The Parkrose Heights Association of Neighbors meeting on January 26 featured an energetic conversation with State Representative Jefferson Smith. But before Smith got up to speak:
- Neighborhood police officers gave a brief crime report, including a report on recent graffiti on NE 108th Avenue. Officers said, “We’re not sure if it’s gang related. They threw up some names and stuff that could be gang-related.”
- Teri Poppino, the new crime prevention coordinator for Parkrose Heights introduced herself and reminded us that online self-reporting for non-emergency crimes is now available. “One of the cool things about self-reporting is that you get a free copy of the report,” mentioned Poppino. She also pointed out a new toll-free phone number for reporting stray shopping carts in the neighborhood: 1-888-55-CARTS.
Also in attendance were Chris Scarzello, the East District liaison for the City of Portland Bureau of Planning and Sustainability, Shirley Craddick of Gresham’s city council, who is currently running for Metro Council in District 1, and Joe Smith of the State Aviation Board (also Jefferson Smith’s father).
Representative Smith opened his talk by asking for issues and questions that people wanted addressed. These included infrastructure, education and funding for it, the LNG pipeline, the Columbia Crossing (I-5 Bridge) project, and the state budget.
He then jumped right into the budget issues, explaining how the legislature came up with its budget: a combination of budget cuts and tax increases was needed to create a balanced budget.
New taxes passed during the 2009 session included:
- a hospital tax that provides health coverage for uninsured children as well as additional spots for adults in the Oregon Health Plan
- a gas tax to pay for transportation-related expenses
- the increase in taxes on corporations and wealthy couples and individuals which was voted on in measures 66 and 67.
Smith voted in favor of the hospital tax, despite opposition from Portland Adventist Medical Center, calling it an easy vote because this district has the largest number of uninsured children. “I would have been irresponsible had I not advocated for it.”
He also voted in favor of the taxes included in 66/67, noting that the legislature “did not punt it to the voters.” Anti-tax groups forced the issue to the ballot; if they hadn’t, the taxes would simply have taken effect as planned. Smith was vehement that this was the right thing to do for both the district and the state, citing population growth, lower incomes, and higher need for services in East Portland.
Smith also based his decision on the results of a town meeting held in March 2009, in which participants unanimously agreed that the best way to balance the budget would be a combination of budget cuts and tax increases, rather than relying on one or the other. In addition $733 million to be raised from tax increases, the legislature cut about $2 billion from the budget and used about $1 million in one-time funding.
On the subject of education, Smith pointed out that we have a big achievement gap in this district, between poor kids and richer kids. He attributes this to what happens over the summer, saying “If I had to pick one priority, it would be summer.” Smith sees summer school programs as the key to kids retaining what they’ve learned from year to year, and thinks poor kids are disadvantaged in this area.
Asked about how to continue funding education without having to vote on it every few years, Smith dodged a bit, saying that if 66/67 passed we shouldn’t have to worry about it for a few years. He admitted that we have a problem, pointing out that part of it is that property taxes have been kept artificially low by Measures 5 and 50.
On infrastructure, Smith regrets that he didn’t try to get on the Transportation committee, where he could have opposed the gas tax passed by the Legislature. He feels the gas tax doesn’t benefit the district enough, and doesn’t do enough to decrease driving either. He urged residents to talk to city council members and candidates about how they can help with the infrastructure in East Portland.
Smith also briefly touched on the Columbia River Crossing, saying “it is badly planned, it is badly conceived,” and points out that “we’ve spent $100 million without laying a single stone!” He doesn’t see much benefit for us, because while the majority of the traffic on the bridge will come from Vancouver residents, it’s our marginal tax rates that are likely to increase to fund the project (while Vancouver doesn’t even have an income tax).
In response to a question about the proposed liquefied natural gas terminals and pipelines in Oregon, Smith isn’t sure whether liquefied natural gas itself is good or not, but he supports a bill to limit LNG, saying that what they’re trying to do is use our public resources to give California more power.
Finally, Smith pointed to his successes in the legislature this year:
- Passage of a bill to increase access to high speed internet and reduce the “digital divide.”
- A transparency bill
- Online voter registration (which he hopes will increase civic participation in his district)
- A $3 political party contribution check-off on state tax returns (also to increase participation and political power for the district)
- Passage of the biggest water bill in the last 30 to 40 years, which sets water policy for the entire state.
Smith also spoke at the Glenfair and Hazelwood neighborhood meetings in January. He's currently back in Salem for a special session of the legislature.
