements will have a conservation component and could be used to provide properties with regulatory pro- tections, offering an additional incentive for farmers, Lofts- gaarden said. Currently, a similar ap- proach is used for forestlands where owners want to grow trees older than 30 years but are afraid of creating habitat for the northern spotted owl, hindering future timber harvest, she said. A MAN WAKES UP in the morning after sleeping on... an advertised bed, in advertised pajamas. He will bathe in an ADVERTISED TUB, shave with an ADVERTISED RAZOR, have a breakfast of ADVERTISED JUICE, cereal and toast, toasted in an ADVERTISED TOASTER, put on ADVERTISED CLOTHES and glance at his ADVERTISED WATCH. He’ll ride to work in his ADVERTISED CAR, sit at an ADVERTISED DESK and write with an ADVERTISED PEN. Yet this person hesitates to advertise, saying that advertising doesn’t pay. Finally, when his non-advertised business is going under, HE’LL ADVERTISE IT FOR SALE. Then it’s too late. AND THEY SAY ADVERTISING DOESN’T WORK? DON’T MAKE THIS SAME MISTAKE Advertising is an investment, not an expense. Think about it! Blue Mountain Eagle MyEagleNews.com Don’t get left behind, call today! Kim Kell 541-575-0710 The Democratic candidate, Brad Avakian, leads his rival, former state representative and gubernatorial candidate Dennis Richardson, by just 3 percent- age points. Avakian, the labor commis- sioner, took in 29 percent, while Richardson garnered 26 percent of vote in the survey. Thirty-six percent were undecided, and 9 percent favored a minor party candidate. Brad Pyle, Avakian’s cam- paign manager, said Richard- son’s views on abortion rights and immigration are at odds with those of most Oregonians. “The election will not be held until voters have had time to see that Dennis Richardson represents the Trump wing of the Republican Party,” Pyle wrote in an email response to the poll results. The icitizen poll, conducted online from Sept. 2-7, asked 610 Oregon voters who they would vote for if the election were held today. It has a margin of error of 4 points. Many polled remained undecided about their choice for secretary of state, as did many who were polled about the trea- surer’s race. Just under half — 48 percent — of voters surveyed said they were undecided in the contest for treasurer. Democratic candidate Tobias Read, a state representative from Washington County, received 25 percent of votes. Republican Jeff Gudman, a Lake Oswego city councilor, took 18 percent. The third candidate, Chris Telfer, an Independent Party candidate from Bend, was the choice of 9 percent surveyed.
