News In the contentious run-up to Tuesday night's vote on Measure 26-151, which would have fluoridated Portland's water supply, one of the most interesting rumors was the speculation about a possible legislative Plan B, should fluoridation go down to a narrow defeat.The rumor went like this: Many Portland lawmakers, including House Speaker Tina Kotek (D-Portland), contributed to the pro-fluoridation campaign. ...   More

News As of the end of day Friday, only 21.5 percent of registered voters had turned in their ballots for this month's election. Historically, off-year elections draw a light turnout. In 2011, 36.6 percent of registered voters cast ballots in Multnomah County. The May ballot includes a Metro parks' operating levy; a renewal of the Children's initiative; school board and education service district races; ...   More

News With five days left until the May 21 election, polling numbers keep getting worse for fluoride. Ballot Measure 26-151, which would fluoridate Portlands water supply, trails by 13 percentage points in the newest poll released by WW's news partner KATU, with 53 percent of likely voters saying they'll vote no. That's a four-point drop from last week's KATU poll showing fluoridation down 9 points. Fluoride ...   More

News The campaign against Measure 26-151, which would fluoridate Portland's water, has received one of its largest single donations—from an Illinois-based alternative physician who makes unusual medical claims. Dr. Joseph Mercola donated $15,000 in cash to Clean Water Portland on April 28, and the campaign reported the contribution over the weekend. That's the third-largest single donation to the anti-fluoride ...   More

News During our endorsement interview over the fluoride debate, the opposition campaign came under scrutiny for the sceintific beliefs of some of its biggest backers. Nichole Maher of the Northwest Health Foundation, who supports fluoridating Portland's water supply, asks opponents why most of their financial support comes from out of state.The argument gets a bit knotty at times, especially when the three ...   More

News In this clip from our endorsement interview, the two sides debating the city's fluoride vote, over Measure 26-151 on the May 21 ballot, heat things up. Rick North of the opposition campaign Clean Water Portland puts a question to representatives of the pro-fluoride campaign, Healthy Kids, Healthy Portland, about the risks of adding fluoride to drinking water. The participants are, from far left to ...   More

Elections Many election battles vow an eye for an eye. But this spring’s fight is something even fiercer: a tooth for a tooth. This off-year election—held in a season when voters might be understandably   More

News WW hosted the pro- and anti-fluoride campaigns in our offices last week as part of our endorsement interview ritual. And the two campaigns—which for months have been antagonistic and unpleasant toward each other—lived up to expectations during the meeting. We could have sold tickets.Instead, we offer some video snippets of the endorsement interview. The full video will be available when WW makes ...   More

News In the growing debate about fluoridating Portland's drinking water, one news agency has dug out data the state of Oregon didn't want to release, and the reporting raises questions about the overall effectiveness of adding fluoride in Portland.KATU Channel 2 pressed the state Oregon Health Authority for weeks to release data from its 2012 Smile Survey, a review of dental health involving thousands of ...   More

News Healthy Kids, Healthy Portland may have more cash in the war chest, but the anti-fluoride folks are trying to put more boots on the ground. Advocates for Clean Water Portland, the “no” vote in the measure to fluoridate the city’s water supply, held a raucous march down Northeast Alberta Street during Last Thursday. Revelers walked, biked, skated and danced the twelve blocks to a vacant ...   More