Initiative to use climate funds for Portland public safety fails to make November ballot

PORTLAND, Ore. (KATU) — A ballot initiative to increase Portland Police Bureau staffing by using a portion of climate tax funds failed to qualify for the November ballot because the initiative’s backers did not turn in enough valid signatures, the city’s elections division said Tuesday.

Elections Division Manager Deborah Scroggin said Portland Initiative Petition 1PDX2026 fell 6,307 signatures short of the 40,437 required to qualify for the ballot.

Backers of the petition submitted 63,315 signatures but the city determined only 34,130 of them were valid.

The main reason signatures were invalidated was because they came from voters not registered to vote or did not live in Portland, Scroggin said. The second reason was because in many cases the same person signed the petition two or more times.

Last week, the campaign behind the initiative accused city election officials of miscounting signatures.

Safer Portland was the campaign behind the initiative and supporters included the police union, the Portland Police Association.

They wanted to redirect a quarter of funding from the Portland Clean Energy Fund, also known as PCEF, toward public safety and law enforcement staffing.

PAST COVERAGE: Should climate funds pay for public safety? Portland voters may decide

On Tuesday, the campaign said it intended to take legal action to challenge the decision, citing what it said the was a verification process that contained errors and “questionable verification procedures,” as well as other issues.

Aaron Schmautz, president of the Portland Police Association, said the failure of the initiative to make the ballot deprived voters of a say and to keep the community safe.

“We just don’t have enough police officers, and we’ve heard from all four corners of the city and all four districts in the city that people just want more access to law enforcement, and it’s just been a very frustrating process,” he said.

The group Hands Off PCEF opposed the initiative and celebrated its failure to make the November ballot.

“Portland voters overwhelmingly supported the creation of the Portland Clean Energy Fund in 2018,” it said in a statement. “Since then, every dollar paid by billion-dollar corporations into the Portland Clean Energy Fund has played a transformative role in supporting climate action and helping communities prepare for the impacts of climate change. The Portland Police Association’s unaccountable ballot measure would have jeopardized projects across the city.”

The controversy reached the Oregon Secretary of State’s Office. Secretary State Tobias Read called for transparency from city election officials and urged them to document and explain the process in a way understandable to the public.

On Tuesday, a statement from his office appeared to indicate that had happened to his satisfaction.

“Secretary Read appreciates the improved communication between the City Auditor’s Office and our office, and the increased transparency that has been provided to the public. It is important that all parties remain committed to maintaining secure, accurate, and fair elections,” the statement said.