By State Representative Rob Nosse
The November election is not that far away. I know there is a lot of anxiety about it. I promise this will be the last time I talk about an election until we have another one. Now please imagine a smiling emoji right here.
Instead of talking about the presidential election, which I am positive you know all about at this point, or the statewide elections taking place for attorney general, state treasurer and secretary of state, or the Portland Mayor or City Council races, I am going to give my two cents on the five statewide ballot measures voters are deciding in this election: Measure 115, which allows legislators to impeach state executives; Measure 116, which establishes the Independent Public Service Compensation Commission; Measure 117, which establishes ranked choice voting for federal and state officials; Measure 118, the “people’s rebate” which I also talked about last month; and Measure 119, which requires labor “peace” agreements for cannabis retail stores.
I will go out of order briefly to remind readers that last month’s column was about measure 118. I, along with many other leading Democrats, are opposed to this measure on the grounds that it will hurt programs that rely on the general fund while discouraging business growth. This would all be done in the name of giving all of us a $1,600 check annually that many of us do not need. As I mentioned last month, if we are going to raise over $3 billion in new taxes, I would prefer to use that money to better fund schools and healthcare, including mental healthcare, and housing. Vote no on Measure 118.
Measures 115, 116, and 117 were all referred to the voters by the legislature in the 2023 legislative session. I supported the bills referring those measures to the voters back in 2023, so, yes, I support the passage of these ballot measures in 2024.
Measure 115 was born out of the various scandals swirling state executives in recent years. Thankfully, those politicians did the right thing and resigned. But the legislature has no recourse should politicians who commit otherwise impeachable offenses refuse to leave office. Meanwhile, the legislature has plenty of authority to remove its own members, and we have done that during my time in the legislature. Impeachment authority is a valuable check on the executive. Without impeachment, we have to rely on resignation or the citizen initiative process to recall someone. Vote yes on Measure 115.
In 2022, three members of the legislature chose not to seek reelection after the paltry salary, coupled with the increasing demands placed on legislators, made it too costly to continue serving. One of those legislators was commuting daily from Hood River to Salem while raising a family and trying to maintain separate employment. In Oregon, it’s incredibly common for legislators to work another job while serving. I did it up until 2020. Currently, legislators earn about $30,000 per year, plus a daily per diem when the legislature is in session. No one should expect to get rich while serving in elected office, but elected officials should have a reasonable expectation to break even. Meanwhile, the downside of having such low salaries for Oregon legislators is that only the people who can afford to serve are the ones who run for office. Plenty of people who would make phenomenal leaders don’t run for office because they simply can’t afford to serve. This is to say nothing of the fact that many of these people come from marginalized communities. I am not sure what exactly a state legislator’s salary should be, but that’s the point of an independent review commission. Passing Measure 116 will mean an unbiased group will provide that figure. Vote yes on Measure 116.
Ranked choice voting (RCV) has been experimented with in a few states and now Oregon is attempting to give it a try. I have my own issues with RCV here in the city, but, overall, I find it to be a voting system that produces results that are more representative of the popular will of the voters. RCV allows voters to rank the candidates by their preference. While the counting system can get confusing, in the end the candidate ranked as the top choice of most voters should win the election. Oregon’s universal mail-in ballot already makes our state a leader in voting systems. My hope is that RCV further cements that status. Vote yes on Measure 117
Lastly, Measure 119 came from a bill that caused some controversy during the 2023 legislative session. The proponents sought to require that cannabis stores not interfere with their workers’ right to organize unions and that the stores must submit to labor peace agreements. The bill did not pass so the bill’s proponents circulated a petition and are submitting it to all of us instead. The main reason the bill did not pass was an analysis from the legislature’s own lawyers saying it was preempted by federal labor laws. As someone who has always supported the rights of workers to organize a union, I am voting yes on Measure 119, but I have my doubts about whether or not it will be held as legal in the courts, should the state get sued over the measure’s implementation.
This is a hugely consequential election for many reasons. I am thankful to The Southeast Examiner for continuing to give me this space to explain things. I hope you found these brief explanations useful.
