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I got a call a month or so back from a political pollster, wanting to know my views on a charter amendment coming up for a vote next month, which would if approved change Portland's form of government rather drastically. I answered all the questions to the best of my ability, but told the caller that I hadn't yet made up my mind, as I was waiting to get my Voters' Pamphlet so I could read the measure and study it in detail.
The Voters' Pamphlet arrived today -- but it's not going to be as much of a help as I'd hoped.
Why not, you ask? Because the text of that proposed charter amendment isn't in it. Nor are the texts of any of the other three proposed charter amendments Portland voters are supposed to be voting on in the upcoming election.
It must be a misprint or a defective copy, right? Apparently not. All the pages are properly numbered. Everything else is there -- ballot title, short summary, arguments in favor and in opposition -- but not the proposed amendments themselves. And a Web check reveals that neither Web iteration of the Voters' Pamphlet (HTML or PDF) includes the amendment texts either. Nor does any version of the Voters' Pamphlet include so much as a URL where one might find the amendment texts.
No . . . as far as I can tell, it appears that city and county officials are asking voters to decide four significant issues without letting us read the legislation we're supposed to be voting on. And here Portland is supposed to be one of the most progressive cities in the US, too.
I have sent off a polite but astonished note via the county elections office's Web-feedback form. I have also sent off a note to my favorite local TV news station. We shall see what happens....
I got a call a month or so back from a political pollster, wanting to know my views on a charter amendment coming up for a vote next month, which would if approved change Portland's form of government rather drastically. I answered all the questions to the best of my ability, but told the caller that I hadn't yet made up my mind, as I was waiting to get my Voters' Pamphlet so I could read the measure and study it in detail.
The Voters' Pamphlet arrived today -- but it's not going to be as much of a help as I'd hoped.
Why not, you ask? Because the text of that proposed charter amendment isn't in it. Nor are the texts of any of the other three proposed charter amendments Portland voters are supposed to be voting on in the upcoming election.
It must be a misprint or a defective copy, right? Apparently not. All the pages are properly numbered. Everything else is there -- ballot title, short summary, arguments in favor and in opposition -- but not the proposed amendments themselves. And a Web check reveals that neither Web iteration of the Voters' Pamphlet (HTML or PDF) includes the amendment texts either. Nor does any version of the Voters' Pamphlet include so much as a URL where one might find the amendment texts.
No . . . as far as I can tell, it appears that city and county officials are asking voters to decide four significant issues without letting us read the legislation we're supposed to be voting on. And here Portland is supposed to be one of the most progressive cities in the US, too.
I have sent off a polite but astonished note via the county elections office's Web-feedback form. I have also sent off a note to my favorite local TV news station. We shall see what happens....
