Hales and Novick Try to Thwart Public Vote on Street Fee

Portland officials want to make referral more difficult by breaking fee into two votes.

ROAD WARRIOR: "I'm confronted with situations," says City Commissioner Steve Novick (right), with Mayor Charlie Hales, "where compromising my values that I've always held dear seems more necessary than I would have hoped."

Documents filed at Portland City Hall today show Mayor Charlie Hales and City Commissioner Steve Novick are trying to prevent a public vote on their $46 million street fee proposal by forcing opponents to gather signatures twice.

Hales and Novick have filed two ordinances with the council clerk's office: one for the business fee, and another for the residential income tax.

That means City Council will vote separately on each side of the plan. It also means anyone trying to send the street fee to a public vote would have to separately refer each side.

By creating two City Council votes, Hales and Novick are raising the degree of difficulty for foes of the street fee—now including the Portland Business Alliance, which hates the income tax proposal. 

Novick says the main advantage of splitting the two votes is exposing that most opponents only dislike an income tax that puts a heavier burden on the rich.

"There seems to be no real opposition to the business fee," Novick tells WW. "But some people are threatening to refer anything progressive on the personal side. By dividing it into two, it will make it very clear exactly what the dispute is—it's a dispute about whether there should be a progressive personal income tax, not about the whole package."

The PBA would now have to decide whether to collect signatures only on the income tax side of the proposal—or to spend more money and collect signatures for public votes on both sides of the street fee.

Hales and Novick's gambit may seem familiar.

This is the same tactic that then-City Commissioner Sam Adams used in 2008, when petroleum lobbyist Paul Romain threatened to send Adams' street fee to voters. Adams broke his plan into three parts. But he eventually abandoned the entire plan.

Romain is once again saying he's planning to send the street fee to voters. This time, he may have the PBA on his side.

WW reported earlier this afternoon that PBA president Sandra McDonough has warned that the business lobby would likely help refer an income tax to voters. Novick responded to her by saying Portland voters have supported income taxes before.

UPDATE, 5:22 pm: Oregon Fuels Association lobbyist Paul Romain says he's undeterred by the prospect of two voter referrals.

"Is this 2008?" Romain asks. "I guess it is 2014. It's similar games. Their tactic is a little ridiculous but typical."

Romain, who told WW earlier this week his petroleum clients plan to send the street fee to voters, now says opposition to the fee is growing beyond his clients.

"What Charlie and Steve have done is unite the city of Portland," Romain says. "They've done a remarkable job of uniting interests that have very little in common but are now marching together in unison. People are writing to say they love me. Nobody's ever loved me." 

A public hearing on both street fee ordinances is at 2 pm Thursday, Nov. 20.

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