🗳️ Does Portland even know how to rank votes?

18x More Acres Burned

This year’s wildfires in Oregon burned 18 times more acreage than in 2023. That’s created tension between the state and ranchers as firefighting resources were stretched thin at the same time as the state began charging landowners more for fire protection. [OPB]

100 Faculty Layoffs at Portland State

Portland State University has sent notices of possible layoffs to nearly 100 non-tenure track faculty. Facing a budget crunch, the university is looking at cutting positions in the University Studies program, which offers required general education classes. [OPB]

Gap in Understanding Ranked Choice Voting

In a recent poll, a third of Portland voters said they don’t understand the new ranked choice voting system well. That’s a potential problem as Portland has adopted the system this year, allowing voters to rank up to six choices. [Oregonian 🔒]

• What to know about ranked choice voting. [City Cast Portland 🎧]

The Clear Split in Portland’s West Side District

There’s a clear ideological split among the City Council candidates seeking to represent the West Side (and Sellwood), which make up the new Portland District 4. It’s moderates versus progressives. Do the latter stand a chance in some of the city’s wealthiest neighborhoods? [City Cast Portland 🎧]

It’s not just candidates on the ballot this November; there’s a slew of statewide policy choices for voters to make this fall:

Measure 115: Impeachment

✅ A yes vote for this measure would allow the state Legislature to impeach and remove the governor, the secretary of state, the state treasurer, the attorney general, and the Bureau of Labor and Industries commissioner.

❌ A no vote would keep things as is.

🗞️ Inside Scoop

Oregon has had its fair share of top electeds engulfed by scandal — most notably, Secretary of State Shemia Fagan and Governor John Kitzhaber. They both resigned. If they hadn’t, it would have required a recall election to remove them.

📖 Further reading:

• Oregon Capitol Chronicle’s explainer on Measure 115.

Measure 116: State Elected Salaries

✅ A yes vote would create an independent commission to set salaries for state elected officials.

❌ A no vote would not.

🗞️ Inside Scoop

There’s a good deal of support for raising state elected officials’ salaries — or at least considering the matter. There is currently no organized opposition, though editorial boards have opposed it, including the Oregonian and Willamette Week, who criticize this measure for failing to require a nonpartisan or bipartisan commission, as well as preventing the legislature from reviewing the results of the commission’s work.

📖 Further reading:

• The independent commission to decide state electeds’ salaries. [OPB]

Measure 117: Ranked-Choice Voting

✅ A yes vote would bring ranked-choice voting statewide by 2028.

❌ A no vote would keep the system as is.

🗞️ Inside Scoop

Portland and Multnomah County have already passed ranked-choice voting, as has Benson County. Advocates say ranked-choice voting makes sure every vote counts. But there is notable opposition from county elections clerks from around the state, who argue it will be costly to implement and create confusion for voters.

📖 Further reading:

• The measure to bring ranked-choice voting statewide. [OPB]

Measure 118: Oregon Rebate

✅ A yes vote would give almost every Oregonian a yearly tax rebate of $1,600.

❌ A no vote would not.

🗞️ Inside Scoop

A passel of groups, including progressives, have lined up to oppose this version of universal basic income, in part citing unintended consequences of sapping the state’s general fund and eliminating federal social service benefits for low-income people. Business groups and others also oppose the funding mechanism: a gross receipts tax.

📖 Further reading:

• OPB’s Measure 118 explainer

Measure 119: Cannabis Worker Unionization

✅ A yes vote would require cannabis businesses applying for a state license to sign a labor peace agreement, meaning they would agree not to interfere in unionization efforts at their shops.

❌ A no vote would not.

📖 Further reading:

• An “easier route” to unionizing cannabis workers. [OPB]

For more on local measures: Check out the Oregonian’s story on the metro-area school districts asking voters for money: Parkrose, Tigard-Tualatin, and Oregon City want support for buildings and teachers.