Kevin's Weblog

Measure 26-80 is the most complex of the local measures, and there’s a lot of local history and politics involved that I don’t understand yet. The quick summary is that this would allow “Metro” to issue $227 million in bonds to acquire property for park or protected land, and take various other actions to protect wildlife, water quality, etc.

I haven’t figured out exactly what it is, but I gather that “Metro” is some sort of regional governmental agency that grew out of the fact that the greater Portland area spans 3 counties and a dozen or more municipalities and there was no effective way to get them all working together. (I think, but I’m not completely sure, that Metro is an Oregon-only thing, although the metropolitan area really crosses the river into Washington as well.) I get the idea that the charter of this agency includes land and water preservation, as well as more vague quality-of-life issues. The usual array of complaints about government have been directed at Metro by various people: it spends too much, it’s overgrown and bloated, it’s overreaching its charter, it’s ineffective, etc. I have no idea how much credence to give these complaints.

The arguments against this measure seem to follow these complaints. Some say it’s too expensive and the other measures are more deserving. This seems a little bogus as this is actually the smallest expenditure of the four (and covers a larger geographic region). Some people feel that Metro has been working outside its charter and needs to be “sent a message” by voting no. This logic also seems perverse, since this particular proposal seems to be exactly the type of thing Metro was created to do, from what I understand.

The final class of objection is that the land that Metro proposes to acquire is too far outside the city, and it not currently under threat of development. I think this argument is short-sighted. The urban area is going to continue to grow; there’s almost no question of it. The major open land in the city, like Mt. Tabor, Washington, and Forest Parks, were all well outside the developed city when they were first set aside as protected areas. Now they are surrounded by dense urban neighborhoods. I’m voting for this measure, because part of what attracted us to Portland is the blend of vital urban development with extensive greenspace, and I want the city to stay that way in the future.

Aside: I’m pretty frustrated that, unlike the state-wide voters’ guide, the Multnomah County guide only includes summaries and analysis of the measures, but not the full text. Particularly with a complex issue like this, I’d like to know what I’m really voting on.