Lane County The Charter Review Committee recommended the repeal of three sections of the Lane County Charter which were out of date or nonapplicable:
Measure 20-359: repeal of limits on expenditures by Lane County which contains that no longer apply or are outdated.
Measure 20-360: repeal constraints on how Alton Baker Park is developed; the county no longer owns Alton Baker Park
Measure 20-361: repeal restrictions on how an income tax is used by the County but the county doesn’t have an income tax
This ballot measure was accepted by the majority of the commissioners for inclusion on the ballot. In comparison with the previous measures, it was not the result of deliberations by the Charter Review Committee but rather from a submission by a private citizen.
Measure 20-362: establish an independent redistricting commission and require a nontraditional mid-cycle redistricting process to create a new map
Measure 20-359: repeal of limits on expenditures by Lane County which contains that no longer apply or are outdated.
Proposal: The proposed amendment would repeal Section 32 of the Lane County Charter, which imposes specific limits on annual County expenditures. State laws governing county budgets would continue to apply, as appropriate.
Supporters say: that repeal of this provision is basically housekeeping because the provisions in the section are out of date. Failure to repeal the provision would require the County to continue to be out of compliance with practices that are no longer applicable.
Opponents say: There is no organized opposition to the measure and there was no public comment against the repeal of Section 32. The primary benefit to retaining the section would be as a historical artifact.
Measure 20-360: repeal constraints on how Alton Baker Park is developed; the county no longer owns Alton Baker Park
Proposal: The proposed amendment would repeal Section 33 of the Lane County Charter, which imposes restrictions on the use and development of East Alton Baker Park. Lane County no longer owns the land constituting East Alton Baker Park as it was sold to the City of Eugene.
Supporters say: this provision serves little purpose for the county because the county no longer owns the land. In addition, since East Alton Baker Park is now within the Urban Growth Boundary, its potential developable land may benefit from greater flexibility governing its use.
Opponents say: that the value of Section 33 would be as a historical artifact.
Measure 20-361: repeal restrictions on how an income tax is used by the County but the county doesn’t have an income tax
Proposal The proposed amendment would repeal Section 34 of the Lane County Charter, which limits the rate of any Lane County income tax and directs how revenues are to be used. There is not currently any Lane County income tax.
Supporters say: that this section serves no modern purpose for the County, that the County is out of compliance with some elements of this provision as they are no longer applicable, and that this section largely serves as a historical artifact and provides no or minimal value to the County.
Opponents are silent. There is no organized opposition to this measure and no one spoke in opposition to it during the public hearings.
Measure 20-362: establish an independent redistricting commission and require a nontraditional mid-cycle redistricting process to create a new map
Proposal: The proposed amendment would add subsection 10(4) requiring formation of a citizens redistricting commission to develop new Board of Commissioner districts for the 2026 general election and thereafter in each year ending in number one.
The citizens redistricting commission would consist of 15 members plus alternates. The power to adopt the final district maps would be transferred from the Board of Commissioners to the new commission.
Eligibility requirements for citizens redistricting commission members would include:
• Registration to vote in Lane County;
• Could not be candidates for or holders of federal, state, county or certain local offices;
• Could not be a registered lobbyist;
• Could not be paid congressional, legislative, or county employee.
• Other requirements. Redistricting commissioners would be selected by lot at a public meeting from a pool of candidates from each Commissioner district.
Lane County would provide staff and resources to the commission to fulfill its obligations. Board of Commissioners would adopt regulations to implement the new commission. Charter Subsections 10(3)(d)) and 10(3)(e) would be amended or repealed to conform to the new subsection 10(4).
Supporters say:
• The inclusion of portions of Eugene in all five districts of the current map creates the possibility of all five County Commissioners residing in Eugene.
• Some supporters of the H-L proposal felt that the redistricting process in 2021 was affected by political influence.
• An independent redistricting commission that does not involve current commissioners in the selection of some members of the redistricting commission is more independent.
Opponents say:
• Accepting a proposal from a single individual at the very end of a deliberative process that began in October 2023 and involved multiple opportunities for public comment is inappropriate.
• The concern about having five commissioners from Eugene is unwarranted. There are approximately 276K registered voters in Lane County and an average district size of 56K voters. About 105K Eugene voters are distributed between the North and South Eugene districts, while the other approximately 20K Eugene voters are distributed among the other three districts, making them a small component of the voting population for those three districts and making five commissioners seats filled by Eugene residents highly unlikely.
• This proposal creates an additional out-of-cycle redistricting process that is not budgeted and will take resources from actual priorities like housing and public safety.
You may have been following the County Commissioners’ attempt to redo our election voting maps.
In November, I’m asking you to vote NO on Measure 20-362.
I served 4 years as the Commissioner for the Springfield district and then represented Lane County in Congress for 36 years. I never expected to see my home county government manipulated in such a cynical, self-serving way. County Commissioners are elected non-partisan, and the county just adopted maps written by a non-partisan commission. But the Republican-lead members of the Board working with a wealthy right-wing attorney are attempting to lock in their future re-election by stacking the deck.
Nationally, attacks are growing on election integrity, and now it’s happening right here in Lane County. That’s why I’m helping to raise funds to educate voters about this issue. Can I count on your support to get it done?
The county just updated our election voting district maps 3 years ago. They are not due to be updated until the next Census in 2030. There is no reason to change them now – EXCEPT that the current conservative members of the Board have enough votes to redo the districts to their own advantage.
They put this measure on the ballot for no good reason – it is a right-wing power grab.
Gerrymandering under the guise of so-called “independent redistricting” is misleading and an affront to genuine democracy. We already have an independent, all-volunteer Citizen Commission overseeing the charter work, and they unanimously opposed the proposal. The Commissioners apparently think they can ignore our current citizen commission and appoint one more to their liking.
Democracy requires secure, honest elections, and that includes not messing with the voting maps when it suits your purpose.
I dedicated my life to good, honest, representative government and am appalled by the backroom dealings of these Commissioners. Let’s send them a strong message and overwhelmingly reject the measure.
SAY NO TO PARTISAN, SELF-SERVING GERRYMANDERING!
Peter Defazio