Portland Community Equality Act petitioners are holding a signature-gathering event Saturday, April 16, from 10 a.m. to noon at Northeast 102nd Avenue and Pacific Street—Gateway Fred Meyer’s southeast corner. If approved, the act would change the way most council candidates are elected: by geographic districts rather than citywide.
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Last month, Portland Community Equality Act chief petitioner Collene Swenson (“Sign here … please” MCM October 2015) said that not only are they still gathering signatures but also that more neighborhood associations are endorsing the act and helping. “We have more neighborhood associations coming forward and helping,” she said in an email. “Vernon and Overlook have joined in.” However, she laments the dearth of volunteers; “Still not enough volunteers, and I am seriously worried we will not get enough signatures.”
They need more than 30,000 verified signatures by July 8 to qualify for the November 2016 general election ballot. Canvassing Portland has given the California transplant a first-class education in how Portland works—or doesn’t—and how Portlanders assiduously protect their turf. “Everyone is fragmented with their fights with the city. If they could just rally behind this, we would all have a true voice and power to change the direction and quality of life for all of us.” If approved, the act would change the way voters elect Portland’s City Council. Not only would it expand the number of commissioners from four to nine; seven would be elected from specific geographic districts. Election for mayor and two council members would remain a citywide vote. “Whether your issue is homelessness, crime, housing, street repair, quality of life, business or lack thereof, this act would change everything for the better,” she said.
An insurance agent in her day job, Swenson didn’t reckon how difficult it would be to move an entire city, but she’s finding out. In her travels around the city gathering signatures and recruiting volunteers, she’s learned that while many who either work for nonprofits or are in grassroots groups are supportive, they cannot or will not lend help due to the fact their groups get money from the city, and any help they might render Swenson jeopardizes that funding. “The organizations you would expect to rise up and help are not because the city gives them money,” she said. “This will take a Herculean effort by us, the common city residents, to achieve. I urge people to help more; we cannot do it alone.” Swenson has been running uphill since she started her quest, which she fervently hopes isn’t quixotic. Spending hours redrafting her act multiple times to win the city clerk’s approval was only the start. “I would hope the city’s residents would want direct representation bad enough to help make it happen.”
Swenson and other PCEA volunteers are holding a signature-gathering event Saturday, April 16 from 10 a.m. to noon, at Northeast 102nd Avenue and Pacific Street—Gateway Fred Meyer’s southeast corner.
For information about PCEA’s efforts and locations of signature gathering, check its website, portlandcommunityequalityact.com, or their Facebook page, or contact Swenson at 503-284-4424 or girlhowdy1@me.com.
