Learn about Charter Reform

The Charter Reform Ballot Measure will be on Portland Voters’ Ballots Nov. 8!  LWV of Portland presented a Live Zoom Webinar about the Measure in September 

Watch the video from this event about how and why the Portland Charter Commission decided to recommend major reforms for Portland’s government structure and our process for electing city officials. Our panelists explained the Charter Commission’s recommended changes.  Attendees were able to ask questions via the Chat feature on Zoom.

PANELISTS

    • Julia Meier, the Charter Commission Project Manager
    • Charter Commissioner Candace Avalos
    • Charter Commissioner Becca Uherbelau
    • Charter Commissioner Melanie Billings-Yun

Video & Podcast Available by Sept. 10

The video is posted on our YouTube Channel.  A link is in the post at the top of this webpage.

Major Reforms Were Discussed

    • A City Administrator, supervised by the Mayor, would manage daily operations, including hiring, firing, and supervising bureau directors.
    • The City Council would grow from five to twelve members, with three Councilors elected to represent each of four geographic districts.
    • The Council would make laws, but no longer supervise bureaus. The Mayor may introduce laws and vote to break ties.
    • City elections would use a “ranked choice voting” process that allows voters to rank candidates in order of preference.

Thanks to our media partner and sponsor

MetroEast Community Media records Portland League programs for rebroadcast and online streaming.  Funding was provided by the Carol & Velma Saling Foundation and the Wyss Foundation.

Primary Election May 17, 2022

Thank you for voting and your interest in the election.

Click here to view the Multnomah Co. and statewide results. The results will be certified on June 13.

LWV printed  voters’ guides

The League of Women Voters prepared reliable nonpartisan voting resources for the 2022 Primary Election.  Look on the May 17 Primary Election page for information about the candidates. Gresham voters can find the information about the ballot measure they passed.

Haga clic aqui para leer en línea LA GUÍA DEL VOTANTE 2022.

FOR THE MAY 17 PRIMARY ELECTION, we provided:

The last day to register to vote or to change your party affiliation was Tuesday, April 26. Only voters registered as Republicans or Democrats could vote on the candidates running in their party’s primaries. All registered voters could vote on nonpartisan races in their election districts.

NOTE THAT CANDIDATES RUNNING AS MINOR PARTY OR NONALIGNED CANDIDATES FOR US SENATE, CONGRESS, OREGON GOVERNOR AND OREGON LEGISLATURE WERE NOT ON PRIMARY ELECTION BALLOTS. VOTERS WILL VOTE ON THEM IN THE GENERAL ELECTION.

Portland School Board Forum

Watch the Video of the Forum with Candidates for the Portland School Board.

Click on the arrow below to hear school board candidates answer questions about district issues and why they are running.

Note that the timer is shown on wide shots, along with the moderator and the seven candidates. In order to assure that each candidate had a fair and equal chance to explain their views, we timed their answers. We asked them to stick to the time limits.

For voters who preferred to watch this video on public access TV, here was the schedule of replays:

Moving Toward Real Change

Headline in The Oregonian, Sept. 6, 2020, photo by Beth Nakamura

Protests have always played an important role in drawing attention to the need to change our laws and attitudes. Battles for civil rights and voting rights went on for  years, with many marches and demonstrations. Disrupting normal life with a demonstration can attract media attention that helps the movement.

Police officers pass a fire lit by protesters on Saturday, Sept. 5, 2020. (AP Photo/Noah Berger) in The Skanner

On the other hand, violence between protesters and the police or the destruction of property may turn attention away from the protesters’ real message.

Real change comes with legislative action and citizen engagement. Oregonians have powerful tools to enact change through voting and contacting our elected leaders.

How the LWV can help

The League of Women Voters is dedicated to promoting public involvement in politics. To that end, we are working hard to provide solid nonpartisan information to voters for the coming General Election. You soon will be able to find plenty of unbiased election information about local candidates and measures on our November 3, 2020 General Election webpage. We also encourage people to let their representatives know what they want; we provide contact information for all the Multnomah County Elected Officials here.

Where We Stand on the Ballot Measures

In addition to providing balanced information, the League of Women Voters often speaks out on issues. Our Board of Directors has voted to endorse some of the local ballot measures. Although the League never supports nor opposes any candidate or political party, we do take positions on issues we have studied. Using our advocacy positions and what we have learned and are learning through balanced studies of violence prevention, justice and police accountability, we are endorsing the proposed City Charter Amendment to authorize a new police oversight board. We have paid to publish a statement in favor of this measure in the Multnomah County Voters’ Pamphlet. Read our statement about the charter amendment here. You can also see all our LWV of Portland measure endorsements here.
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