A judge ruled Tuesday against a ballot proposal that would divert money from Portland’s billion-dollar climate action fund to hire more police officers.
Although the judge’s decision delivered a minor setback for groups pushing the initiative, those backers said they plan to file a new ballot proposal in time to get in front of voters in November.
An officer with the Portland Police Bureau.
Bryan M. Vance / OPB
Environmental groups that challenged the initiative are claiming victory after Multnomah County Circuit Court Judge Eric Dahlin found the proposed initiative lacked the full text necessary to meet ballot language requirements.
The initiative was backed by the Portland Police Association, car dealership owner Jeff Swickard and former Portland city council candidate Bob Simril.
The initiative’s supporters are also claiming victory.
“Today is a win for strengthening public safety while maintaining city climate investments and not raising taxes,” Jason Little, spokesperson for the initiative sponsors, said in an emailed statement. “We will quickly file a new initiative to fix a single typographical error and nothing more in the initiative. We are confident we have the time and resources to collect the required signatures to qualify for the ballot.”
Little and other initiative sponsors propose diverting 25% of the Portland Clean Energy Fund’s annual revenue to hire hundreds of officers.
Coalition of Communities of Color deputy director Jenny Lee said she’s “excited” by the judge’s decision to require the full text of the proposed measure, as without that requirement, voters might have been confused about what exactly they were voting on.
Lee is one of the three plaintiffs who challenged the ballot proposal.
“This is a charter amendment, so that’s a really big deal,” she said. “It does make a difference, because it’s something that can have a substantive impact on how voters are determining whether to sign a petition as well as how to vote.”
The Portland Clean Energy Fund is a first-of-its-kind climate justice fund that imposes a 1% tax on the retail sales of large companies in the city.
It was created by a 2018 ballot initiative. It funds a range of climate-related projects, including energy-efficient retrofits, renewable energy development, and job training in the construction and energy fields.
Tax collections have been far higher than supporters of the climate fund predicted — averaging about $200 million a year — that’s led to several proposals to divert its dollars.
Nearly half of the money generated by the fund is now being used for climate-related programs at city bureaus.
Earlier this month, Portland Mayor Keith Wilson suggested using PCEF funds toward renovation costs at the Moda Center arena.
And if backers of the police funding proposal gather enough signatures after revising their initiative to comply with Tuesday’s court order, voters could weigh in on the proposal to fund police using climate dollars later this year.
Lee said if that scenario happens, she believes Portlanders will reject it.
“I’m confident that we do have the community power and support to protect this measure, so wherever it ends up, we know that we were successful in passing it with 65% of the vote, and we are confident that we will be able to communicate effectively with Portland voters who will prioritize these climate investments,” she said.
