Proposed Property Crime Ballot Measure Headed to Court

The initiative says Multnomah County’s policies have contributed to an increase in property crime and seeks to hold the county financially accountable. to take responsibility for property crimes.

The initiative says the county’s policies have contributed to an increase in property crime, and seeks to hold the county financially accountable.

“The county shall insure and indemnify persons and owners or lessors of property for property damage and bodily injury as a result of any crime committed within the county,” the initiative says.

But on Oct. 8, Multnomah County elections director Tim Scott rejected DiLorenzo’s filing. In his explanation, Scott wrote that the initiative violated Oregon constitutional requirements that ballot initiatives deal with only a single subject; that initiatives seeking to amend the charter on more than one subject require separate votes on the respective subjects; and that initiatives seeking to amend the charter deal with matters that are legislative rather than administrative. Scott also noted that the initiative failed to meet certain county charter and state law requirements.

On Oct. 17, DiLorenzo filed a petition for judicial review of Scott’s decision in Multnomah County Circuit Court. That’s a fairly routine procedural step that will require a judge to determine whether the initiative meets legal standards.

Perhaps the most interesting part of DiLorenzo’s petition: the identity of his attorney.

DiLorenzo hired state Rep. Kevin Mannix (R-Salem), a prolific author of legislation and ballot measures, including Measure 11, the 1994 law that implemented mandatory minimum sentences for violent crimes. Mannix wrote many other crime-related ballot measures over the years, including Measure 61 in 2008, which proposed mandatory sentences for property and drug-related crimes. District attorneys and progressive groups banded together to propose a less draconian alternative, Measure 57, which passed instead.

Mannix, 74, served in the Legislature as a Democrat from 1989 through 1997 and as a Republican from 1997 to 2001. He then ran for governor (twice), attorney general (twice) and Congress (once), losing each time before reclaiming a Salem House seat in 2022. In addition to representing DiLorenzo in the pending ballot initiative case, he is running for reelection next month.