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The City of Portland collects over $14.5 million a year in development impact fees, which would be lost if Council adopted the proposed moratorium.
While Portland’s leading mayoral candidates have several similarities on policy, they also have some significant differences. In the final television debate and in his radio ads, Jefferson Smith raises a difference on system development charges (SDCs) – an issue near and dear to my heart.
From the debate:
"But one difference is that I don’t agree with Mr. Hales that we should give a sweeping break to the developers to allow them to build that infill housing without paying for those very basics. So before we talk about spending new money, or even spending old money, let’s make sure we don’t give away the money we already have.”
Politifact reviewed the claim and found it Mostly True. An excerpt:
Does Hales want to give “a sweeping break” to housing developers as Smith claims?
Apparently Hales does, but it’s not limited to housing developers. He’s called for a two-year moratorium on systems development charges, saying that they squash business, including the food cart operator looking for a solid building or the retailer who wants to move into bigger space. And yes, we need cheaper, more affordable homes in the city, his campaign says.
I worked on this issue for years while at 1000 Friends of Oregon, as developers continued to lobby legislators to impose additional limits on SDCs and 1000 Friends worked to make sure new development paid its way (residential development clearly doesn’t, as numerous academic studies show). My work included co-writing a primer that covers the basics for legislators as well as issues like tax incidence.
What’s this all about? Per the primer: “System development charges are levied on new development to recover all or part of the cost of building certain infrastructure needed to serve that development. Oregon law allows SDCs only for water, sewer, stormwater, transportation, and parks and recreation.” In some states laws perhaps more helpfully call SDCs "development impact fees."
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By Beth Cohen of Portland, Oregon. Beth says of herself : "I am a Portlander who loves to learn about and discuss local politics. I also love elections, there will be a huge election party at my house come November."
I have listened to friends who are still up in the air about the City Commissioner race here in Portland -- the one between Amanda Fritz and Mary Nolan. Some of them suggest that because Fritz is a woman or because she's willing to vote against proposals she thinks are unwise, or because she's willing to spend $140,000 of her own money to win, that's enough to warrant a second term. For some of my friends, they're a bit uncomfortable that Nolan has challenged her.
This hesitancy or even queasiness was captured in the profile and later the endorsement by Willamette Week, who dubbed Nolan 'the Anti-Fritz'. While the phrase highlights significant differences between the candidates and the real choice we have this May, I think it says as much about the mindset of voters as it does about either Fritz or Nolan. Too often, we talk big about progressive values but shrink from the reality that it takes hard work and a certain amount of toughness to translate them into action.
I see it differently. I think we Portland progressives should first insist that candidates hold strongly progressive values. But that's not enough. If we really want to make a difference, we should also support and elect candidates who demonstrate the chops to deliver important results. And to get right to the point, can we start to admire a woman like Nolan who is bold, skilled and effective playing hardball on our behalf against the big boys?
The video of the Willamette Week editorial board interview reveals substantive disagreements between Fritz and Nolan about policy and vision for Portland, as well as contrasting presentation styles. Nolan consistently answers questions with strategic depth. She has the acumen to know how to invest in our city, provide services, and build the coalitions needed to make our city flourish again -- for everyone.
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"Rep. Dennis Richardson, R-Central Point, raised hackles in January when it came to light he had used public-records requests to obtain residents' email addresses from state agencies and build an email list containing hundreds of thousands of names." Statesman Journal
"The representative crashed the Legislature's web server while trying to send a newsletter with four large files attached to 475,447 on his email list." Statesman Journal
In a school district next door from the district I serve, Richardson recently used his massive email list to rake the Eagle Point teachers union over the coals in his newsletter. His attack on teachers is over the top! He inserted himself into negotiations between the teachers and the school district with his wacky abuse of email addresses. Richardson stated in the Statesman Journal article, "Who will take on the teacher's unions?"
Richardson energetically ripped a page from Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker's playbook with his latest stunt. After reading his latest newsletter I thought about my own teachers who inspired me. I thought about teachers who generously mentor inexperienced teachers. I thought about the teachers who arrive early, stay late and cover their dining room table with papers to grade late into the night. I thought about the students who benefit from their care, compassion and instruction.
Yes, the Eagle Point teacher's union is on strike. I consider Richardson's email an attack on teachers and the middle class. The teacher's union and the district are working together to reach a fair settlement. I am confident they will.
Richardson should go visit a Freshman English class with 40 students and not enough chairs for the students to sit in. He should shadow an elementary teacher with 36 fifth graders jammed together. He should drop by in the evening at one of my district's high schools to see teachers providing free tutoring to students across the district just because they want to help all students to succeed.
Richardson bashed teachers. His abuse of email addresses, his entitlement and waste of public resources to gin up his Scott Walker version of state politics regarding public education is a disgrace.
Your take.
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Wow. This is a huge number for Ellen Rosenblum in the Attorney General race. From KATU, who sponsored the SurveyUSA poll:
Out of 432 respondents likely to vote and those who had already voted, Rosenblum, a retired judge, received 52 percent of the vote while Holton, a former federal prosecutor, received 27 percent.
SurveyUSA conducted the poll between May 7 and May 10 and it had a margin of error of plus or minus 4.8 percent.
The pollsters found that 21 percent of the respondents were still undecided.
Digging into the details, Rosenblum leads among both men and women, among all age groups, among all income groups, and in Portland and the rest of state. She leads among every ideological sector, except the 11% of Democrats who call themselves "very conservative" - among whom Holton leads 54-34.
Despite all the chatter here at BlueOregon, I can't imagine that medical marijuana has that much resonance as an issue. If these numbers hold up, to what do you attribute Rosenblum's strong showing against Holton?
Update, 9:25 a.m. The Oregonian's Jeff Mapes notes that the Rosenblum campaign released an internal poll a few days ago showing a 32-17 lead, and the Holton campaign released an internal showing him up 27-23. As for my question about the power of marijuana as a campaign argument, Mapes notes Rosenblum's support across nearly all demographics and suggests, "it's hard to see that as the determining factor in the race."
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When I travel outside the tri-county area, many people feel their voices aren't heard and they are invisible. I tell them that this is a statewide office. I take seriously the time I have spent in those communities. — Nena Cook
One of the most striking things about attorney Nena Cook is her laser focus on how law can positively impact the everyday person. More specifically, in the case of her candidacy for Oregon's highest court, Cook is committed to the concept that the bench must be a "co-equal branch" of government -- an accessible and in touch branch of government protecting the rule of law and Oregonians' access to justice.
This concept of access has deep roots for Cook, whose first experience with the law was when her parents divorced when she was young and economic hardship set in for her mother. And it was the generosity of people in the legal profession who helped her single mother-led family survive those hard times -- illustrating the importance of access to the law and cementing for Cook a career of giving back.
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