Oakridge Oakridge created a Charter Review Committee which recommended repeal of the current Oakridge City Charter and established an alternative method for city elections for a limited period of time
Measure 20-363: Replacing the current Oakridge City Charter
Measure 20-364: Alternative method for city elections
Measure 20-363: Replacing the current Oakridge City Charter
Most Significant Outcome: The new charter: -mandates public comment at every city council meeIng before the council discusses or takes acIon on any item of business; -requires a video recording be made of all public meeIngs, whenever technologically feasible, and a recording made available to the public; -requires two signatures on every check, one from the council and one from city staff; -requires a super-majority vote to designate a city ordinance as an emergency ordinance; -allows city council to determine via ordinance how city records will be kept; -establishes a lower threshold for ciIzens iniIaIves and referendums to get on the ballot.
Background: The city of Oakridge had an outdated city charter with antiquated, ambiguous, and sometimes conflicting language, making it necessary to regularly consult a city attorney, at a high hourly rate. In Oregon, a group of citizens can reset a city’s charter if fifteen percent of registered voters call for the new charter. An independent committee of city residents, called the Charter Review Committee, held open meetings in Oakridge for two years beginning in June 2022. They reviewed the existing city charter, using the League of Oregon Cities 2018 model charter, and updated and clarified language in the Charter. Every member of the review committee had to consent to include any proposal for the new charter. The Charter Review Committee published a draft of the new charter July 1, 2024, and hosted two public meetings to get citizen feedback. In August 2024 they brought the draft to the Oakridge City Council, which approved bringing it to the voters to decide. With the proposed changes, the City of Oakridge Charter will more closely resemble the League of Oregon Cities’ Model Charter.
Measure 20-364: STAR Voting for Oakridge city elections
Report Title: Measure 20-364: STAR Vo5]ting for Oakridge city elections
Official Title: Allows voters to show preferences between candidates for city elections Financial impact: Because this is a limited experiment and dependent upon funding from the State or non-profits to implement, the measure should have no financial impact.
Probably Results of a “Yes” vote: If approved, the City of Oakridge will replace their current voting method with STAR voting for electing city councilors and the mayor. This is an experiment that would be used for three general election cycles in 2026, 2028, and 2030. After citizens use STAR Voting for the 3rd election cycle, they will also vote on whether to permanently adopt STAR Voting for city elections by amending the city charter.
Probably Results of a “No” vote: If the measure is not approved there will be no changes to the current method of vo5ng for nonpar5san city officials.
Background: There are concerns in Oakridge about the current method of electing officials. The independent Charter Review Committee suggested implementing STAR voting for city elections when reviewing the City Charter, and the Oakridge City Council accepted the Committee’s recommendation and voted to refer the ballot measure to voters to decide. In the current electoral method, plurality voting, the candidate with the most votes wins. Because there is no requirement that the winner get more than 50 percent of the vote and there are no primary elections, when there are three or more candidates it is possible for candidates to split the vote. In STAR voting (Score Then Automatic Runoff), voters score each candidate on a scale of zero to five. During the “scoring round” of STAR Voting, the scores are totaled for each candidate, and the two candidates with the highest total scores advance as “finalists.” In the immediate automatic runoff round, voter preference between the two finalists establishes which of the two finalists is the winner. The Charter Review Committee considered Ranked Choice voting as an alternative to STAR voting, but determined STAR Voting was much better. The committee held two public hearings prior to city council passing the resolution to send this measure to voters. There will be three additional townhall meetings to educate voters on both measures before the election.
Proposal: If adopted, the City of Oakridge will use STAR Voting in three election cycles (2026, 2028, 2030). After that voters will choose whether or not to amend the city charter to use STAR Voting for city elections permanently.
Supporters say: Electing officials using STAR voting would reduce voter polarization and reduce the possibility of spoiler candidates.
Opponents say: Oakridge would be one of the first cities to adopt the new voting method, opening its city to the possibility of lawsuits. There is also concern that the city moved too quickly to propose the method to voters without adequately informing voters or vetting other alternatives, like Ranked Choice Voting.
(Sources: KLCC, Highway 58 Herald, City of Oakridge website, City Administrator).