| Clayton Franke | Source Weekly |
Advocacy groups have launched a campaign to change the way county commissioners are elected in Deschutes County by introducing a new voting system they say would increase representation and give a better chance to candidates not backed by either of the major political parties.
A coalition supporting the change announced the campaign on Monday, kicking off an effort to gather the 6,500 signatures needed to get an initiative on a ballot in front of Deschutes County voters. If passed, the measure would introduce proportional ranked-choice voting, doing away with primary elections and races for individual county commissioner seats.
”Best addressed by proportional ranked-choice voting
Petitioners need the signatures by Aug. 5 to have the measure on the ballot this November, although they have up to two years to gather signatures, said Brian Smith, director of the Tribal Democracy Project. The group aids Native candidates, encourages voter turnout and is backing the Deschutes County ranked-choice effort. The chief petitioners for the potential ballot measure are activist Freddy Finney-Jordet, Redmond School Board member, and recent Deschutes County Commission candidate Amanda Page and her campaign manager, Tawney Barin Howlett. Common Cause Oregon, a good government group, is also supporting the initiative, called “Voices for All of Deschutes.”
“We live in a politically and geographically diverse county,” Page wrote in an email newsletter to supporters on June 12. Page is a progressive Democrat who lost in the May primary election after the Deschutes Democrats endorsed a different candidate, Amy Sabbadini. “During the districting process, I repeatedly heard people express a fear of lack of representation. That concern is proving to be valid. But I believe it is best addressed by proportional ranked-choice voting.”