Activist Collene Swenson is gathering signatures for her Portland Community Equality Movement petition for the November 2016 ballot. STAFF/2015

Activist Collene Swenson is gathering signatures for her Portland Community Equality Movement petition for the November 2016 ballot.
STAFF/2015

After a struggle to get their ballot title published, members of the Portland Community Equality Movement are busily collecting signatures to get their many-times reworked petition on the November 2016 ballot. They have to collect 31,345 signatures by July 8, 2016, to accomplish that goal.

The aim of this petition is to change city government structure from one in which all council members could conceivably be elected from one part of the city to a form that draws candidates from various parts of Portland. The petitioners are seeking a nine-member council, with seven members elected from specific neighborhoods and two members, plus the mayor, elected at large.

The movement has drawn both support and criticism. Critics have pointed out that eight proposals to change the current format have been defeated, the most recent being in 2007. What makes this petition different?

PCEM spokesperson Collene Swenson, who has put hundreds of hours into this effort, points out that this petition comes neither from politicians nor developers, but instead from frustrated citizens who can’t get the ear of their neighborhood association or City Council. East Portlanders may have begun this movement, but the group’s website and Facebook page is drawing favorable comments from residents in other neighborhoods.

The signature drive is centering its efforts in public places: shopping malls, supportive businesses and the like, and it is not currently going door-to-door. Locations for signature drives are publicized on the group’s website and Facebook page. One such drive is set for Saturday, October 17 at the yet-to-be-built Gateway Park site, 10520 N.E. Halsey St.

For ongoing information about PCEM’s efforts and locations of signature gathering, check its website, www.portlandcommunityequalityact.com/, or their Facebook page. Swenson’s phone number is 503-253-8094, or email her at girlhowdy1@me.com.