It has been popular for politicians who want to show that they are tough on crime to file petitions which raise the minimum sentences that a judge would be able to prescribe to a given felon for a particular crime. Historically, some of these have passed and some have not. Oregon Ballot Measure 73 is [...]
Oregon Ballot Measure 72 is the third of three Oregon constitutional amendments that were referred from the legislature for approval by the voters. More than any of the others, this measure is merely a housekeeping measure that legalizes a practice that is common now but was not prevalent when the Oregon Constitution was enacted. This [...]
In the simpler times of the 19th century, when Oregon was becoming a state, the State of Oregon was a simpler place. Travel was not easy, and the government of the time decided that the legislature would meet every other year to conduct the state’s business and to discuss and pas new laws as necessary. [...]
Oregon Ballot Measure 70 is one of three amendments to the Oregon Constitution that were referred from the legislature for approval by the voters. While I am somewhat careful in how I look at any attempt to amend the constitution, these amendments are all small changes that will modernize the constitution without making drastic changes. [...]
So, you think that Oregon is the national leader in number of ballot questions that the state’s voters must decide on? Well, this time around, you might be mistaken. This November, Washington voters will have no fewer than nine ballot initiatives and other measures to vote on. Certainly, you are already being bombarded by political [...]
Just a heads up, if you haven’t guessed already from all of the intentionally misleading political ads already out there, that the November political season is upon us. As usual, I will be tackling the issues from around Cascadia here, one by one. Just to get you started, here are some of the issues that [...]
By now, it has been plastered all over the media that perennial candidate Dino Rossi (“prefers GOP”) will be running for the US Senate to put some pressure on three-term incumbent senator Patty Murray. Yes, he will need to get past other candidates in the primary election. However, with his name recognition in two unsuccessful [...]
Tuesday, May 18 is Primary Election Day in Oregon. However, you will probably want to act ahead of time to make sure your vote counts. In Oregon, your Vote-By-Mail ballot must be returned to your County Elections Office by 8:00 PM on Election Day. You may put it in the mail, but it must actually [...]
The race for the Democratic nomination for Oregon governor is presenting a dilemma for me. When Bill Bradbury filed to run, I knew right away who I was going to support. Or, at least I thought I did. I was a fan of Bradbury, stemming from the work he had done as Oregon’s Secretary of [...]
Yes, I don’t live in King County or Seattle at the moment, but I have spent nearly half my life ’round those parts. I am not going to get too original here, but I have noted that the folks over at Seattle Transit Blog have made the same choices for the Seattle City Mayor & [...]
