Portland's Long History of Taxpayer Waste and Abuse

Taxpayer Association of Oregon says No on Measure 26-173

Portland is going to hurt you with a $60 million gas tax because they can’t control their spending…

$70 million wasted on contract overspending according to City Auditors (KOIN 6 TV 5-8-14)

$50 million misspent by City Water Bureau on failed, questionable and unrelated projects

$49 million City surplus 2015 (Oregonian 8-11-15)

$21 million over-spent on City software upgrade (Portland Business Journal 10-1-08)

$7 million over-spent on Morrison Bridge repair (KOIN 6 -TV 7-7-14)

$6 million over-budget for Greenway project the media calls “pathway to nowhere” (Oregonian 2-11-16)

$5 million City surplus in 2014 (Portland Tribune 1-2-14)

$3 million over-budget on City permit system (Oregonian 4-22-15)

$2 million over-spending on City Managers cost (Oregonian 3-5-14)

NO Vote on 26-173

Citizen Initiative Blackmail Hurts Citizens: Five House R's buy the lie while the Senate R's

Five Oregon House Republicans have voted once and likely twice for a bill that will drastically raise electricity rates, make the electrical grid less reliable and violate limited government, free market principles. Why? Because it is the lesser of two evils approach brought on by the radical environmentalists blackmailing them with a possible draconian citizens initiative. This story in the Oregon Catalyst illustrates how legislators make deals with the devil after having beleived the many lies told by the discredited environmental community, plus giving the crony capitalist big energy providers a sweet deal.

Thanks to the Senate Republicans who have stood arm in arm against this insanity, not to mention the clear thinking House Republicans who voted and will vote no. We believe it is a false choice that these 5 House R's are making as the citizens initaitive is easily defeated with the right messaging about how dramatically this will raise their rates, which the crony capitalist big energy companies would be forced to spend lots of their ratepayer money to fight.

Our prediction: This bill will not stop the next radical environmental inititiave that will further punish the working families and elderly of the state with outrageously high electrical bills. These 5 House Republicans who voted for this turkey, Reps Kreiger, Gilliam, Johnson, Buehler and Huffman will have a lot of egg all over their face when the enviros come back soon with an even worse citizens initaitve.

Another Try for the CRC and Crony Capitalism or a Third Bridge?

Well, like a bad dream, it's baaaaacckkk! The scandal ridden, crony capitalist effort to build a not needed new I-5 bridge spanning the Columbia River may be rearing it's very ugly head once again as this story reveals. Petunia awarded disgraced former Oregon Governor John Kitzhaber the coveted Porker Award back in 2014 for his Oregon go it alone approach after the Washington State legislature wisely said no. Now the effort may be restarted, or not. Since that time serious proposals have been floated for a third bridge across the river either near the Port of Portland or eastward near Camas, so perhaps sanity and common sense will prevail this time. Only time will tell.