Adversaries united during 2007 election
Anomalies swirl around latest statewide vote
By JULIA SILVERMAN
Associated Press
Monday, November 19, 2007 10:16 AM PST
PORTLAND — It’s no secret that the voters of Multnomah County are more tax-friendly than Oregonians on the other side of the Cascade Range.
But, usually, voters in a few other left-leaning enclaves, from Corvallis to Hood River, can be counted on to vote for new taxes to shore up or expand state services.
Not this year.
Multnomah County stood alone in supporting Measure 50, a proposed tobacco tax increase to expand children’s health care programs. In 35 other counties, residents turned the plan down flat — by 12,000 votes in liberal Lane County.
That’s just one anomaly in a generally haphazard election season, that saw both traditional allies part ways, and unlikely bedfellows band together.
As expected, Multnomah County voted to roll back changes to land-use regulations voters approved in 2004, a vote likely buoyed by three years of loud protests by environmentalists that farmland and forests would be swallowed up by subdivisions and strip malls.
But so did Union and Umatilla counties, smack in the middle of GOP territory in Eastern Oregon. They were joined by traditional Republican strongholds like Polk County, outside of Salem, and Crook and Deschutes counties in Central Oregon.
Meanwhile, the measure was soundly rejected in Southern Oregon, one of the fastest-growing areas of the state whose swing voters are courted by both parties during presidential elections.
That’s partly because the Yes on 49 campaign found in early polling that support for private property rights was highest there.
As a result, the campaign spent almost no time or money in Southern Oregon, said Liz Kaufman, who ran the campaign.
Opponents of the land-use measure pounced on the area, spending heavily in the Medford media market.
The Medford area, and neighboring counties such as Coos, Curry, Josephine, Klamath and Lake, have had comparatively fewer high-profile claims under the 2004 law, which required that longtime property owners be allowed to develop their land, or get a big check from the government to compensate for the value lost after growth restrictions were imposed.
By contrast, Central Oregon, another high-growth area, has seen a steady stream of controversial claims, including proposals to build homes adjoining the iconic Smith Rock State Park near Redmond and an open-pit mine within the Newberry National Volcanic Monument outside of Bend. Claims also poured into Oregon wine country in Yamhill County, where 64 percent of residents voted for Measure 49 — almost exactly the same number that voted for its predecessor in 2004.The Yes on 49 campaign used highly personalized mailings to bring the issue home for voters in such places, sending out thousands of mailings that pinpointed proposed developments within a span of 200 acres from the recipient’s residence. In the less populated counties that voted for the measure, like Wheeler and Gilliam counties, support from the Oregon Farm Bureau could have been a factor. Kaufman and others speculated, though, that the Farm Bureau endorsement could have been blunted elsewhere by opposition from ranching groups.
‘‘There has been more land coming out of agriculture production because of non-farm uses,’’ said Don Schellenberg, a lobbyist for the Farm Bureau. ‘‘The citizens of those counties value the agriculture industry.’’
One of the biggest question marks is why so many voters sided with Democrats on the land-use issue and then agreed with Republicans on the tobacco tax. Part of the answer probably lies in the $12 million advertising campaign bankrolled by big tobacco companies. But proponents of Measure 50 decided to focus their get-out-the-vote efforts in Multnomah County, in hopes of turning out enough core voters to overcome all that spending. Election watchers were also predicting that statewide ballot returns would be low, fueling hopes that a strong turnout in Multnomah County would be enough to turn the tide. Final figures peg statewide turnout at 59 percent, higher than expected.
‘‘The base of supporters who are most easily activated was in Multnomah County,’’ said Maura Roche, who lobbies for the American Cancer Society, one of the biggest contributors to the campaign. That lack of personal, door-to-door attention might help explain why tax-friendly jurisdictions like Benton County and Hood River County voted down Measure 50, though even their support probably wouldn’t have made a difference in the final outcome.
‘‘What I am hearing is people were very confused about what it meant, how it would affect people and the impact, not only on taxes in the long run, but whether or not the taxes would be used properly,’’ said Jill Van Buren, Benton County’s election supervisor.
Official election results won’t be certified by the Oregon Secretary of State until early December.
