Legal battle unfolds over Portland initiative to fund police with climate money

A packed Portland courtroom was the scene Friday of an unusual case pitting climate activists against people who want more cops on city streets.

But the big themes of the day — how to protect the environment and promote public safety in the city — were not the source of debate.

Instead, lawyers argued over the granular details of a ballot initiative that could go before Portland voters in November asking them to divert funds from the Portland Clean Energy Community Benefits Fund to hire more police.

And it was those fine points that brought dozens of people, some seated on the floor and others standing near the courtroom doors, to sit through two hours of legal minutiae in front of Multnomah County Circuit Judge Eric Dahlin.

Portland voters approved the clean energy fund in 2018 with 65% of the vote. Since then, the 1% surcharge on sales at large retailers in the city such as Target has generated nearly seven times more annually than originally projected.

That’s led to many seeing the fund as an option to plug other budget holes around the city, including a planned renovation of the Moda Center, raising concerns from many who want to see the money go toward its original purpose.

On Nov. 12, former city employee Juanita Swartwood and former Portland City Council candidate Bob Simril submitted a petition for a ballot initiative that would divert 25%, or about $50 million, of the clean energy fund toward police staffing each year.

The initiative would require the city to set a minimum staffing requirement of two officers per 1,000 residents. With 877 authorized sworn officers, Portland is currently sitting at a ratio of about 1.37 officers per 1,000 residents. The initiative would mean hiring more than 400 additional officers.

The funds would go into a new Enhanced Community Safety Services Fund. A commission including the mayor, police chief, city administrator, police union representative and one city councilor, would manage the fund.

“The existing corporate retail tax is raising nearly $150 million more each year than forecast. Portland voters should have the chance to invest a portion of this surplus for a safer, better city,” Jason Little, a spokesperson for the initiative sponsors, said in a statement.

Among the eight largest city police departments in Oregon, Portland has the highest authorized sworn-officer-to-resident-population ratio, according to the Statesman Journal. When accounting for vacant positions, it comes in third.

The city elections officer found the petition met state requirements, and the city attorney filed a draft ballot title in December. It will go before voters in the November election, if Dahlin allows it to proceed and it receives 40,437 signatures by July 6.

Local organizers Jenny Lee, Devin Ruiz and Jackie Yerby filed a complaint a week after the city attorney took action, arguing the city should not have accepted the petition.

Lee, Ruiz and Yerby argued the draft initiative fails to meet several state requirements. They argued first it violates the “single-subject” rule for ballot measures because it addresses both police and climate funding.

They also argued the initiative failed to cite the full text of the city provision that codified the clean energy fund. The “full text” argument included several other arguments, including that the petition contains a typo — referencing a section of code that does not exist, which they said will confuse voters.

Lee, deputy director of the Coalition of Communities of Color, said in addition to their legal concerns about the initiative, they have policy concerns about diverting dollars from the clean energy fund.

“We know that climate change is not slowing down — climate resilience is needed now more than ever,” Lee told The Oregonian/OregonLive. “This is a critical resource for Portland to be able to take action.”

Jesse Buss, the attorney representing Lee, Ruiz and Yerby, said during oral arguments $1.5 billion dollars have already been allocated from the clean energy fund, including nearly $65 million in community grants that have already been issued and accepted.

Lee said she’s also concerned that the public safety funds would lack accountability to the public because they would be controlled solely by the new commission.

“Wherever folks fall on what they prioritize with community safety,” she said, “cutting community out of that process is something any Portlander should be concerned about.”

Dahlin at times appeared persuaded by both attorneys.

He said at one point he was not convinced there was a unifying theme between climate funding and police and said it seemed like the creators of the initiative wanted to “kill two birds with one stone” by depleting the climate fund and supporting police.

But later, he questioned whether the climate fund really qualified as a dedicated fund, given city council could choose to reappropriate it elsewhere.

Dahlin will issue a ruling on Feb. 24.