Measure 26-156—Election Pros and Cons

If you’re registered to vote in Oregon, by now you’ve received your ballot for the May 20th election. If you live in Portland, you might have heard or read about Measure 26-156 that will be on the May 20 ballot. CUB’s board elected to take a neutral stance on this matter, so CUB is here to help shed light on this topic! We’ll be releasing a series of informative blogs before May 20th to help prepare voters just like you to make an educated decision on Measure 26-156. You can follow these updates by visiting our Portland Water, Sewer and Wastewater news feed. We’ll also be announcing new posts on our Facebook and Twitter feeds, so follow us on those channels to keep up with our new water and wastewater series!

In Portland, the City Council decides on the budgets of the utility agencies - Portland Water Bureau and the Bureau of Environmental Services - and sets the rates paid by customers for water and wastewater services. So, voters get a say in selecting the rate setting decision makers when they elect the City Council members. However, Council members do much more than just run the public utility agencies, so decisions by the voting public will likely be made on a broader range of concerns.

Measure 26-156 would create a public water district governed by a seven-member board that is also elected. This water district board would just focus on running water and wastewater services for Portland residents, so setting utility budgets and rates would be their primary focus.

Consider the following when deciding which election approach makes the most sense to you.

Term length and election timing:

• City Council terms are four years. These elections are always held in even numbered years when most other electoral contests are held. These elections are considered regular elections and are paid for by the Multnomah County Elections Division, since county governments are delegated to run the election process in our state.
• Measure 26-156 public water district board terms are three years. This means that frequently these elections would be held in odd numbered years. An odd year election is considered a special election. The political jurisdiction requesting a special election pays for the costs of holding that election instead of Multnomah County.

Election timing and turnout:

• City Council elections are held with most other contests during May and November of even numbered years. These elections receive widespread media coverage and occur at the times of year when people expect to get their ballots. Analysis shows that voter turnout in regular elections is consistently higher than in lower profile special elections.
• The Measure 26-156 public water district special elections held during May and November of odd numbered years would be the only contest on the ballot. A potential advantage is that media attention could focus just on this election. A potential disadvantage is that a low profile special election with lower voter turnout could be more vulnerable to being dominated by messages paid for by major campaign contributors.

At-large versus geographic districts:

• City Council races are at-large, which means they are citywide with all Portland residents getting a chance to vote on council candidates. Candidates for citywide office typically have to raise more campaign contributions. However, they also have to keep citywide concerns in mind and can’t just focus on the interests of a particular neighborhood.
• The Measure 26-156 public water district members would be elected from their geographic part of the City of Portland. This means they would probably have to do less campaign fundraising. District based candidates, however, could be so focused on their neighborhood that they lose sight of citywide concerns related to providing utility services. A particular concern about Measure 26-156 is that it specifies the Portland School Board Districts as the basis for drawing the public water district lines. The catch is that the Portland School District does not include East Portland, so residents of that area would not be able to participate in water district elections.

The election is quickly approaching! On Monday May 19th we’ll provide a wrap up of issues raised during the Measure 26-156 discussion. Stay tuned!

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