ELECTION GUIDE
Blue Mountain Eagle
Wednesday, October 19, 2016
A9
Treasurer Candidates
TOBIAS READ
JEFF GUDMAN
CHRIS TELFER
Name: Tobias Read, Democrat
Residence: Beaverton
Occupation: State representative.
Prior government experience: State rep-
resentative, 2007-present; Oregon Retirement
Savings Board, 2009-present.
Positions: Read wants to make the state’s
investment decisions available online and cut
“ineffi ciency and waste” in the management
of taxpayer funds and wants to address the $22
billion unfunded liability of the Public Employee
Retirement System (PERS). Read also says he
wants to cut costs by making some of the state’s
investment decisions “in-house” and reducing
the amount of work farmed out to investors on
Wall Street. Other goals include repairing public
school classrooms by increasing investment in
the state’s K-12 capital matching fund and public
infrastructure. He is supportive of Measure 97,
the tax on gross sales receipts on certain corpora-
tions exceeding $25 million in sales in Oregon.
Key endorsements: Labor and pro-choice
groups, as well as U.S. Sens. Ron Wyden and
Jeff Merkley; Current State Treasurer and Port-
land Mayor-elect Ted Wheeler.
Fun fact: Read formerly designed footwear
for Nike.
Name: Jeff Gudman, Republican
Residence: Lake Oswego
Occupation: Financial analyst, investor.
Prior government experience: Lake Oswe-
go City Councilor, 2010-present.
Positions: Calling himself a “budget hawk,”
Gudman is calling for “smarter” management of
the state’s fi nances, and wants to tackle PERS,
education and infrastructure with existing rev-
enues. He opposes Measure 97. He has voiced
support for harvesting timber from state lands,
such as the Elliott State Forest, and has criti-
cized the details of the state’s plan to sell the
forest at a fi xed price.
Key endorsements: A roster of Oregon
mayors, including former Portland mayor Tom
Potter; and Andy Duyk, the chair of the Wash-
ington County Commission
Fun fact: A longtime swimmer, Gudman still
races and has previously served as treasurer of
USA Swimming, the sport’s governing body.
Name: Chris Telfer, Independent
Residence: Bend
Occupation: Certifi ed Public Accountant,
accounting instructor at OSU-Cascades.
Prior government experience: Lottery
commissioner, 2013-present; Oregon state sena-
tor, 2008-2012; Bend city councilor, 2002-2008.
Positions: Telfer, who says her experiences
as a CPA and state legislator will allow her to
oversee the state’s fi nances and communicate ef-
fectively with the legislature, also wants to take
on PERS. She’s said she wants to bring marijua-
na banking into the mainstream with a place for
electronic deposits of payments for marijuana
called the “Oregon Vault,” and has suggested an
initiative she calls “BudBuddy” — an electronic
payment system she compares to PayPal, but for
pot products. She opposes Measure 97.
Key endorsements: State Sens. Brian Bo-
quist and Chris Edwards have thrown their lots
in for Telfer.
Fun Fact: A self-described “history buff,”
Telfer takes a particular interest in the American
Revolution and the Civil War.
Measure 98
Measure 95
What it does: Allows Oregon’s public
universities to invest in equities.
Endorsements for: Supporters say that
investing in equities would reduce “fi nan-
cial risk,” and could increase investment in-
come, thereby minimizing tuition increases
and improving student services.
In 2013, the legislature passed a bill
granting public universities the authority to
manage their fi nances, including investing
in equities. But the state’s constitution con-
tains a provision that “may prevent” public
universities from exercising that authority,
so voters need to approve the amendment to
allow the practice.
Supporters include Randall Edwards,
who was state treasurer from 2001-2009; the
presidents of the University of Oregon, Or-
egon State and Eastern Oregon universities;
State Sen. Mark Hass and State Rep. Mark
Johnson.
Endorsements against: No letters argu-
ing against the measure have been fi led with
the Secretary of State’s Offi ce, which pub-
lished its voters’ pamphlet for military and
overseas voters in September.
Measure 96
What it does: Devotes 1.5 percent of net
proceeds from the state lottery to a veterans’
services fund. According to calculations
based on the state’s June 2016 revenue fore-
cast, the measure would dedicate approxi-
mately $9 million annually to the fund in the
next fi scal biennium. The fund was created
by the legislature to support services — such
as housing, education and healthcare — for
Oregon residents who served in one of the
branches of the military.
Endorsements for: Various legislators
and veterans’ organizations, including the
head of the United Veterans’ Groups of Ore-
gon, support the measure. Supporters say the
measure could improve services for veterans
on both state and federal levels, not only by
providing funding for state services but also
by “unlocking” federal benefi ts that kick in
with state contributions.
Endorsements against: The City Club
of Portland has come out against the mea-
sure, saying it could reduce funding for oth-
er state services paid for with lottery funds.
Currently, 15 percent of net proceeds go to
an education stability fund, 18 percent to a
parks and natural resources fund, and the
remainder are allocated by the legislature
to generally support economic development
and job creation.
The city club also said that the measure
doesn’t lay out a “specifi c mechanism for
generating new funds” although supporters
tout the federal funding that would be newly
available. Further, the club argues, the mea-
sure doesn’t say whether the 1.5 percent of
lottery funds will supplement the Oregon
Department of Veterans’ Affairs budget or
replace agency funding from the state’s gen-
eral fund.
Measure 97
What it does: Measure 97 levies a 2.5 percent corporate sales tax on Oregon
sales of certain corporations exceeding $25 million. The so-called “gross receipts”
tax, advanced by a group of employee unions, has emerged as the most contro-
versial proposal on this year’s ballot and has spawned a campaign battle on social
media and the airwaves.
Proponents, including Gov. Kate Brown, argue that it is the only viable option
for avoiding cuts in state services. Lawmakers have for years failed to tackle tax
reform in the state. Measure 97 offers a reliable infl ux of an estimated of $3 bil-
lion in new tax revenue each year, which could be used for education, health care
and seniors services. Meanwhile, the tax targets less than 1 percent of the state’s
businesses — mostly large and out-of-state corporations. Corporations also pay 6.7
percent of the state’s overall income taxes, an inequity that Measure 97 could help
address, proponents say.
Opponents of the tax measure contend that companies will pass on much of the
cost of the tax to consumers. They cite a Legislative Revenue Offi ce study that
shows the typical family will pay $600 more per year in the form of higher prices
and lost job opportunities because of the tax. The offi ce estimated that economic
growth would slow by about 38,000 jobs. Opponents argue the tax is unfair because
it taxes sales rather than profi ts and targets businesses solely on the way they chose
to pay their taxes.
Endorsements for: A broad coalition of public employee unions, education
associations and progressive organizations, including Yes on 97, American Feder-
ation of State, County and Municipal Employers, Oregon Education Association,
Oregon Nurses Association, Service Employees International Union, League of
Women Voters, American Federation of Teachers, NARAL Pro Choice Oregon,
Oregon Public Health Association, Progressive Party of Oregon, Latinos Unidos
Siempre, Main Street Alliance of Oregon, Oregon AFL-CIO, United Academics of
the University of Oregon, Freedom Socialist Party and Right 2 Dream Too.
Endorsements against: The measure is opposed by many business and pro-
fessional organizations, including No On Measure 97, Portland Business Alliance,
Oregon Small Business Association, Oregon Bankers Association, Oregon Asso-
ciation of Realtors, Oregon Farm Bureau, Oregon Cattlemens Association, Ore-
gon Wheat Growers League, Oregon Restaurant and Lodging Association, Oregon
Business Council, Oregon Brewers Guild, Oregon Forest Industries Council, Or-
egon Fuels Association, Associated Oregon Loggers, Associated Wall and Ceiling
Contractors, and Astoria-Warrenton Chamber of Commerce.
Measure 99
What it does: Measure 99 dedicates a por-
tion of lottery proceeds to paying for every
Oregon student in fi fth or sixth grade to par-
ticipate in the state’s nearly 60-year tradition
of outdoor school.
About half of the pupils in those grades
now have access to the residential fi eld sci-
ence program through a mix of private grants,
parent fees and local fundraising.
The measure creates a special reserve for
outdoor school and appropriates 4 percent of
lottery proceeds, limited to $22 million per
year, to that fund. The money is intended to
pay for at least one week of outdoor school
when students are in fi fth or sixth grade. Pub-
lic and private school systems would obtain
$400 per pupil for the program by fi ling pa-
perwork with the Oregon State University Ex-
tension Service.
Proponents tout outdoor school as a way
to advance students’ understanding of natural
science, develop teamwork and leadership
skills and fuel interest in school and certain
career paths.
State Sen. Betsy Johnson, D-Scappoose,
and economic development associations have
opposed the proposal because it diverts mon-
ey from economic and business development.
Economic development now receives about
27 percent of lottery funds to stimulate job
creation and retention.
Measure 99 supporters point to a report
commissioned by the Gray Family Foun-
dation that indicates the $22 million annu-
al investment will yield about $27 million
in economic activity, including support
of 600 full-time jobs mostly in rural parts
of the state where the outdoor camps are
located.
Oregon is the fi rst state to vote on fund-
ing outdoor education for all students. The
measure’s supporters launched an initiative
petition process to dedicate funding for the
program, after state lawmakers set up the
framework for a statewide outdoor school
program in 2015 but declined to give it a reli-
able funding source.
Endorsements in support: Save Outdoor
School for All, Gov. Kate Brown, Kaiser Per-
manente, Oregon Public Health Institute, Care
Oregon and Upstream Public Health, Nike Inc.
and Keen Footwear
Endorsements in opposition: State Sen.
Betsy Johnson.
What it does: Measure 98 requires that
a portion of new state revenue go toward
educational programs aimed at improving
the state’s graduation rate. About 74 percent
of Oregon high school students graduate in
four years, according to the Oregon Depart-
ment of Education.
In the absence of a governmental effort
to boost the graduation rate, Stand for Chil-
dren, former Gov. Ted Kulongoski and the
Latino Network teamed up to get the Ore-
gonians for High School Success Initiative
on the ballot. The measure would dedicate
at least $800 per student to programs aimed
at dropout prevention and career and college
readiness. In 2017-18, that would amount to
an estimated $147 million for high school
programs.
The Oregon Department of Education
would be responsible for divvying out the
money to school districts through a grant
application process and monitoring perfor-
mance of the programs. The measure also re-
quires the Secretary of State’s Offi ce to audit
the use of the funds every two years.
The measure includes a safety valve
that allows for a smaller prorated allocation
when new state revenue falls below $1.5 bil-
lion in a particular year.
No organized opposition has formed to
defeat the measure, but the Oregon Educa-
tion Association has declined to endorse the
measure, calling it a “one-size-fi ts-all” re-
sponse to a larger problem.
Measure 100
What it does: Prohibits the purchase,
sale and possession with intent to sell of
items that are made with certain species of
endangered animals. People who violate the
measure are subject to civil penalties — no
greater than $6,500 or twice the value of the
animal part or product, whichever is greater.
The animals include elephant, rhino, whale,
tiger, lion, leopard, cheetah, jaguar, pango-
lin, sea turtle and shark, with the exception
of the spiny dogfi sh.
Endorsements for: A litany of wild-
life advocates have voiced support for the
measure, as has U.S. Rep. Earl Blumenauer,
D-Portland. Proponents say that prohibiting
the sale of such products will “shut down”
the market in Oregon for illegal traffi cking
in wildlife products, although the practice is
already illegal under federal law.
Endorsements against: No arguments
in opposition to the measure were fi led
with the Oregon Secretary of State’s voters’
pamphlet as of Sept. 30, although the
National Rifl e Association had voiced some
consternation about banning the possession
or sale of revolvers that have ivory handles
when a similar bill was before the Wash-
ington Legislature last year. The Oregon
measure has exceptions for certain items
that are 100 years old or older, provided
that the total weight of the animal part is no
greater than 200 grams.