A Portland, Oregon, ballot initiative intended to divert surplus climate funds to boost police hiring has been dogged by accusations that canvassers are misleading voters to get their signatures — an allegation proponents of the measure said is part of an organized campaign to taint their effort.
Safer Portland, the group petitioning for the Portland Enhanced Community Safety Initiative, said the accusations lack merit because the state reviews complaints related to the signatures.
“Our opponents are defending the status quo and trying to deny democracy to Portland voters,” Elise Haas, spokesperson for Safer Portland, said in a statement. “These manufactured complaints are bogus and represent a minuscule number of people when compared against the 63,000 who signed the petition for a safer Portland.”
The measure proposes taking a quarter of the money collected for the Portland Clean Energy Community Benefit Fund and redirecting it to the Portland Police Bureau because, as Safer Portland says, the Clean Energy Fund has far exceeded its original revenue estimates.
The group argued that the Clean Energy Fund was projected to bring in up to $90 million per year when it was instituted in 2018. Taxes on large retailers were designed to fund green job creation and other climate-focused endeavors.
The fund instead nets closer to $200 million, prompting a Gov. Tina Kotek-led task force to support diverting its money to “other urgent city priorities.”
The Portland Enhanced Community Safety Initiative would take 25% of the Climate Energy Funds reserves to support police hiring.
An explainer attached to the petition said Portland’s current officer count is the same as it was in 1992, despite the city’s population growing by more than 177,000 residents since.
“With too few officers for a city of its size, the Portland Police Bureau cannot achieve the outcomes Portlanders reasonably expect and deserve — like engaging in neighborhood-based patrols and engagement to help deter crime or responding to 911 emergency calls in a timely manner in all areas of the city, or following up and investigating serious crimes effectively, as repeatedly asked for by city residents,” the explainer said.
The actual petition said it wants hiring levels to reach two police officers per 1,000 residents — or about 400 more officers to go with the city’s current officer count of 793. The Portland Police Association, the force’s union, is a major contributor to the campaign to increase staffing.
But videos of canvassers telling voters about the initiative’s aims that are not listed on the official language were included in a large complaint filed by local attorney Alan Kessler.
Mr. Kessler’s file catalogued instances in which canvassers approached voters and said the petition will “help make Portland safer by lowering the 911 response times.” In one of the videos, the person recording points out that the petition says it “increases police,” and that 911 staffing is a different department.
Other recordings in the complaint showed canvassers telling people the petition is about hiring more “mental health officers.”
Mr. Kessler’s written complaint said one former canvasser alerted the Secretary of State’s office that canvassers were trained to place a binder clip over the word “police” on the signature page.
State law forbids canvassers from making “false statements to anyone who signs the petition or requests information about it.” The chief petitioners would be liable for potential felony charges and a $125,000 fine if evidence shows they intentionally misled voters.
Left-wing activists in Portland, such as the city’s chapter of Democratic Socialists of America, have urged their followers to file a complaint if they were misled.
Other groups, such as Protect the Portland Clean Energy Fund, have been formed to oppose the “controversial ballot measure” that activists say will deplete the reserves dedicated to climate goals.
If enough signatures are approved, the ballot initiative can be voted on during the Nov. 3 general election.
