Pit
Stop: Measure 76 will tax cars and trucks proportionately.
In an age when thousands of people can be contacted with
a single click of the mouse, a good old-fashioned mailing
list still carries clout.
That's one lesson from what is shaping up to be Oregon's
first big political fight of the new millennium.
Last week, Gov. John Kitzhaber dropped by the board
of directors of AAA of Oregon/Idaho. He wasn't trying
to get a travel map to his new West Hills digs. Nor
was he looking for a loaner car seat for Logan.
Rather, the good doctor made his house call seeking
to stop AAA from sabotaging the proposed gas-tax hike
passed by the 1999 Legislature.
AAA wants to refer the five-cent-per-gallon increase
to the state's voters next May. But AAA won't be sending
paid petitioners to Fred Meyer or the downtown library
seeking the needed 45,000 signatures. With 585,000 members,
and a summer mailing already scheduled, the organization's
planning to go postal.
That's why Kitzhaber--at the urging of gas-tax backers
such as Associated Oregon Industries and City Commissioner
Charlie Hales--made a last-ditch pitch for AAA not to
unleash its list. The board declined, and last Friday
the machine went into motion. This week, the July/August
issue of The Motorist is being mailed to every
member of AAA of Oregon/Idaho. Included is a petition
to be signed and returned.
Suddenly, a group better known for jumping dead batteries
has become a live political force."I don't think they're
normally perceived that way," says AOI lobbyist Betsy
Earles. "They're normally perceived as the organization
where you go to get your tire changed."
What's odd about this fight is that AAA has long supported
a gas-tax hike and this legislation would raise $600
million for road repairs. The group is opposed to the
new law, however, because it includes a change in the
way truckers are taxed. Currently, trucks are taxed
based on their weight and the miles driven within Oregon.
The idea is that heavy trucks driving lots of miles
damage the roads more than light trucks making short
trips.
Under the new law, the so-called "weight-mile tax"
would be replaced by an increased truck registration
fee and a hike in the diesel fuel tax. AAA says the
change will let truckers off the hook and stick auto
drivers with the tab for road repairs.
Working to keep the tax is a political action committee
put together by the Oregon Trucking Association, Associated
Oregon Industries and Oregon Building and Construction
Trades Council, which represents road builders. The
group, Fair Funding for Better Roads, has hired veteran
lobbyist Mark Nelson to work on political strategy and
the powerful public relations and lobbying firm of Conkling
Fiskum & McCormick to handle communications.
Pat McCormick thinks he's already found a soft spot
in AAA's campaign: Bill Sizemore, whose Oregon Taxpayers
United also opposes the tax. Last week, McCormick sent
out a press release lamenting AAA's decision to advocate
referring the transportation funding bill to voters.
The eight-sentence release included five references
to Sizemore.
AAA is trying to distance itself from the controversial
anti-tax crusader, but according to Becky Miller, assistant
director of OTU, the two groups are working hand in
hand. Like AAA, OTU is mailing the petition out to all
its members. If the signatures are gathered by the Oct.
22 deadline, Miller will be one of the chief petitioners
of the referendum. The other is AAA vice president John
Porter.
The alliance between AAA and OTU makes sense. Sizemore
has said all along that he'd fight any gas tax that
he deemed excessive. In addition, after last year's
abysmal showing, he needs a victory. (As a gubernatorial
candidate, Sizemore--like most of his ballot measures--got
trounced at the polls.)
And although any tax is a hard sell with voters, AAA
may need the help. O'Ryan says its national policy prohibits
the group from setting up a political action committee,
so the Oregon group will focus on urging its members
to oppose the tax.
The last time AAA tried the laissez-faire approach
to the ballot box, the organization ended up as political
road kill. In 1992, using the power of its mailing list,
the auto club put a measure on the ballot that would
have banned triple-trailer trucks from Oregon roadways.
Its opposition, the Oregon Trucking Association, vastly
outspent AAA, and the measure failed by a 61-39 percent
vote.
Neither side will talk about how much this campaign
is likely to cost, but observers expect it to be plenty.
Truckers want the weight-mile tax eliminated, and AOI
wants new and improved roads--and both groups have deep
pockets.
OTU, meanwhile, has proven its ability to raise cash,
and Miller has filed a statement of organization for
the political action committee that will fund the no-gas-tax
campaign.
Pit
Stop:
Before voters even get a chance to have their say on
the gas tax in the May 2000 election, they must first
vote on an esoteric constitutional amendment in November.
Ballot Measure 76 is designed to placate fears that
truckers won't pay their fair share of taxes if the
weight-mile tax is eliminated. The measure requires
the state to study the sources of road costs every two
years and tax drivers of cars and trucks proportionately.
Gov. John Kitzhaber asked legislators to refer the amendment
to the fall ballot before he agreed to sign on to the
gas tax. Measure 76 is backed by the same coalition
supporting the gas tax. AAA is staying neutral.
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Willamette Week | originally
published September 8,
1999
