A citizen coalition in Gresham, Oregon is pursuing a ballot measure to amend the city charter to require city council members to be elected from at least six geographic districts, rather than at-large. They are gathering citizen feedback and aim to have the measure on the November 2012 ballot. The coalition is seeking support from community organizations and hopes the city council will join the effort. They believe the current at-large system reduces citizen voice and accountability.

1. The Geopolitics of 2012 Gresham
Oregon
Based on the Testimony Before Gresham City
Council
February 7, 2012

2. Gresham Citizen Ballot Initiative
 A newly formed coalition of citizens is pursuing a ballot measure
that would amend the City Charter to require the majority of city
council members to be elected from at least six geographic
districts
 This initiative is still in the formative stages and continues to
gather citizen feedback and has set the target date of November
2012 General Election for citizen approval of Gresham Ballot
Measure
 This citizen initiative is seeking the support of a broad coalition of
community business and civic organizations and look forward to
Gresham City Council joining this effort
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3. Which Neighborhood Has A Voting
Majority?
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4. What does this Map Indicate About
Elections in Gresham?
 Large parts of Gresham are not represented or are grossly
underrepresented
 This moves the levers of democracy in favor of a few closely
connected neighborhoods with a majority vote of city council
residing in a single neighborhood
 Recent election history exposes the extent of representation
disparities
 Is this a new revelation?
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5. Our City Charter Promotes Citizen
Involvement in City Governance
 By a vote of 70%+ in 1998, Gresham citizens passed a City
Charter Measure No. 26-86 which directs the Mayor and City
Manager to report annually to City Council progress gained in
citizen involvement in city governance
 Why aren’t single voter districts being seriously considered by the
City Council as an important method of citizen engagement and
involvement?
 Do exclusive at-large voting districts have the opposite impact on
citizen engagement and involvement in city governance?
 Are exclusive at-large voting districts actually dampening citizen
voice and city council accountability?
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6. Consequences of Gresham Voting
System
 Does the absence of Single Voting Districts create serious
representation consequences?
 Are recent low voter turnout and uncontested City Council
and Mayoral races a result of years of exclusive at-large
elections?
 Is this issue a major root cause of increasing voter apathy and
non-involvement?
 Is it a fact that 80% of the city is not geographically
represented?
 Does this open the door to excessive special interest
influence?
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7. Questions in Search of Answers
 Have we always had exclusive voting at-large?
 Is it true that a minority of 40% of those voting can block a
Charter Amendment?
 Are these examples from our election history of reducing
citizen controls on government?
 Is there a cost to the city when citizens feel their voice and
vote has been disenfranchised?
 What options are opened to the City Council and/or the
citizen community to correct this situation?
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8. The Dangers of Non-Geographic
Representation
 Does current exclusive at-large voting result in high cost election
campaigning and low voter turnout?
 Is there a lack of representation and could that be the cause of City
Council members being less responsive to ordinary citizens and more
responsive to special interests who provided their critical campaign
funding?
 Does the high cost of running for public office place engaged citizens out
of reach of funding and necessary resources to run a successful
campaign?
 The cost of having to campaign in a city-wide at-large election is similar
to a candidate running for mayor in this council-manager form of
government. Does the ordinary citizen find this reasonable and
affordable and does this clearly advantage those with wealth and opens
the door to excessive influence of special interest support?
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9. Who Are The Disenfranchised?
 Does this system lead to downtown being a disproportionate
beneficiary of the city’s public investment in facilities and services
 Can you think of any examples of some neighborhoods being
deprived of essential infrastructure investments and services?
 Again, is there a cost to the city when large segments of the
community feel disenfranchised because their vote and voice
seems less meaningful?
 Can you think of any examples of neighborhoods being deprived
of essential infrastructure investments and services?
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10. Would Voting Districts Strengthen
Neighborhoods?
 Has the exclusive at-large election process reduced the
influence of single neighborhoods and contributed to the
reoccurring problem of too many neighborhood associations
being in an “inactive status?”
 Had Southwest, Centennial, and Hollybrook Neighborhood
Associations been part of single voter district would the
original 2004 City Council approval for a 240,000 square
foot Superstore at 181st Street have happened?
 Can you think of other similar neighborhood examples?
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11. Citizen Voice and Council
Accountability
 The exclusive at-large election system means that all
105,000+ of us are represented by every member of the city
council
 This current exclusive at-large election system fails to make
any one council member responsible and accountable for our
district concerns, or those of our neighbors
 When every council member is responsible to every citizen,
by definition, no one council member is responsible or
accountable to a particular citizen
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12. The Geopolitics of Political Power
 Has the current electoral system changed significantly the
geographic representation and the balance of power between the
Mayor, City Councilors and the City Manager?
 Do citizens understand the potential discriminatory and negative
impact of a majority of City Council and the Mayor residing in a
concentrated area and single neighborhood and/or few
neighborhoods?
 How many citizens are aware that the city charter of 1978
election process had six districts and the Mayor elected at-large.
As hard as this may be to believe too many still think we are still
electing from districts.
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13. Local Government Election Practice by
Robert L. Kemp
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14. Should We Wait for Citizen Option of
Voters Rights Act Litigation?
 Discrimination today is more subtle than the visible methods used in1965.
However the effects and results of “exclusive” at-large districts are the same.
Some politicians to limit the power of the single voter district representation
after the implementation of the voter rights act replaced geographic districts
with exclusive at-large districts.
 Do we want the Civil Rights Division and its host of attorneys investigating
citizen complaints on Gresham’s election system?
 Do we in Gresham prefer to eliminate “exclusive” at-large voting districts and
replace them with a “mixed form” of election system of single voter districts
and at-large districts with single voting districts being in the majority?
 Could a city with our population use nine districts, six single voter districts and
three at-large districts, with the mayor position being one of the at-large
districts?
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15. Citizen Engagement for High
Involvement
 Attendance at City Council Meetings to Ask the City Council and
Mayor to Place This Citizen Initiative on the 2012 General
Election Ballot for Approval
 Participate in City Council Citizen Individual (three minute)
Testimony in Support City Charter Ballot Amendment
 Recruit 3-5 members of your neighborhood association to join
this ballot measure campaign
 Contact:
 Dick Strathern at strathe38@aol.com
 Mads Ledet at ledet.mads@gmail.com
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